Thursday, January 29, 2004

By Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lip-reading took on an entirely different meaning in the Green Room of Heinz Hall last week. Four French horn players of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra stared at a pair of head-shot photographs covered up except for the lips. It was a test, for fun, to see just how immersed each was in their field. The faces were pop sensation Beyonce Knowles, one of the most photographed women alive, and noted horn player Barry Tuckwell, someone whom even most of the classical music world wouldn't recognize.

	The Pittsburgh Symphony horn section this weekend will perform Schumann's "Konzertstuck" for four horns and orchestra. From left are Joseph Rounds, Ronald Schneider, Robert Lauver and William Caballero.

"The top one is Tuckwell," said one immediately, although offering no opinion on the other. "It's Tuckwell and maybe Mariah Carey?" queried another, and a third chimed in to exclaim: "Well, Tuckwell, but the other isn't Britney Spears, but ... um ... that's a tough one."

People magazine might beg to differ, but any horn player will tell you this crew passed the test with flying colors. "He has a recognizable mouth," said one, instigating plenty of hearty laughter.

Welcome to the world of the horn player.

Down to brass tacks

To be a horn player is to sit in the back of the orchestra with your sound-producing bells pointed away from the audience. To be a horn player is to roll the dice when attempting a note due to the temperamental nature of the instrument and the stress it puts on your vibrating lips. To be a horn player is to be asked to hold the group together with interior harmonies and still produce in brilliant solos.

No wonder these guys are a little different from the rest of the orchestra. (They play in rehearsals only if the conductor asks specifically for "horns," not just brass). No wonder, then, that the PSO's outstanding section of six horns is looking forward to four of its members stepping out in front of the orchestra for Robert Schumann's ebul- lient "Konzertstuck" for four horns and orchestra this weekend.

William Caballero, Robert Lauver, Ronald Schneider and Joseph Rounds are part of a horn section that's in its prime and playing with a collective hot hand. Everywhere the PSO goes, the section receives notice. But it's not just their talent, it's how they interact that may be the key to their success.

	Pittsburgh Symphony FEATURING: John Eliot Gardiner, conductor; William Caballero, Robert Lauver, Ronald Schneider and Joseph Rounds, horns. PROGRAM: Schumann's "Konzertstuck"; Shostakovich's "Chamber Symphony" based on Quartet No. 8; Brahms' Symphony No. 2 WHERE: Heinz Hall, Downtown. WHEN: 8 p.m. tomorrow through Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. TICKETS: $19-$69, 412-392-4900.

"There really is a strong sense of team, of personalities getting along," says Schneider. "Not every section of the orchestra has that. All six of us get along very well. Everyone is trusting and respectful of one another. We have a common goal: To laugh and make fun of the other guy, whoever isn't there."

Actually, this boisterous group doesn't really need the other guy to be absent to have a little fun with him. Laughter and kidding go hand-in-hand with even the most sincere conversations. They have fun and it fuels them.

"I'd have to say since I have been in [several] horn sections, that it is not as common as you might think, especially at the high levels," says Lauver. "We are like a school of fish. If one turns the others turn, and you don't have to think about it." Adds Rounds, "It is supportive. We all know that there is stuff [we play] that's not absolutely perfect, but we are not finger pointers."

Much of the credit goes to the principal player, Caballero, whose renowned sound is matched by his trademark of gesturing to his section when a conductor asks for him to stand after a performance.

"As you look around, there are a lot of prima donnas," says Schneider. "Bill makes it very comfortable to say and do whatever." Then a wry grin spreads across his face: "But he also knows that everyone loves the way he plays. He can sit back and make his comments such as, 'Everyone plays much better than I do,' and we all laugh."

The cohesion of the section, rounded out by Martin Smith and Zachary Smith, is helped by the fact that the members aspired to be orchestral rather than solo players. They value blending over showmanship, and star players such as Dennis Brain and Tuckwell exerted less influence than Mason Jones (Philadelphia Orchestra), Dale Clevenger (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Myron Bloom (Cleveland Orchestra) to name a few. "I wanted to get a sound like Roland Berger [Vienna Philharmonic] or Clevenger," says Schneider. "I wanted to play in an orchestra."

As imposing as these titans of the field were, many say that horn playing is better today across the board. "There is a lot of discussion about why horns are more consistent today than they were back then," says Caballero. "Part of that is equipment is better, we have [recordings], but more importantly seasons are longer."

'A freak show'
Schumann wrote "Konzertstuck" in 1849, at a time when the horn was still developing as an instrument. In the prior 60 years or so to this work, instrument makers had been introducing types of valves to the once valve-less horn that allowed it to navigate in many keys and with a greater range.

"Two parts of the 'Konzertstuck' were meant for valved horns, and two for valve-less," says Lauver, explaining just how fluid the situation was. The PSO horn players will use their everyday instruments, though Caballero will employ a mouthpiece that helps him hit high notes.

Schumann enthusiastically supported the "new" valved horn in his compositions, and once named "Konzertstuck" among his best works, but the concerto isn't heard often despite its consummate use of the horn as a Romantic instrument in all its capacities.

Why?

"Well, it's a freak show for the first horn," says Lauver of the high part that Caballero must perform. "Not very many players can do it. Look at the major symphony orchestras in the country and check their repertory -- you'll be surprised at how few do it."

"I think [Schumann's wife] Clara was sleeping with a horn player at the time and he wanted to punish all horn players," jokes Rounds.

"There is nothing in all of Schumann's symphonies that is anyway near as demanding as this," says Schneider.

This is on top of the difficulty of simply playing the French horn at all. Even at the highest professional levels, it is hard just to vibrate one's lips and simultaneously blow into a long coil of brass to sound a burnished note at the other end. "You can miss anything," says Schneider. Adds Rounds, "It's never a two-inch putt. They are always three-footers."

The three-movement "Konzertstuck" should be heard with the thrill of a figure skating competition or an overtime hockey period. "Part of the excitement of the piece is that even today, it is challenging," says Lauver.

"We were asked in the spring of 1990 to do it, and I was not ready to play that piece." says Caballero. "It has taken me this long to get comfortable with it and get the right equipment. Even so as Caballero promises, "We are going to push the band."

Somehow, that's not surprising. Timid isn't a trait this group acknowledges.

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