Radek Baborák - Pauer, Glière: Horn Concertos (2021)

Radek Baborák and the FOK Prague Symphony Orchestra with their principal conductor Tomáš Brauner introduce two essential yet seldom recorded works of the horn literature of the 20th century: concertos for horn and orchestra by Jiří Pauer (1919–2007) and Reinhold Glière (1875–1956), created in the 1950s, six years apart. Both the composers represented on this album, Jiří Pauer and Reinhold Glière, lived and worked under the conditions of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, respectively, and belonged among the artists loyal to the regime, officially celebrated, and active in various leading administrative positions. At the same time, they were responsible for creating excellent compositions and educating other significant artists across several generations, and often managed to rebel against the regime and defend artistic quality wherever it was necessary (Pauer, for instance, fought for the rehabilitation of Václav Talich after WWII). Their concertos for horn are among the best of their compositional legacy, and are also amongst the most popular pieces in the horn repertoire.

Radek Baborák, one of the leading horn players in the world, is ideally suited to performing these pieces. He said of the birth of this recording: “It was a great delight for me to record this album along with the FOK Prague Symphony Orchestra and their principal conductor Tomáš Brauner, who is a dear friend as well as an excellent professional colleague. The fact that this happened in difficult times – and not only for culture – makes it all the more valuable. Both pieces are affairs of the heart: I have played them many times and I truly wished to document them on record. I am very lucky to be recording them now, when I feel I am at the right age and level of experience, experience that is indispensable and that I put back into my performance. I wish the album did not only serve for enjoyable listening but also to educate students of the horn, to give them energy and a desire to let the horn sound in its fullness and power.”