This is the second and more frequently played of the two sonatas Cherubini dedicated to hornist Frédéric Duvernoy. It's a one-movement piece in two sections. First comes a Largo that begins with a long, very low horn note while the accompaniment provides a figure with a stately rise, but which soon collapses into a more worried passage and subsides. The horn enters again with an operatic recitative that tumbles slowly up and down the staff, then stretches into a fuller melody that seems to move at a smart clip despite the slow tempo. All this leads into a bouncy Allegro moderato that requires the soloist to pop out short notes almost continually. In the middle comes a brief, trilling cadenza, then a repeat of all the peppy material that preceded it.



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