Concerts

Independent (4.1.07) on The King's Consort/ Robert King, The Wigmore Hall, London on 31.12.06

"...In concerto 1, Andrew Clark and Gavin Edwards were supremos on natural horns, providing terrific chomping and glittering virtuosity at breakneck speed."

Times (2.1.07) on The King's Consort/ Robert King, The Wigmore Hall, London on 31.12.06

"...If Wigmore Street harbours foxes, the two horns would have sent them hurtling; their sound in the first concerto’s finale was thrillingly fruity. "

Independent (27.11.2006 ) on OAE/Zehetmair, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 22.11.06

"...Its spur was evidently the exceptional availability of no less than four outstanding horn players. But its amiable variation-form finale also runs to solo spots for cello, flute, violin and even double bass - all enchantingly taken in this rare hearing from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Thomas Zehetmair. The rarity is at least partly due to the difficulty of the often fiendishly high horn parts. It was wonderful to hear them delivered so securely on the natural horns of Haydn's time in all their brazen glory"

Timesunion.com (James Hennerty, 21.2.2006) on New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble works by Mozart.

"The meatier part of the program consisted of two concertos. British horn expert Andrew Clark joined the group for the Third Horn Concerto. He played this notoriously difficult instrument with complete mastery. Standing front and center, he varied the dynamics and played the phrases and trills without breaking a sweat. His cadenza was superb, despite his refusal to play any note that the natural horns of Mozart's day could not produce. (If one uses a modern instrument, why not let it do what it is capable of?) The final movement, the best known part of all Mozart's horn concertos, was a model of how it should be done. Clark and the group also played (as an encore) a fragment Mozart left for another horn concerto -- very short, but beginning to take shape as yet another masterpiece."

Times, (Neil Fisher, 3.3.2005) on Mendelssohn: "Midsummer Night's Dream" at Royal Festival Hall, London

"One could always rejoice in the... treasures of the score: a rapturous nocturne distinguished by the excellence of the horn solos." (with OAE conducted by Ivan Fischer)

Independent (Anna Picard, 9.5.2004) on Barbican Hall concert of May 4th 2004

"Amsterdam Baroque's performance - in the concerti, in Haydn's Symphony No 83, and in a brief selection from Handel's Water Music with trills to die for from the horns - was stunning enough to dispel any hint of contempt for familiar repertoire. Koopman's direction and continuo playing was generous, lively, rich and stylish throughout. A revelation in every respect."

New York Times (Allan Kozinn, 4.5.2004) on Haydn/Handel in Lincoln Center, New York

"As it turned out, the evening's most captivating performances were the lively accounts of Haydn's Symphony No. 83 and movements from Handel's "Water Music" the orchestra, led by Ton Koopman, played on its own. Most striking was the exposed horn writing in the Handel, played virtuosically and with flawless intonation by Andrew Clark and Francois Merand, using perilously difficult 18th-Century horns. Maybe the Juilliard School should bring them over for master classes."

Evening Standard (Stephen Pettitt, 17.3.2004) on London Handel Festival, St. George's, Hanover Square, W1

"The French-style overture from Samson was garnished by the splendid natural horn playing of Andrew Clark and Gavin Edwards."

The Scotsman (Svend Brown, 22.8.96)
"...it demands luxury casting of three fine singers, and yet their parts are completely upstaged by an accompanying horn part Haydn must have written in a sadistic moment...On his natural horn he was hugely impressive, probably giving as fine a performance as will ever be possible outside the recording studio."

Scotland on Sunday (Elizabeth Clark, 25.8.96)
"...one of the most challenging parts ever written for natural horn, incorporating the highest note ever written for the instrument. It was played here for the first time on period instruments, and all the soloists excelled. But the highest praise must go to horn player Andrew Clark."

The Independent (Raymond Monelle, 28.8.96)
"...and a staggering prodigy of the natural horn, who mastered the stratospheric obbligato in the vocal trio "Pieta di me"...with untroubled confidence."

