My master has been in a very good mood lately. What’s more, he often takes me for walks, saying things like, “My health check is coming up, so let’s go on a diet!”
I’m grateful for that, but I can’t update my blog because I’m always waiting for my master to be away and I don’t have time to listen to records. This is no good. As the saying goes, “Damm’s art is long, but his life is short.”
This time, I’d like to introduce Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto, which has become synonymous with Peter Damm. There are many explanations about this piece, so I won’t repeat too much, but the “No. 1” that I’ll be looking at this time was composed when Strauss was only 18 years old (!). Even though it was written in his teens, there is no sense of immaturity in it, and it is a popular piece that is frequently performed and recorded among horn concertos.
Many horn players perform this piece powerfully and skillfully. However, I think it is Peter Damm who sings this piece most beautifully and with the most depth.
Player and Recording
Conductor: Rudolf Kempe
Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden
Recording Engineer：Claus Strüben
Recording date：September, 1975 （Peter Damm 38 Years old） Recording venue：Lukas Kirche, Dresden
My favorite
According to the official website, Peter Damm performed firstly this piece in 1957 when he was 20 years old, and then performed it for the 111th time when he was 45 years old under the direction of Herbert Blomstedt, and performed it for the 157th time during a concert tour in Osaka in 2000. Some sources say that he actually performed it more than 170 times. Either way, considering the difficulty of this piece, it’s an incredible number of times. On average, he performed it about once every three months over 43 years.
Peter Damm has a deep connection to Meiningen, the city where this piece premiered, and the orchestral version was dedicated to Oscar Franz (Peter Damm’s great senior), a horn player and teacher from Dresden, so I think he felt a strong pride and sense of mission in performing this piece as the legitimate successor to the performer to whom it was dedicated. This piece was literally one of Peter Damm’s life’s work.
1st movement- Allegro
Following an introduction consisting of only chords by the orchestra, the solo horn plays the powerful fanfare theme. This is a novel beginning, as the orchestra usually presents the theme and then the horn follows in the traditional way. After the orchestra follows the theme, Peter Damm sings a beautiful solo with great emotion.
After just two or three bars, you’ll understand that his performance is completely different from other performances. You will understand this is the music of authentic Richard Strauss.
2nd movement – Andante
It is also wonderful that his good friend Rudolf Kempe plays a completely supporting role to bring out the best in Peter Damm. Don’t miss it.
3rd movement – Allegro
A Rondo in 6/8 time, reminiscent of the third movement of Mozart’s Horn Concerto. In a letter sent by Richard Strauss’s sister to the legendary horn player Dennis Brain, she wrote about how her father Franz had a lot of trouble with the High Es (the highest note in this piece).
Was it a musical revenge against his father who tried to control him strictly when he was 18 years old? It might be even more fun to listen to this piece while imagining such things.
