Grace Notes

musician profile: Todd Williams, Natural Horn

JO SHUTE

Todd will be joining Upper Valley Baroque for the first time to perform in “Handel’s Water Music & More”.

How did you get interested in and start playing the Natural Horn?

It was dumb luck. Really. Chalk it up to being at the right place at the right time. I’ll never forget it – It was early in my tutelage at Indiana University. Richard Seraphinoff was my very first teacher. (Prior to college, I was self-taught. I had never had formal private lessons until college. My father, also an IU Music alum, gave me a book by Philip Farkas called, “The Art of French Horn Playing” and by reading it, I taught myself how to play the horn.) Unbeknownst to me, Rick (who had also studied with Philip Farkas — as well as Lowell Greer and other Maestros of the horn), was a major figure in the Natural Horn world in America.

One day during a lesson, I was frustrated while playing a particular étude; I’m certain Rick was equally frustrated at hearing me butcher that same étude. As the horn dropped into my lap while sighing, I pointed to a valveless natural horn in his studio. You see, Rick’s studio was lined with natural horns: hanging on the walls, lying on his desk, there were even a few on the floor – it was heaven, I just hadn’t realized at first. I asked, “what’s that,” pointing to a natural horn. “Oh this?” he replied, while proceeding to hand it to me. “Try it.” I played my first notes. And it was love at first sight. And that moment changed my life.

The following semester I signed up for natural horn lessons in addition to my modern valve horn lessons. Essentially, I went from no lessons to double lessons a week every year for six years during my time at Indiana. (I had a lot of catching up to do.) Toward the end of my time at IU, I’d even swapped my focus from the valve horn to the valveless horn, ultimately earning degrees in both.

Since you play both natural and modern horn, what is required of you when you switch between them? 

As a Principal horn, many of the same principles remain across the board: leadership, guidance, be the example, etc. In terms of performance execution, you really must focus on fundamentals. Good basic tone production, articulation, rhythm — those are universal. There are a few small details that are specific to the natural horn (for example, the overall length of pipe – i.e. different crooks – will affect response time), and there are some articulation variations that differ from Baroque v. Classical v. modern that must be addressed, but it’s really style and nuance and sense of phrasing that separates a modern player from a period player. One isn’t greater than the other; it’s just different. And these attributes must be at your fingertips if you wish to toggle between the two worlds.

Do you have a favorite or most memorable venue where you have performed?  

Oooooh so many. Over the course of my career, I’ve had the distinct privilege of performing in nearly every major concert hall on the East Coast of America. Most recently, I’d have to say performing in Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra undergoing the famed marathon performance of all (five!) Rachmaninoff piano concertos (in one day!) with Yuja Wang soloing and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting simply must feature on this list. And I won’t even go into last year’s European Festivals Tour where we performed at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg or the Philharmonie Berlin, or KKL in Lucerne or the Philharmonie de Paris — one of the all-time greatest acoustics, by the way. I’ve been pretty lucky in this life.

On the Natural Horn, it’s always a thrill to perform in Symphony Hall in Boston as well as in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., but I must say, an all-time high would be performing in the Opéra Royal in the Château de Versailles in France. Actually, I’ve done it twice. The first time was for Monsigny’s Le Roi et le Fermier using a set dating back to 1762! In the archives of Versailles, it’s said that Marie Antoinette (an avid opera fan in fact), attended a performance of the work, which utilized this very set. The second time was for a double-bill of Philidor’s Les Femmes Vengées and Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutti (in French) using a similarly historic set. Being in that space performing that music on old instruments, it was simply magical.

Are there any “special projects" you are working on this year?

As I write this, I’m currently working on a program with the Philadelphia Orchestra featuring a world premiere of a violin concerto performed by Gil Shaham as well as a Philly premier of a choral piece (commissioned by Yannick Nézet-Séguin) written in response to COVID specifically to be paired with the Brahms Requiem. It’s been a very moving week of truly meaningful music making.

On the Natural Horn: Just after my time with UVB, I’ll be performing Mozart’s Horn Quintet in Boston. This is always a special opportunity. It’s a marvelous piece (and certainly one of my favorites) that, in many ways, is much more demanding of the player’s abilities than any of his concerti. Aside from that, I have so many stalwarts this season: Bach’s B Minor Mass along with his Brandenburg Concerti, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, as well as (another!) Brahms Requiem and all on period instruments. It’s going to be a fun few months!

Do you have any "horn" stories relating to Handel's Water Music?

Actually, Handel’s Water Music is massively important to me. I was 10 years old when I knew I wanted to be a horn player. I grew up in a musical family. There was always music playing. One of the recordings that I absolutely wore out was a cassette tape of Handel’s Water Music.

Is there anything else you would like people to know?

I’m a huge foodie and an even bigger lover of wine. During the pandemic when I wasn’t able to perform, for a very brief moment, I actually considered becoming a sommelier.

A preeminent exponent of the Natural Horn in America, Todd Williams is an active performer and educator based in Philadelphia. In high demand, he currently serves as Principal Horn of numerous ensembles across the country including Philharmonia Baroque, the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Mercury, Opera Lafayette, Tempesta di Mare, and more. 

Source:  https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/williams-todd