Music For Horns

Hadyn’s Piano trio no.39 in F major Hob. 15/25 is perhaps his best known piano trio (which is probably why Martinet calls is Trio no.1). The Rondo finale in “Hungarian” style is where the nickname “gypsy” comes from.

As could be expected from the name, both “rondo” and “gypsy” make a hornists life difficult. The rating above is for the original speed, which, given that this is a trio for piano and strings, is quite fast. Also, as with all Martinet arrangements, it’s not like there is a difficult first horn parts and that’s it. The fast runs are distributed evenly between all the parts, and while horns 1 and 3 might be higher and therefore more difficult in terms of range, horns 2 and 4 are challenged by the alternation of runs in the middle register and bass playing in the pedal register.

Nevertheless, this is an incredibly fun piece to play, and if played well, even perhaps slightly under tempo, will make a lasting impression on the concert audience with the required virtuosity.