Our source for the present first edition of this Horn Concerto was the autograph owned by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna (Signature VIII 15.274). You know maybe the first horn concerto of Teyber, edited by Friedrich Gabler and published in 1974 by Doblinger in Vienna.
The original title of the second concerto says: "Concerto per il Corno da Caccia". This was formerly also a common term for the French horn. The tone range of the horn part in E flat reaches c in the three-line octave. The former horn players often played in such a range and many concerti by W.A.Mozart use these high tones. Thus, the second horn concerto by Teyber is different from the first one due to its lower tone range. (The first concerto reaches g in the three-line octave. Because of this, only a few horn players performed this work ).
Similar to the first concerto, the history of the second concerto is vague. The date of composition and its dedication is not known. The harmony of the work gives a hint. Teyber often writes notes and modulations that are foreign to the natural horn. Playing these so called stopped tones were possible by the new developed natural horn technique about 1780. It can be assumed that several horn soloists such as Joseph Leutgeb (1732 - 1811) or Jacob Eisen (1756 - 1796) in Vienna played this concerto.
Because of the friendship Teyber and Mozart, the way of composition is near Mozart's music. (In the first concerto Teyber even quoted some bars of the horn quintet of Mozart KV 407.)
MOZART AND TEYBER
On August 25, 1773, during the third visit to Vienna of Leopold Mozart and his son Wolfgang Amadeus, Leopold wrote the following lines home to Salzburg: "Today the Messmers moved out to Rotmühl. If we have time, we will descend on them, and take the Taibers along."
"The Taibers", who turn up more than once in the Mozarts' letters, were the esteemed "Violinist at the Imperial Court of Vienna" Matthäus Teyber (variously Täuber, Teuber, Teiber, Taiber, Tayber; 1711—1785), his wife Therese, and their children, four of whom became musicians. Elisabeth Teyber (1744-1816) was one of the most famous prima donnas of her time; Leopold Mozart confirmed this in 1776 in a letter to his son, in which he shows some concern about the future career of Aloysia Weber. Thesese Teyber (1760-1830) sang the role of Blondchen in the Vienna premiere of Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" in 1782 at the Nationaltheater. Franz Teyber (1758—1810) studied composition with his father and Georg Christoph Wagenseil, and was considered the best organist in Vienna after Albrechtsberger.
His career later took him to Karlsruhe as concertmaster, and he toured for many years with Schikaneder's theatrical company in Swabia and Switherland. With Franz Teyber's heroic opera "Alexander", to a libretto by Schikaneder, that impresario opened his new Theater an der Wien in 1801. Shortly before his death, Franz Teyber was appointed court organist in Vienna. Anton Teyber , like W. A. Mozart, was born in 1756. He studied first with his father, and then for nine years with Padre Martini in Bologna. Later, he accompanied his sister Elisabeth on a European tour, and took part Baron van Swieten's musical evenings in Vienna in 1783, as we know from one of W. A. Mozart's letters: "The whole thing is being done so that Baron von Swieten can hear it. He will sing the discant, and I the alto (playing too). Starzer is the tenor, and young Teyber from Italy is taking the bass."
In 1787 Anton Teyber became court organist in Dresden; W. A. Mozart met him there on his way to Berlin in April 1789. In 1792 Teyber returned to Vienna, joining the court opera orchestra as harpsichordist and assistant to Antonio Salieri. On March 1, 1793, he was appointed court composer. One of his duties was to give piano lessons to the children of the Imperial family; among his pupils was the Archduke Rudolf, who later became a friend of Beethoven's. After Teyber's death in 1822, Rudolf bought all of his musical effects from his widow. It was the post of court composer left vacant by Teyber's death for which Beethoven applied in 1822; the position, however, was discontinued. Anton Teyber was a diligent composer, who wrote everything from dance music for the court balls, to chamber music, orchestral works, oratorios, masses and other church music. He was also active as a musical theorist. Unfortunately, there is only a small part of his work published and known. The present first edition of the second Horn Concerto by Teyber shall change this unsatisfactory state.
Sources: Pfannenstiel - paper Teyber in MGG; Herbert Vogg Preface to the 1st Horn Concerto, Doblinger
This new edition is a wonderful, worthy and playable new discovery from the immediate area of Mozart. The concerto resembles in the grade of difficulty the second and forth horn concerto of Mozart.
