The viability of the horn trio was definitively established by Brahms in 1865. He had learned the natural horn as a child and infused his Trio with a range of moods, including a deeply felt slow movement in honour of his mother who had died earlier in the year and a carefree finale which explores the horn’s hunting legacy. Inspired by this precedent, Lennox Berkeley’s Trio is lively and characterful with a sequence of ingenious and playful variations. GRAMMY-nominated Jonathan Leshnoff is one of America’s leading contemporary composers and his 2016 Trio moves from darkness to light, and is full of pointed syncopations, before arriving at a joyous conclusion.

Brahms’ Horn Trio, Op. 40, is among his most beloved works, with its lovely melodic opening movement and its somber Adagio written in memory of the composer’s mother, giving way to an apotheosis of the hunting horn in its exuberant finale. Yet for all its accessibility, the work is also among Brahms’ most intellectual in a way; the challenges of combining a horn, a violin, and a piano turn it into an essay about texture. Brahms solved these problems so elegantly that few other composers have taken on the form. Here, hornist David Cooper, violinist Alexander Kerr, and pianist Orion Weiss uncover two modern examples of the form and deliver enthusiastic performances throughout. Lennox Berkeley’s Trio for violin, horn, and piano, Op. 44, is an essentially neoclassic work, ending in a big variation set that makes extensive use of the same fourth interval that pervades the Brahms. Jonathan Leshnoff’s two-movement trio is entirely tonal and accessible yet draws on some of Brahms’ solutions regarding the texture. Everything here is highly listenable, and horn players in search of repertory are encouraged to check it out. – James Manheim