Matthew Bronstein
Horn
Matthew Bronstein, born and raised in Agoura Hills, CA, received his bachelor’s degree in Horn performance from Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he studied with Dale Clevenger, the long-time principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A highly praised freelancer in the Chicagoland area, he spent two years as a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has performed with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Montreal, Milwaukee, North Carolina, and Richmond as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, and the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. His versatility has allowed him to perform with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, while also working on multiple jazz and pop recordings with such recording studios as Hinge Inc., Engine Studios, and Transient Sound Inc. His attended summer festivals include the Spoleto Music Festival, the Midsummer Chamber Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, the Music Academy of the West, and the Round Top Music Festival. He is the horn player for Axiom Brass and can be heard on Axiom’s albums First Impressions and recently-released Astor.
Matthew Bronstein will perform Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1 with the Lakeview Orchestra on October 24, 2021. Learn more >>>
We sat down (virtually) with Matthew Bronstein, the horn soloist for our upcoming performance of Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation is below.
“I was, in a way, forced to join beginning band. It’s definitely not something I wanted to do at the time, but I’m very grateful seeing where I am now!”
When did you start playing horn?
I began playing in 6th grade when I was 11 years old. My brother, who is 7 years older than me, played trombone so my mom wanted me to play an instrument as well. There were two options: join beginning band or be involved in an elective course that changed subjects every two weeks. My mom wanted me to spend the entire year learning something and not just two weeks, so I was, in a way, forced to join beginning band. It’s definitely not something I wanted to do at the time, but I’m very grateful seeing where I am now!
“I grew up in Los Angeles, and the movies are a big part of life and culture. John Williams’ music was featured in many popular movies at the time, and he writes really well for horn. The french horn always had the best parts in the music and I was really drawn to the sound of the instrument.”
What made you choose horn? What excited you about it?
There were two things: First, I was a little bit of a teacher’s pet in school and the beginning band teacher was a horn player, so I thought I would get a good grade if I chose french horn. Second, I grew up in Los Angeles, and the movies are a big part of life and culture. John Williams’ music was featured in many popular movies at the time, and he writes really well for horn. The french horn always had the best parts in the music and I was really drawn to the sound of the instrument. It can be romantic, regal, aggressive, and can cover any known emotion and color probably more so than any other brass instrument.
“I had the opportunity to study with Dale Clevenger, who was principal of the Chicago Symphony for almost 50 years. I’d say the biggest factors that led me to want to play professionally were studying with Dale, seeing the Chicago Symphony every week, and being enveloped in the arts scene in Chicago.”
When did you realize you wanted to be a professional horn player?
Growing up, I had an incredible support system and musical inspiration. My first french horn teacher and my high school band director were both very powerful influences on me. When I was a junior in high school, I thought I was just going to apply to a music school only to get into a school, and then transfer into another program once I was accepted into the university. I was accepted at Chicago College of Performing Arts here in Chicago where I had the opportunity to study with Dale Clevenger, who was principal horn of the Chicago Symphony for almost 50 years. I’d say the biggest factors that led me to want to play professionally were studying with Dale, seeing the Chicago Symphony every week, and being enveloped in the arts scene in Chicago.
“You can hear this young composer trying to show everybody what he can do and that he’ll be around for a long time. It’s a showy piece with a lot of flare, excitement, and stereotypical brassy calls.”
What do you love most about Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1?
This concerto is a staple in the horn repertoire and everyone usually learns to play it within the first 5 years of playing the french horn. With any composer, you can hear how their personality is injected into their music. With Strauss, you see the clear trajectory of how he wrote when he was young vs how he wrote when he was older when he was more mature as a person and as a musician. Strauss’ first horn concerto was something that he wrote very young for his father, Franz Strauss, who was a horn player as well. You can hear this young composer trying to show everybody what he can do and that he’ll be around for a long time. It’s a showy piece with a lot of flare, excitement, and stereotypical brassy calls. In his second horn concerto, which he wrote much later in life, there are many more introspective qualities and musical maturity. You can tell that he’s an older man in his last few years of life and has had that respect for what has come before.
“French horn players rarely get opportunity to perform a solo with the orchestra so I’m thrilled to present this work in front of an orchestra.”
Have you performed this concerto before?
I have worked on this piece since I was 13 or 14 years old, but I have never actually performed it, let alone in front of an orchestra. In college, I always tended to steer away from the pieces that everyone played on their recitals. French horn players rarely get opportunity to perform a solo with the orchestra so I’m thrilled to present this work in front of an orchestra.
You’ve mentioned you’ve played the piece before and you’ve been very familiar with it for a while. How did you approach the piece when beginning to prepare it for this performance?
The first thing is dusting off the cobwebs and playing through it to get comfortable with the notes again. Along with this, I also listen to recordings of several other players to gain inspiration from what they do. I think the most important thing when preparing any piece of music, whether it’s for the first time or relearning something, is to understand what’s happening behind you, either in a piano accompaniment or in the orchestra. You can play something on your own and think that it goes a certain way, but when you hear what is actually happening in the orchestra part, you realize how differently you’ll want to phrase it.
For example, in the second movement, there’s an incredible moment where you play the same exact melody repeated twice in a minor key. If you play it by yourself, the melody sounds exactly the same both times. But in the orchestra there’s a clarinet duet with the solo horn on the second repetition that shifts the melody into a major key for a brief moment. It’s pretty magical, and you wouldn’t know this by only playing through the part by yourself. You would have to either listen to the piece or look through the score.
What are some interesting things the audience should listen for in this piece?
In many pieces, there are very clearly defined movements with separate ideas. In this piece, all of the movements are connected. The entire piece is based on the outline of an E-flat major triad and arpeggio, and this is first outlined in the opening of the piece. In the third movement, the E-flat triad is outlined once again when the horn enters and the opening call is also referenced again within this movement. There are even subtle and brief references in the third movement from the second movement in the orchestral part. It’s so interesting to hear all of the connections throughout the piece.