ALPHORN CONCERTOS
Leopold MOZART (1719-1787)
Sinfonia Pastorella for Alphorn and String Orchestra
Ferenc FARKAS (1905-2000)
Concertino Rustico
Jean DAETWYLER (1907-1994)
Dialogue avec la nature
Concerto for Alphorn and Orchestra
(no dates given)
Jozsef Molnar, alphorn
Capella Istrapolitana
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra/Urs Schneider
Recorded in Moyzes Hall, Bratislava, Slovakia, 3^rd - 10^th May 1987.
NAXOS 8.555978 [61.47]

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The Swiss composer Jean Daetwyler has the lion’s share here, and his two works for Alphorn are the most substantial ones in this release. Both were written for the present soloist who, after demonstrating the Alphorn’s possibilities, convinced the composer to embark on concertos for this most unusual instrument. The limited range of the instrument poses a number of problems which Daetwyler solved in his own way. In Dialogue avec la nature, he confronts Man (Alphorn) and the bird (piccolo) in a long first movement capped by a short lively Rondo. The Concerto for Alphorn and Orchestra is still more ambitious and, to some extent, musically more satisfying. It alternates two longer, mostly slow movements and two shorter, lively ones, of which the joyfully rural Hirtentanz is a delightful romp. The last movement is a darker Totentanz.

Ferenc Farkas’s Concerto Rustico for Alphorn and strings is, to my mind, the most successful work here. That Farkas managed to impart to this work an unmistakable Hungarian feel is no mere feat. A really delightful piece.

Leopold Mozart’s Sinfonia Pastorella might well have been one of the first "serious" compositions for Alphorn. Mozart père wrote several works for or with unusual instruments; no wonder that he also tried his hand at an Alphorn concerto, and a jolly good piece of music it is.

Excellent performances of these unfamiliar works unlikely to be heard in concerts. No masterpiece here, though Farkas’s concerto is quite a nice rarity. An attractive collection of fine and entertaining works for a most unusual instrument. Well worth a hearing, were it only for curiosity’s sake, especially at Naxos’s bargain price.

Hubert Culot

See also review by Neil Horner

 

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