'High Jinks' for Horn and Strings, by John O'Neill. $35.00. Imagine Music Publishing.
High Jinks for Horn . . . and Strings was originally written for and dedicated to the ‘Other” John O’Neill who premiered it with the Carson Valley Sinfonia in 2011. The musical form is that of a rondo-ish, ‘theme and variation’ with the theme first stated by the Horn alone, then quickly echoed by the string section. This back-and-forth conversation continues throughout the piece with the strings sometimes taking the lead. At the end, the original theme reappears, now in a more jaunty, upbeat transformation.
