Transcription and the Horn, with a New Transcription of Robert Schumann’s Fünf Stücke Im Volkston, Op. 102 for Horn and Piano by the Author

Transcriptions, despite their prevalence, are still disparaged by a surprising number of educated listeners. This has always struck me as odd, since most of history’s greatest composers have at least dabbled in the art of transcription, and some have taken it on as a significant form of expression. Since the horn has comparatively few great solo works written for it before the twentieth century, I find myself constantly listening to works written for other instruments and wondering what they would sound like on the horn. This is exactly what happened with Robert Schumann’s cello piece, Fünf Stücke im Volkston, op. 102. As I began transcribing the piece for horn, I also began wondering what it is that drives us to create transcriptions and other derivative works. Chapter two begins to tackle this question and others like it, but first, we must understand what exactly a transcription is, and what all the variations on it are (including variations!). Chapter one serves as a comprehensive introduction to transcriptions. To thoroughly understand the scope of transcriptions and to dispel the myth that they are somehow inferior, I took an in-depth look at their progression—from the middle ages to 2019—in chapter three. This is not to say that all transcriptions are good. Chapter four helps to explain where some transcribers go wrong, while also exploring the history of horn transcriptions. Chapter five details some of Schumann’s significance in the history of the horn’s repertoire, and also explains some of the choices I made when creating my transcription. It is my hope that this transcription will prove to be a valuable contribution to the horn’s repertoire