Concerto No.7 in D major for Horn (Horn & Piano)

Stich-Punto Concerto No.7 in D major for Horn (Horn & Piano)

Jan Václav Stich alias Giovanni Punto (1746 – 1803) was a Czech horn player and a pioneer of the hand stopping technique which allows natural horns to play a greater number of notes.  As a composer his legacy includes 16 horn concertos and a concerto for two horns and orchestra as well as various chamber music works.

Born in 1746 it Schuchitz near Tschaslau, he received instruction from Matiegka in Prague and Hampel in Dresden.  He fled from Prague to avoid bonded service, turned up as court musician in Hechingen, Mainz and Würzburg, and finally achieved a long appointment with Count Artois in Paris, where Mozart composed for him the horn part of his Concertante, K.App.I/9.  Six years later he undertook an artistic tour through Germany in his own coach, a triumphant tour with full halls.  Returning to France, he was caught up in the chaos of the revolution, composed hymns to Freedom and Supreme Being, and directed the orchestra at the Theatre aux Varietes amusants.

Soon after his return to Germany in 1798 he fell ill. In order to help him, Beethoven composed for him his Horn Sonata Op.17.  On February 17th, 1803 Stich died in Prague in the greatest poverty.

The present concerto consists of the lst and 2nd movements of Concerto No.VII and the 3rd movement of Concerto No.V.  The parts are to be found in the Bibliothique Nationale, Paris, under the signature VM 24/235 and 233.  This compilation was chosen because of the inferiority of the 3rd movement of the VIIth concerto compared with the 2nd, whereas the 3rd movement of the Vth concerto is a marked improvement.  Such an exchange on account of efficacy was familiar to musicians of the time.

- Full score & performance material (SM1869-72) available for hire