Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Evolution Of The Horn | 20231203 | As part of the International Day of People with Disabilities, the German French horn player Felix Klieser introduces the first of three programmes all about his instrument. He looks at how it works, how to play it, and how it has changed over the years, as well as how it has shaped his own life. Felix was born without arms, and has become one of the world's most in-demand French horn soloists, wowing BBC Proms audiences earlier this year. He's also a prolific recording artist. In this first episode he talks about some of the French horn players who have influenced him, celebrating their unique and different sounds. He also demonstrates how to play French horn without an instrument, and delves into the horn's early history as a device for relaying 'signals' over long distances, before being incorporated into the orchestra by baroque composers such as Handel, back when the instrument was still known as the 'Corno da caccia', or 'hunting horn'. Felix also introduces chamber music by Schubert, a showpiece by Weber, and French horn blockbusters by Mozart and Richard Strauss, alongside lesser-heard gems by Bach, Telemann and Beethoven. |
| 02 | The Horn's Coming Of Age | 20231210 | French horn player Felix Klieser introduces the second of three programmes all about his instrument. He looks at how it works, how to play it, and how it has changed over the years, as well as how it has shaped his own life. Felix was born without arms, and has become one of the world's most in-demand French horn soloists, wowing BBC Proms audiences earlier this year. He's also a prolific recording artist. In this second episode, he focusses on the development of the modern instrument, with the addition of keys to extend its musical range. He tells how Robert Schumann embraced the new developments, while Johannes Brahms felt that the older, ‘natural' horn was a much more expressive instrument. Felix also asks the question, ‘is the French horn a brass or woodwind instrument?' and celebrates its versatility in chamber music, as an accompaniment to a singer, a solo instrument with piano, or part of the established wind quintet, as well as listening to some of the French horn's finest moments as an instrument in the orchestra. There's music from Mahler and Bruckner's symphonies, chamber music by Brahms, Richard Strauss and Anton Reicha, and the famous concert piece for four French horns and orchestra by Robert Schumann. |
| 03 | The Further Adventures Of The Horn | 20231217 | French horn player Felix Klieser introduces the third of three programmes all about his instrument. He looks at how it works, how to play it, and how it has changed over the years, as well as how it has shaped his own life. Felix was born without arms, and has become one of the world's most in-demand French horn soloists, wowing BBC Proms audiences earlier this year. He's also a prolific recording artist. In this final episode, Felix looks to the heroic nature of the French horn, and how that has made it a favourite instrument for film composers. He also shares how film music helped him learn to play the instrument. He listens to how the horn was used in jazz by Miles Davis and Gil Evans, and also explores some of the more unusual techniques in playing, as utilised by composers like Olivier Messiaen and Gilbert Vintner. And he introduces the thirty-two-horned wonder that is the London Horn Sound. The music includes Wagner's Ring Cycle and John Williams's Jurassic Park, two atmospheric elegies from Britten and Ethel Smyth, and virtuosic moments from Ligeti and Messiaen. Series producer: Sam Hickling |