Concerto No.2 for horn and orchestra

Richard Strauss's Second Horn Concerto was composed in 1942 as one of the composer's final significant works and shows him in his mature late period. Unlike the opulent tone poems of his youth or his dramatic operas, the concerto presents itself in a remarkably neoclassical manner. The musical language combines late Romantic harmony with a transparent, chamber music-like orchestration that always allows sufficient space for the solo instrument.

The work stands in the tradition of German horn concertos and connects to Strauss's own First Horn Concerto from 1883. The composer, who came from a Munich musical family and had known the horn since childhood, writes idiomatically for the instrument and exploits its entire expressive range—from lyrical cantilenas to virtuosic passages. The E-flat major key emphasizes the work's warm, noble character.

Despite its late composition during World War II, the concerto seems like a retrospective look at a vanished world of the bourgeoisie and classical education. Strauss is said to have conceived the work as a kind of musical testament reflecting his lifelong connection to the German orchestral tradition.