August Neithardt – Concerto for 2 Horns and Orchestra
Heinrich August Neithardt was born on 10 August 1793 in Schleiz in the Vogtland region and died on 18 April 1861 in Berlin. From 1817 he worked there as a military bandmaster.
You can find more about his biography on french-horn.net.
His Concerto for two horns and orchestra was written in 1818 and published as orchestral parts by the Leipzig publisher Breitkopf & Härtel as early as March 1819. There is no record of a performance of the work, and the print carries no dedication. Given its high technical demands, however, it can be assumed that the concerto was written for two outstanding soloists.
Although valve technology had already been invented in 1814 and its developer Heinrich Stölzel was active in Berlin, Neithardt's concerto was most likely still conceived for valveless Inventionshörner (hand horns).
