Duo No. 4 for two horns, KV 487 — Polonaise

About this work

Polonaise No. 4 from Mozart’s KV 487 Duos turns two horns into dancing partners. The parts answer one another, exchange the foreground and meet at cadences. With no accompaniment, dotted rhythm and the direction of each phrase must be enough to establish the gait.

Practise each part separately while hearing the other one internally. Attacks should remain clear but rounded; an excessively hard opening immediately erases the difference between theme and accompaniment. Notice every point at which one horn completes an idea begun by its partner.

When playing together, agree on breaths before refining dynamics. Cadences must arrive at the same moment without compressing the tempo. The challenge is not the number of notes but the precision of the dialogue: matching articulation, secure intonation and comparable weight on the dance beats.

What the document containsContents: Polonaise No. 4 from the Twelve Duos KV 487 for two horns, on one page, with a listening MIDI.The LilyPond engraving comes from Mutopia and is in the public domain. LesPartitions.info checked both parts, reviewed the playback, and inspected the complete page.