Peter Seabourne:
- Mille Fiori
- Encounters
- The Black Pegasus
- Julie Dances
Robin Holloway:
- Partita No. 1, Op. 62, No. 1
- Partita No. 2, Op. 62, No. 2
- Lament

Like the cover image of a little girl dancing in the sunlight suggests, unfettered and uninhibited movement is an intrinsic part of the music on this recording. Music by two of Britain's foremost living composers, Robin Holloway (b.1943) and Peter Seabourne (b.1960) who actually was one of Holloway's students. As the Partita title indicates, the works by Holloway are concerned with linear harmonic movement and progression, very much like the Fantasias for Flute Solo by Telemann, but with a 21st century disposition. They require accuracy of tone and pitch from the player, something Ondrej Vrabec controls extremely well. Some of their movements also task the player with full mastery of fluid and flexible dynamics, something else that Vrabec does very well.

On the other hand, the music of Peter Seabourne seeks to exploit the french horn's sonic and technical capabilities. Some of his pieces are written for up to four horns, which allows for some interesting harmonic development. The piano also plays an important role in The Black Pegasus (rhapsody for horn and piano), a piece written specifically for Ondrej Vrabec, which inflicts technical as well as expressive demands on the performer. And Julie Dances (seven miniatures for horn), was inspired by the cover image of this CD, which is a photo of Ondrej Vrabec's daughter dancing. The pieces are based on nursery rhymes, full of movement and light-hearted jest, with here and there some comical sound projections from the horn.

Ondrej Vrabec became solo horn of the Czech Philharmonic in 1996 and has remained in that position ever since, and has won numerous international prizes. He is joined on this recording by Hana Sápákova, Michaela Vincencová, Daniela Roubicková (horns) and Mio Sakamoto (piano). A full disc, or cornucopia (pun intended) of music for horn may seem like much, but when the music is as varied and compelling as it is here, ear fatigue is of no concern.