All four works on this recording by the American Horn Quartet, ‘the finest brass chamber ensemble in the world’ (The American Record Guide), showcase the melodic capabilities of the horn in the upper register and make references to the horn’s historical rôle as a signalling instrument. Schumann’s virtuoso work, heard here in its original 1849 version with its additional high concert ‘A’s, explores the possibilities of the newly developed valve horn, which revolutionised the instrument not long after its first appearance in the concert hall.