Hermann Neuling (1897-1967)

Hermann Neuling (b. Buchhorst, Germany 17th July 1897 – d. Brühl, Germany 29th January 1967) was a very significant composer of music for the Horn, as in addition to several volumes of etude books and a method that are still widely used today, he also composed the Bagatelle für tiefes Horn und Klavier during the 1950s. Following its use as the set solo for an audition being held by the Berlin Philharmonic in November 1984, the Bagatelle has become the standard “low horn” piece and is now known and performed worldwide. Yet despite the popularity of the Bagatelle and widespread use of his etude books, Neuling is not particularly well-known outside of horn circles and surprisingly little is documented about his life considering the importance of his contributions. The details readily available about him confirm that he was a famous low horn player and educator in Germany during his lifetime, based in Berlin and later Cologne as well as Izmir, Turkey. [i] He also played in the Bayreuth Wagner Festival Orchestra for twenty-one seasons, between 1933 and 1963, which is testament to Neuling’s importance as a performer and teacher as each year after 1953 he required special permission to cross over into West Germany.[ii]

[i] Private correspondence with Mahir Çakar, 12/02/2014.
[ii] Private correspondence with William Melton, 06/02/2014.