Schumann's Konzertstück in F major for four horns and orchestra, Op. 86, is one of the composer's most neglected works. This is unfortunate because it is an inventive, compelling work that rewards repeated hearings. Unfortunately, the Konzertstück is generally compared to concertos by Beethoven and Brahms, works to which it bears little resemblance. Instead, it should be discussed in terms of its lyric quality and harmonic ingenuity. The Konzertstück was sketched February 18-20, 1849, and orchestrated by March 11. Schumann referred to 1849 as "My most fruitful year," and was truly one of his most productive, second only to 1840, his "year of song." The first performance took place in Leipzig on February 25, 1850, and the piece was published in 1851 by Schuberth.

Schumann could easily have called the Konzertstück a concerto, and it is difficult to understand why he did not. It is in three movements in a fast-slow-fast arrangement and the movements are thematically linked. The four solo parts are for the modern chromatic valve-horn (relatively new at the time), while the two horns in the orchestra are natural horns. Schumann calls for a large orchestra, including piccolo, two trumpets, three trombones, and two tympani. Generally, when the solo horns are playing, the orchestra horns rest.

After two chords in the orchestra, the four solo horns enter fortissimo with the aggressive first subject, and the Lebhaft (Lively) first movement has begun. The lack of an "orchestra exposition" makes it clear that Schumann had no intention of writing a concerto in the Viennese Classical style. Sonata form is still the structural force, however, and the movement boasts a lyric second subject and a developmental central section. Throughout the movement, the tessitura of the solo horns is high, culminating in some extremely high passages for the first horn in the recapitulation. The movement is filled with interweaving phrases in the solo horn parts and, particularly, the woodwinds.

The second movement, entitled "Romanze," begins with the cellos and oboe after a brief pause. The solo horns pick up this same idea and proceed with a lovely, lilting tune with imitative entries. More impressive is the chorale-like subject in the middle section, played first by the high strings and then by the horns, against a background of whirling arpeggios in the cellos. The opening idea returns to close the movement, which moves without pause into the finale.

Marked Lebhaft, the witty, vivacious finale opens with three energized measures in the orchestra before a dramatic, rising arpeggio in the first solo horn. In the ensuing moments, a conversation develops between the orchestra and soloists as virtuoso scales dominate the material. In the central section, a return of the chorale from the middle of the second movement can be heard, now in E major. At times, Schumann doubles parts excessively, but in general the texture is clear and lines are easy to follow.

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