Alec Frank-Gemmill, Robin Ticciati & SCO - Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 - BBC Radio 3 'Record Review'

Music by Richard Strauss, from my Record of the Week. It’s from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Robin Ticciati. Playing three pieces of early Strauss. A deliciously playful account of the Duett Concertino in which clarinettist Maximiliano Martín is the beauty to bassoonist Peter Whelan’s beast. One of the finest accounts I’ve heard. I’m not going to play it to you though, because I’ve picked Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, written by the 18 year old composer, influenced by his Father Franz Strauss, one of the finest horn players of his day - the sound that Strauss grew up with. Why this? Well it’s the last recording Alec Frank-Gemmill made with the SCO before he stepped down as Principal Horn earlier this year. The sheer beauty of this sound, beautifully moulded phrases make this special but so too does the playing of his former colleagues and the way Robin Ticciati’s attention to detail stops this from feeling anything like undercooked Strauss. Let’s hear the complete Concerto.

Horn Concerto No. 1 by the teenaged Richard Strauss. You just heard the recently released recording from Alec Frank- Gemmill, former Principal Horn of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which was conducted there by his former Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati. Beautifully done and add a superb performance of Strauss’s Duett Concertino, and his early Serenade Op 7. I hope you can hear why this is my Record of the Week. It’s from Linn Records. I wished they’d also recorded Strauss’s second horn concerto, but it’s still a fine package. Digital only, no CD disc. You’ll find it on the Linn Records website and it’s an excellent sounding, hi-definition download.