Hermann Baumann
Hermann Baumann gradually built a career as one of the world's leading horn players following his decision in 1967 to abandon work as an orchestral member in favor of teaching and concertizing. As his appearances in Germany and abroad drew critical acclaim and the frequency of his recordings increased, Baumann became widely recognized both for his interpretive acumen and virtuoso technique. His earliest major successes were in German repertory, particularly the concertos of Richard Strauss, Weber, and Mozart. But for most of his career Baumann also performed a broad range of works outside the German sphere by a list of composers including Pokorny, Glière, Saint-Saëns, Dukas, Chabrier, and Ligeti. What separated Baumann from his rivals was his uncanny versatility: he could perform with near flawless technique not only on modern horns but also on more ancient ones, including the Baroque-era corno da caccia. Baumann was among the most recorded horn players of his time, as well, having appeared on countless albums spread over a variety of labels, including DG, Philips, Teldec, Wergo, and Arthaus Musik.
Hermann Baumann was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 1, 1934. Until he was 17 his musical interest focused on singing and jazz drumming. But he advanced quickly, studying with horn virtuoso Fritz Huth in Hamburg. From about 1955 Baumann spent 12 years playing in orchestras: his most notable assignments were as first chair horn with the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra (1957-1961) and with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1961-1967). In 1964 Baumann captured first prize at the Bavarian Radio ARD competition in Munich.
Baumann devoted three decades of his career to teaching, doing two stints at the Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen, 1966-1980 and 1983-1996, with the three years in between spent at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart. Meanwhile his solo career took off: he debuted in 1967 with the Vienna Symphony in the Strauss Second Horn Concerto, recorded to acclaim the concertos of Mozart with Harnoncourt in 1972, and thereafter made regular concert tours at major venues throughout the world. In 1993 Baumann suffered a stroke, but eventually returned to activity on the concert scene and as a teacher primarily of master classes. In 2002 he joined the staff at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp in Lyman, NH, where he taught every June. Among Baumann's recordings were the 2008 reissue on Eloquence of the Haydn Horn Concerto No. 1 and the seven-disc Hermann Baumann Collection on Newton in 2011. Hermann Baumann died on December 29, 2023 at the age of 89.
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Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Richard Strauss: Horn Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Weber: Concertino For Horn & Orchestra
Hermann Baumann, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerti di caccia
Hermann Baumann, Radovan Vlatković, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jun 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Horn Concertos
Hermann Baumann, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Works for Horn and Strings
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Mar 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante; Oboe Concerto
Heinz Holliger, Aurèle Nicolet, Hermann Baumann, Klaus Thunemann, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jun 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Horn Music
Hermann Baumann, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Works for Horn and Piano
Hermann Baumann, Leonard Hokanson
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, Danzi, Rosetti : Horn Concertos
Concertos - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn & Pokorny: Horn Concertos
Hermann Baumann, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jul 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Virtuoso Horn Concertos
Hermann Baumann, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Wind Concertos
Håkan Hardenberger, Heinz Holliger, Hermann Baumann
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leopold Mozart - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical - Released by Documents on 1 Sep 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart - Rössler - Witt - Pokorny
Classical - Released by Documents on 1 Sep 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Posthorn Serenade, K. 320
Hermann Baumann, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Hans Müller-Kray
Classical - Released by SWR Classic Archive on 1 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Leopold Mozart - Sinfonia De Camera
Hermann Baumann, Jaap Schröder, Concerto Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 15 Sep 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Mozart, Concerto in E-Flat Major
Hermann Baumann, Mahir Cakar, Christoph Kohler, Jaap Schröder, Concerto Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 18 Aug 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Leopold Mozart - Sinfonia Di Caccia
Hermann Baumann, Mahir Cakar, Christoph Kohler, Jaap Schröder, Concerto Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 22 Sep 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo