CADENZA PER CORNO (2002)

While the work puts the player through their paces in terms of extreme registers, precision and the ability to sustain pure notes, the virtuoso writing is deliberately constructed to make use of the instrument’s natural pitch-structures and the possibilities of virtuoso flair that are native to this incredibly difficult instrument, rather than creating an impossible monster that only a select few brilliant players may be able to master.

Alwyn Tomas Westbrooke

CADENZA PER CORNO (cadenza for French horn), one of Žuraj’s early solo works, presents the French horn in the full range of its virtuosity, combining extensive use of stopped and fluttertongue timbres with rapid figurations, as well as “reminiscences” on the melodic and fanfaric gestures traditionally associated with the instrument. While the work puts the player through their paces in terms of extreme registers, precision and the ability to sustain pure notes, the virtuoso writing is deliberately constructed to make use of the instrument’s natural pitch-structures and the possibilities of virtuoso flair that are native to this incredibly difficult instrument, rather than creating an impossible monster that only a select few brilliant players may be able to master.

Alwyn Tomas Westbrooke