Bruce Schultz, the principal horn player for the Symphony of Northest Arkansas, will have a chance to shine the spotlight on his instrument at SoNA's next performance.
"If it's Wagner or Strauss, it can be very aggressive. If it's Debussy, Ravel, it can be more transparent," says Bruce Schultz, describing the color his instrument brings to symphonic music. "If it's Mozart, then it's very direct."
It's that direct and often playful approach that Schultz gets to channel as the soloist in Mozart's Horn Concerto No.2, part of SoNA's Masterworks II: Mozart & Mendehlsson concert.
"You see little glimpses of Mozart's personality particularly in the third movement," says Schultz.
Mozart's composition recalls the horn's unrefined origins as a hunting signal- hardly suited for the elegant parlors of the aristocracy- with the orchestra mimicking the drumming of horse hooves.
"I have the sense that he was poking fun at the instrument," says Schultz.
Schultz's performance of Mozart's Horn Concerto No.2 will be presented alongsinde Mendelssohn's "Italian" symphony at at SoNA's Masterworks II: Mozart & Mendehlsson Concert Jan. 27 at the Walton Arts Center.
