Past Performances

Orchestral works and concertos by Kerry Turner

It is with great pleasure that we present these four works for 2 solo horns and chamber orchestra. The opening concerto by Haydn has been a source of controversy among horn players for quite some time. This charming and highly melodic work has all the trademarks of a concerto by his contemporary, the horn player Antonio Rosetti. Indeed, it would not at all have been unusual for Rosetti to use the great Haydn name in order to sell what may have been his finest piece of music. Apparently that sort of thing was done rather regularly in those days. The version on this recording is from the first publication of the Oettinger-Wallenstein Manuscript and was arranged by Edmond Leloir. The concerto in E-flat by Rosetti, which we have included on this album, could almost stand as proof of this theory as there are many similarities betwen the two works. Antonio Rosetti understood the horn remarkably well - he was after all a horn player - and thi si quite evident in these two works. The version recorded here of the Concerto Grosso number II from the larger group of works entitled "L'estro armonico" is an arrangement that was presented to us by Mr. Zoltan Varga with the request that we perform it at the Hungarian International Horn Festival at Mór. After assessing its succcess, we decided to include it on this recording and it has become a staple of our repertoire ever since. The decision regarding the fourth work of the album was not an easy one. There is, after all, a plethora of great concertos written for 2 horns and orchestra - Bach, Vivaldi, Leopold Mozart, Kuhlau, Händel and Telemann, just to name a few. Naturally, we wanted to include something a little bit different and perhaps something new. Thus we came upon the idea ot rework a piece of mine originally composed for solo horn and organ. We had previously performed this piece rearranged for 2 horns and piano at a recital in Rome. At the time, I knew that this Gothic sounding work had not yet found its true home. Adding some new material and a few special effects and reworking it for string orchestra seemed to be an answer to this call. The story behind the piece is a simple one: there is a writers competition called the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, inspired by the parenthetical, rambling, melodramatic opening lines of a novel by the author of the same name. Contestants submit a sentence intended to open a novel, usually comic or satirical in nature, along the lines of the original "It was a dark and stormy night..." It just so happens that this is a wonderful way to start a musical composition as well. I truly had no idea where I was going with this work until I wrote the opening solo horn call - my version of "Twas a dark and stormy night..."

Over the past 10 years, several CD recordings of the chamber works of Kerry Turner have been released. The programs for these projects had been more or less comprised of works composed around the same periods of time. His prodigious output over the past two decades makes it somewhat simple, generally speaking, to categorize Mr. Turner's works into several different styles. The works from the late nineteen-eighties combine an interesting Shostokovitch-like sound to Turner s already developing Western-American style. The Sonata for Horn and Strings on this album provides a very good example of this. As Kerry Turner performed increasingly frequently and further abroad with the renowned American Horn Quartet, it became clear to him that audiences around the world desired to hear more of the Western-American sound. It is, after all, an intrinsic and colorful style, unique to the United States. The development of this particular sound is largely due, of course, to the soundtracks of the great American Western films seen around the world. The Quartet Number 3 on this CD is quite possibly the best example of Turner s compositional style during this period in the mid-nineties. As the millennium approached, and Kerry began to look toward his 40th birthday, he started to seek a deeper level at which to express himself. A keen interest in counterpoint and a deep insight into the works of Arnold Schoenberg exuded a strong influence on his compositional technique and style. Although two works on this CD, Quarter-After-Four and Rhapsody for Nine Instruments are perhaps not the best examples of the music from this particular period of Turner s opus, the influences of counterpoint and Schoenberg are nevertheless evident. There has been, however, one element in Turner s works that has prevailed throughout all his musical development periods: his fascination with history and historical events.

