French Horn

The horn has come a long way from its roots in the world of the medieval battlefield and hunt. Its basic principle is the same as for any brass instrument—a mouthpiece, a length of metal tube, and a column of air, vibrating at different frequencies to produce sound. When that tube (anything up to 14 feet of it) is curled into a circle for ease of use on horseback, the resulting sound can be either thrillingly wild or beautifully soft and expressive. Over the centuries, innovations ranging from interchangeable crooks to, in the 19th century, hand-operated valves have harnessed that unique voice without losing its untamed character. The horn is still one of the most challenging of all instruments to play well, and while Baroque composers exploited its royal associations and Mozart reveled in its capacity for high spirits, Romantic composers such as Wagner and Strauss used the horn to stir the blood as the voice of heroism, and to conjure romance with its mellow, singing tone. A group of anything from two to eight horns sits at the center of the modern brass section: the heart of any great orchestra’s distinctive sound.