AMERICAN HORN QUARTET

• Take 9 / American Horn Quartet

"To the American Horn Quartet (AHQ), virtually nothing is impossible. Their program opens with a stunner—a fanfare from which the album takes its title, Take 9, written by one of the Quartet’s members, Kerry Turner. This attention-grabber is followed by three more numbers by Turner, plus original compositions by or arrangements of five more composers. You think Bernstein’s Candide Overture is beyond the ability of a horn ensemble? Think again. Arrangements of Paul Desmond’s Take Five and Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm have long been encore pieces by respectively the New York Phil horn ensemble and the AHQ. A most enjoyable and entertaining release. "We can rejoice that this post-“final” disc has reached us, for it contains still further proof of just what made this ensemble so successful... To the American Horn Quartet, virtually nothing is impossible. You think Bernstein’s Candide Overture is beyond the ability of a horn ensemble? Think again... The arrangement by Warren Deck is stunning—Candide’s mentor and philosopher Pangloss himself would surely have called it the best of all possible arrangements. This you gotta hear... The program opens with another stunner—a fanfare from which the album takes its title, Take 9, written by one of the Quartet’s members, Kerry Turner. This attention-grabbing number brims with the spirit of John Williams’s Star Wars music... a most enjoyable and entertaining release."

Robert Markow, Fanfare [January/February 2020]

" ...a special disc filled with unimaginable artistry...terrific spirit and energy...a fantastic presentation of just about every aspect of horn playing one can imagine..."

The Horn Call [May 2004]

" ...the playing is great...this CD should be an inspiration to hornists everywhere."

 Fanfare [April/May 2004]

"Horn playing throughout is positively dazzling, particularly in the Candide Overture, a tour-de-force of horn virtuosity...the sound is outstanding, brilliantly capturing the glistening sound of massed horns."

Classical CD Review

One the world’s most esteemed chamber groups has teamed up with one of the world’s most storied horn sections for a disc that is - literally and figuratively - a blast! This recording is, by any measure, a virtuoso performance. The nine players involved, all gifted in their own right, combine their talents to create an end result that is nothing short of breathtaking. From commissioned works to clever arrangements, The American Horn Quartet and The Horns of the New York Philharmonic tear through this music with a verve and flair rarely heard these days. In short, if you’re a fan of the horn, you must have this recording. KERRY TURNER
Take 9 - Antiphonal Fanfare
Farewell to Red Castle
Barbara Allen
Ghosts of Dublin

ERIC EWAZEN
Grand Canyon Suite

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (arr. Deck)
Overture to Candide

JOHANNES BRAHMS (arr. Elkjer)
Hungarian Dance No.5

PAUL DESMOND (arr. Custer/Myers)
Take Five

GEORGE GERSHWIN (arr. Yates)
I Got Rhythm
 



MSR Classics