The Daily Telegraph (Brian Hunt, 31.8.96)
"As if it were not enough to throw in obbligato cor anglais, horn and bassoon, Haydn pushes the horn into cosmological regions, including the highest note ever written for the instrument. "Pieta di me" was last heard, transposed down a semitone, in 1956, when Charles Mackerras conducted the first performance in modern times. Not even Dennis Brain had the confidence to reach for that ultimate F above the stave. Mackerras again presided over the Edinburgh performance, this time in the original key and on period instruments. Andrew Clark's tightrope act on the natural horn was sensational."

Recordings

The Guardian (11.12.98)
"This invigorating disc brings together masterly performances of some of the most important horn works in the chamber repertory, using a natural horn. In flamboyant playing Andrew Clark relishes the ripe, fruity tone of the Waldhorn, and, matched by excellent partners on period instruments, his virtuosity is thrilling in the hunting finale of the Brahms. The antiphony between the two horns and strings in the Beethoven Sextet is a delight."

Gramophone
"This is a disc guaranteed to make the listener fall in love the ripe, fruity, often tangy tone of the natural valveless Waldhorn, beautifully caught in the EMI recording. An endlessly refreshing disc."

Classic CD (Stuart Nickless, Christmas 1998)
"EMI Classics' imaginative "debut" series continues with this much deserved opportunity for Andrew Clark to demonstrate his skill as a soloist on the natural horn. He has chosenthe two supreme examples of chamber music written for the natural horn, the Mozart Quintet and the Brahms Horn Trio, both of which receive excellent performances. The Brahms is a passionate account and easily the best recording of this music made on authentic instruments. There is no holding back in the Mozart either, the last movement is particularly exciting.
The Beethoven Sextet for string quartet and two horns is a virtuoso piece for both first horn in the highest register and the second horn in the lowest. The piece receives brilliant performances from both Andrew Clark and Roger Montgomery on second horn. The disc is completed with the Beethoven Horn Sonata and two unaccompanied horn duets by Mozart which again take the two horns to the opposite extremes of the instrument.
This will fascinate and entertain aficionados and newcomers to the natural horn, and at mid-price is a real bargain. A really bold move by EMI would be to give Andrew Clark an opportunity to record for the baroque horn..."

The Horn Call (May 1999, Calvin Smith)
"There is no question about the quality of these performances. Andrew Clark has given us a superb example of these works. They are played with grace, fire and energy which makes for extremely enjoyable listening. His assisting musicians are the finest and featured performer could want...This disc is a gem: worth being in every hornist's record library...These works are all wonderful music, and they sound just as good on period or modern instruments when in the hands of a first rate performer."

BBC Music Magazine (Christopher Mowat)
"...Their combined sound, especially in the larger ensemble, is like any good antique: full of character, gloriously grainy, slightly worn, but unique, and a fine tribute to the original craftsmen. The performances on these troublesome instruments are heroic, with virtuoso playing on the hand horn from Andrew Clark that belies the labours involved. An invaluable contribution to a neglected area of musical research and an hour's fascinating listening."

The Trombonist
"...Andrew Clark's virtuoso romp through the first movement of the Crusell Horn Concerto in F defies any of the alleged technical restraints of the hand horn...The whole recording radiates with the energy that comes from playing these captivating old instruments, and the players' commitment to them."

The Leeds Guide (Tom Tollett, September 2000)
"...The scholarship behind these performances and their exquisite execution mark these as definitive interpretations. In nearly 80 minutes of music there is not a single bar that is less than enjoyable."

Early Music Review (September 2000)
"...I put the disc on to one of the Schubert fantasies and was immediately intrigued and delighted...Anyone interested in the transition between natural and valved horn will find this a fascinating disc; those who are not will be impressed by the brilliance of the playing, and the music is entertaining even when it doesn't depend on Schubert's inspiration."

Gramophone (John Duarte, November 2000)
"...There are other worthy recordings of all but the Introduction et variations concertantes, but this is the only one to use period instruments, telling it like it sounded in the salons of its time, executed with great skill and artistry, and finely recorded...For devotees of the horn music and salon music of the first half of the nineteenth century this is an essential addition to their collections, and an interesting one for music-lovers in general."