Heroes (1997) is a three movement tone-poem for large brass ensemble and pays homage to three inspiring people in history who have displayed undaunted courage. The Casbah of Tetouan was conceived during a visit to Morocco in the summer of 1988. First recorded by the American Horn Quartet in a version for five horns, it appears here in its original instrumentation for brass ensemble. Farewell to Red Castle (1985) is based on a traditional Scottish pipe march presumably inspired by the Red Castle of Beauly Firth, possibly the oldest inhabited castle in Scottland. Originally written for string orchestra, this piece has also been recorded by the American Horn Quartet with the NY Philharmonic horn section and receives it's world premier on this recording in a version for Brass Octet. The form is traditionally a theme with 4 variations and a finale. Ghost Riders (1994) (Brass Octet and Optional Voice) was inspired by a traditional Western American folk song. It tells of a cowboy who, while riding the range, has a terrifying encounter with a ghostly herd of cattle. In the vision a ghost rider warns him to better his sinful ways or end up riding with the devil herd for the rest of eternity. The Labyrinth (1995/6) is for large brass ensemble and percussion. The inspiration for the piece came from a dream where one stands before the gate of a giant labyrinth. It contains countless corridors which must be traversed before one can successfully exit the maze. Improvisation (1998) If a jazz musician is asked to improvise a solo during a number, he will invent variations on the song being played and spontaneously adjust the themes and harmonies to fit his own style, mood and capabilities. That is more or less what has been doen with this piece, hence the name. Kaitsenko (1991, arr. 2995) is the name of an exclusive warrior society of the Kiowa Indians. The Kaitsenko vowed to die only together with their enemies in battle. Soundings on "The Erie Canal" (1984) is based on the well-known American folk song "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal". The piece is meant to be light hearted and fun rather than a serious addition to the brass quintet repertoire.

Our long awaited recording of Robert Schumann's original 1849 version of the Konzertstck took place in Warsaw in July, 2003. With the accompaniment of the famous Sinfonia Varsovia and the baton of Dariusz Wisniewski, the AHQ also recorded three other original works for 4 horns and orchestra: Handel's Concerto in F, Telemann's Mythological Suite and Haydn's 31st Symphony "mit dem Hornsignal." This CD is only available from the AHQ!

The production of this exciting CD took place in August, 2002, with help from the horn section of the New York Philharmonic. This brilliant CD features horn octets by Kerry Turner and Eric Ewazen. There are also riveting arrangements of Bernstein's Candid Overture, Brahm's Hungarian Dance Nr. 5, Paul Desmond's Take Five and I've Got Rhythm by Gershwin.

This latest CD from the American Horn Quartet and Kerry Turner features Turner's Quartet Nr. 4 and the exciting Fandango. This CD also features other chamber music including Ricochet, performed by the Saturday Brass Quintet of New York as well as Turner's The Labyrinth, performed by the Brass of the Luxemburg Philharmonic.

The AHQ is proud to present our latest CD including works by J. S. Bach, Georg Philip Telemann and other famous Baroque composers. Many of our favorite fugues from Bach's "Wohl Temperierte Klavier" and many selections from the "Art of the Fugue" can be heard on this Album. Also included on this CD is an arrangement of the famous "Toccata and Fugue in d-minor", arranged for 6 horns by kerry Turner, recorded with the help of Diane Eaton (hornist with the Basel Symphony Orchestra) and Andrew Hale (principal horn of the Southwest German Philharmonic in Konstanz).

The third CD involving the AHQ, this disc features chamber music of various instrumentation composed by Kerry Turner. Members of the AHQ perform such works as the "Sonata for Horn and Strings", "Sonata for Horn and Piano", "Six Lives of Jack McBride" (Horn, Violin, Tenor and Piano) and "Kaitsenko" (Brass Quintet). This combination of the Western American sound with European refinement is not to be missed.

This CD contains many of the more "classical" works performed by the AHQ. The album starts off with Robert Dickow's exciting "Entrance Fanfare", followed by a number of arrangements of romantic composers such as exerpts from "Carmen", by Bizet, choral works of Brahms and Debussy piano works. Also included on this CD are original quartets for horns by Castelnouovo-Tedesco, Dauprat, Homilius and Mitushin.

The first CD produced by the American Horn Quartet includes the "Fanfare for Barcs", "Casbah of Tetouan", "Quartet Nr. 1" and "Quartet Nr. 2, Americana" by Kerry Turner. Also on this CD is Langley's "Quartet for Horns" and "Fripperies" 1 through 8 by Lowell Shaw. With guest artists Andrew Hale (horn) and Bonnie Adelson (drum).

This second CD by the AHQ has Kerry Turner's "Quartet Nr. 3" as well as the famous "Sonata fur Vier Horner" by Paul Hindemith, "Concerto for Four Horns" by Walter Perkins and an exciting arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story".