Video of the Week: Ben Goldscheider brings Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto to life

The British horn player performs the exuberant final Rondo from Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 with the Münchener Kammerorchester, ahead of his PENTATONE debut album devoted to the composer’s four concertos.

Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495 ends with one of the most irresistible movements in the horn repertoire: a fast-moving Rondo in which hunting-call gestures, virtuosity and Mozart’s characteristic wit are woven into an unusually lively dialogue between soloist and orchestra.

In this week’s video, Ben Goldscheider takes on the Rondo. Allegro vivace with the Münchener Kammerorchester, combining agility and precision with an easy sense of momentum. The performance also captures the conversational quality of Mozart’s writing, as phrases pass between the horn and the orchestra rather than treating the ensemble simply as accompaniment.

The performance comes from Goldscheider’s new album, Mozart Horn Concertos, due for release on 2 October 2026 on PENTATONE. The recording brings together all four of Mozart’s horn concertos, works written for his friend Joseph Leutgeb and now at the heart of the instrument’s repertoire.

Goldscheider has lived with the concertos since his early years as a horn player, and the album presents them in an unusual sequence: in reverse order, beginning with the Fourth Concerto and ending with the First. It also marks his debut recording for PENTATONE.

Mozart Horn Concertos can be streamed here.