Outstanding, striking the right balance between thoughtfulness and verve, planning and spontaneity…an excellent tone and the ability and temperatment to play heroically. -American Record Guide

Many music lovers are not aware that the father of composer Richard Strauss was himself a composer, although better known as one of the great French horn players. Franz Strauss (1822-1905) was principal horn of the Munich Court Opera Orchestra for over 40 years and played in the world premieres of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger and Parsifal. This definitive recording of Richard Strauss’s two famous horn concertos is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of one of his father’s works. Steven Gross is currently principal horn of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and professor of horn at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since February 1966, Dale Clevenger also pursues an active international conducting career. The Philharmonia Orchestra of Bratislava comprises the leading performers of the capital city of the Slovak Republic.

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