Historical Horn Recordings

I have included all the discographical information I have about the recordings below. When names of specific players are listed, the information comes from the label or a reference source. I leave speculating about who played to someone else!

Except as noted, all transfers are by me from original recordings in my collection.

Arrangement is chronological by recording date.

• Brahms Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano, Opus 40


• Siegfried's horn Call, played by Anton Horner

The horn call from Act II of Wagner's Siegfried. Anton Horner, horn. Victor matrix number B 12503-1. Victor record number 17174. Recorded 9 Oct 1912.

• Le cor

Song by Alfred Flégier. Marcel Journet; Francis Lapitino, harp; Josef Pasternack, conductor. The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings notes that takes 1-3 featured Anton and Joseph Horner, but says that for take 4 (the only one issued) the horn parts were played on cornets. The brass instruments in this recording are certainly French horns. Whether the Horner brothers are playing is left for the listener to decide. Victor 74508. Matrix C 19116-4. Recorded Camden, N.J., 25 Jan 1917. Transfer by William Shaman.

• Les préludes

New York Philharmonic; Willem Mengelberg, conductor. Victor 6225, 6373, and 66131. Matrices C 26306-3, C 26307-2, C 26308-2 (recorded 18 Apr 1922), and B 26309-3 (recorded 20 Apr 1922).

• Martha Overture solo, played by Anton Horner
Victor matrix number BVE 37817-4. Victor record number 20523. Recorded 15 Feb 1927.
• Les préludes

Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam; Willem Mengelberg, conductor. Columbia L 2362 and L 2363. Matrices WAX 5044-2, WAX 5045-2, WAX 5046-2, WAX 5047-2. Recorded 11-15 Jun 1929, in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

• Till Eulenspiegel

BBC Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Busch, conductor. Aubrey Brain, prinicpal horn. Victor 11724 and 11725. Matrices 2B 6811-2, 2B 6812-1, 2B 6813-1, 2B 6814-2A. Recorded in London, Abbey Road Studio No. 1, 5 March 1934.

• Beethoven Horn Sonata, First Movement
• Beethoven Horn Sonata, Second Movement
• Beethoven Horn Sonata, Third Movement
• Beethoven Horn Sonata, Second and Third Movements joined together

Gottfried von Freiberg, horn; Yella Pessl, piano. U.S. Columbia matrix numbers XCO 21089-2, XCO 21090-3, XCO 21091-1, and XCO 21092-1. Columbia record numbers 69068-D and 69069-D (from set X-86). Recorded in New York 3 May 1937.

To burn this to a CD, download the first three links. To listen online, listen to the first and last links.

Note that these are 16 bit, 44.1 KHz (i.e., CD quality) WAV files and will take a few minutes to download even with a fast Internet connection.

• Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante (Micaela's aria from Carmen)

Eleanor Steber; Dennis Brain, horn solo; Philharmonia Orchestra; Walter Susskind, conductor. Victor 12-02690. Matrix 2EA 12299-2. Recorded 19 Sep 1947.

• Siegfried's horn Call, played by Lucien Thévet

The horn call from Act II of Wagner's Siegfried. Lucien Thévet, horn (Selmer). London LD 9206.

• Villanelle

Lucien Thévet, horn; Claude Ambrosini, piano. London LD 9206.

• Pastoral from Frank Levy's Suite no. 1

Calvin Smith, horn; John Dressler, piano. Crystal S371.

• IHS Workshop, Bloomington, Ind., 12-16 Jun 1972


• Orrin Olson Recordings

Created: 24 Oct 2011
Changed: 5 Jul 2025