A survey of solo horn works composed in the late twentieth century exhibits the strong influence of horn performers on the instrument's expanding solo repertoire. Hornists such as Jeffrey Agrell, David Amram, Paul Basler, Randall Faust, Lowell Greer, Douglas Hill, Lowell Shaw, Jeffrey Snedeker, and many others have contributed worthwhile new works to the horn repertoire. These works take advantage of recent compositional trends in order to showcase the full spectrum of musical possibilities available to the modern hornist.
The goal of this study is to draw attention to the large body of horn solo repertoire that has been composed by hornists from 1970 to 2005, to explore the technical challenges it poses, to consider common trends among the works of several hornist-composers, and to encourage performance of this repertoire. Chapter One provides an overview of the project and examines the relevant existing research. Chapter Two provides a brief historical context by summarizing the contribution of several representative players, including Jan Vaclav Stich (a.k.a. Giovanni Punto), Louis-Francois Dauprat, Jacques-Francois Gallay, and Franz Strauss, to the solo horn repertoire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Chapter Three surveys the more recent repertoire with discussion of selected characteristic works from the last thirty-five years that demonstrate current trends in horn solo composition. These trends include the introduction of jazz elements to the solo horn repertoire, the revival of the natural horn, and the use of nontraditional accompaniments including various types of electronic media. Chapter Four provides the conclusions of the study. This project concludes with a catalog of works composed by horn performers between 1970 and 2005.