February is a big month for the VHD. We began with a chilly but beautiful photo shoot in the woods just outside Luxembourg city, courtesy of the young and talented Frédérique Bouchard. It had been ages since we had new publicity photos made, so the time was ripe to update our look and prepare for coming attractions.
Next week, our lovely pianist, Lauretta Bloomer, will arrive in Luxembourg. We will be rehearsing two programs together. The first is for our Valentine’s Day concert in Bertrange, Luxembourg (practical info here). The horn has the most romantic sound of any instrument (not that we’re biased!). The program includes works by Kerry Turner, Jerome Kern, Henry Smart, Antonio Jobim, and our finale, “Somewhere” by Leonard Bernstein. This is the beautiful arrangement we offered the audience at the 40th-anniversary celebration concert for the Association Française du Cor. https://youtu.be/w0PGHa_FJSI
The biggest news this month, however, is that we are flying to Vienna a few days later in order to record a CD of Kerry’s solo compositions for the Naxos label. Kerry and Lauretta will record two pieces together: Couperin Variations and ‘Twas a Dark and Stormy Night (revised version for horn and piano, 2019). Kristina and Lauretta will lay down the tracks for a brand-new edition of the extremely popular Sonata for Horn and Piano as well as two newer works: Candles in the Darkness (premiered at the International Horn Symposium in Natal, Brazil, by the same two artists in 2017) and Abide With Me, a soul-searching opus commissioned last year by Portuguese horn player Ricardo Matosinhos. Also on the album will be Kerry’s Suite for Unaccompanied Horn (played by the composer) and an earlier composition, the Chaconne for Three Horns. English virtuoso Frank Lloyd will join the Virtuoso Horn Duo in bringing this work to life. We are very much looking forward to working with our producer, Marco Battistella, in his Viennese recording studio.
All works, with the exception of the Chaconne, either are or will soon be available from Phoenix Music Publications.
Virtuoso Horn Duo 