Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40
by Johannes Brahms
Composed in 1865 in the aftermath of his mother's death, the Horn Trio Op. 40 is Brahms's most personal chamber work and one of the greatest pieces in the horn repertoire. Brahms specified the natural (valveless) horn for which the work was written, though it is more commonly performed today on the modern valve horn; the natural horn's distinctive combination of open and stopped tones, and its tendency to half-valve notes to different timbres, gives the work an autumnal, forest-evocative character that is diminished on the modern instrument. The four movements — an Andante of veiled beauty, an Allegro scherzo, a deeply elegiac Adagio mesto, and a hunting-style Finale — inhabit a sound world of unique intimacy and emotional gravity that has made this trio the most beloved Romantic chamber work involving horn.
Editions
Simrock
Johannes Brahms, 1866
Original edition, the composer's own text; the primary historical source and the basis for all scholarly editions.
Henle Verlag
Claus Röhnisch, 1971
Critical Urtext edition based on autograph and first edition; the standard international performing text for professional ensembles.
Bärenreiter
Robert Pascall, 2003
Scholarly edition from the Brahms New Edition with comprehensive source commentary; now the preferred text for period-informed performance.