It's called the “noble instrument.” One of the earliest instruments, originally used for hunting and military purposes, the French horn has grown in importance since the 19th century. But it is not often featured as soloist.

        New York-based horn player David Jolley will perform Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 2 with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra Sunday and Monday. One of the founding members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Jolley has recorded more than two dozen CDs with that ensemble on the Arabesque label.

IF YOU GO

What: Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Mischa Santora, conductor; David Jolley, French horn.     When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.     Tickets: $5-$20 Sunday; $4-$17 Monday. 723-1182.     The program: Bartok, Divertimento for Strings; Strauss, Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major; Haydn, Symphony No. 99.

        He is on the faculty of Queens College and the Mannes School of Music, and is visiting professor of horn at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He is a native of Los Angeles.

        We caught up with Mr. Jolley at home to ask him a few questions about his instrument.

        Question: What is the horn player's biggest challenge?

Answer: It's presenting the horn in its real light. It's known to be a difficult instrument, but there's a real sense of drama and it can convey a wide range of emotions.

        Part of the drama is that a horn player might miss a note at any moment — it's like a bullfight in a way. It's the instrument that is most like the human voice. My job is to open up that world for people.

        Q: What are some horn solos to die for?

A: The horn is lucky. We have more concertos than any wind instrument, except maybe the flute. There are four by Mozart, two by Haydn, two by Strauss, one by Gliere and one by Hindemith.

        In orchestral repertoire, it's the romantic voice without equal — solos like the slow movement of Tchaikovsky's Fifth, or the opening of Wagner's Overture to The Flying Dutchman. You have these twin sides of the horn's personality: the romantic, lonely side in the Tchaikovsky, then this heroic fire in the Wagner.

        Q: Why is there confusion about the name “French horn”?

A: Some people say it's a misnomer. But if you just say "horn,' people think you're a "jazzer.' They say, do you play sax? Trumpet?

        Originally it was the hunting horn. There was a Bohemian count — Count Sporck — who wanted to hear his beloved hunting horns playing with his court orchestra. So those were the first guys who wiped the mud off their boots and came indoors.

        Then in the 1660s, the French took (the instrument) and developed it. They got the credit.

        Q: How old were you when you decided to play the French horn?

A: I started at age 10, which is very young for a horn player. I'm a product of the public school music programs in Los Angeles. Rental instruments were shipped to the school each year, and one year there was a French horn. I progressed rapidly. By age 14, I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

        I studied with the studio players. Wendell Hoss was my teacher (he also was the teacher of CSO principal horn player Robin Graham). The L.A. school of horn playing is a great school, but all the movie guys said to go to New York to have a real career.

        Q: Who inspired you most?

A: I grew up on Dennis Brain records. He was the greatest hornist of all time, from England, who was killed in a car accident in 1957 at age 36. So I think of my playing as an L.A.-English blend.

        My non-horn influences included the legendary French flutist Marcel Moyse, who taught at the Marlboro Festival (in Vermont). He was a master who would rage at you until you did what he wanted. It gave me not only a sense of playing the horn in the most natural way possible, but also a sense of the musical language.

        Q: What are some of the physical challenges of playing the horn?

A: It's a simple instrument to play. It doesn't need technique like the violin, piano or clarinet. But it is the hardest (in terms of) training the lips, the mouth and throat cavity, the stomach muscles, the back muscles — and getting them to work together.

        The embouchure (the way the lips and tongue are applied to the mouthpiece to produce a tone) is very intuitive. It's like yoga; you're never working directly with what you're going for. For me, it's part of the fascination of the instrument.

        It's the ultimate zen instrument. It's like shooting arrows in the dark; when you do it right, you hit the target.

        I tell my students, just do it a thousand times; then you'll have it.
       

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