Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 2 (1942) followed its predecessor by some six decades, a period during which the composer's colorful musical language came to full maturity in an exceptional body of tone poems, songs, and operas. In a manner far more evident than in the earlier work, the Second Concerto is infused with Strauss' singular lyricism, reflecting the clarity of the composer's Romantic vision amid the strengthening winds of twentieth century modernism.

Like the First Concerto, the Second is in three movements; at the same time, its Classical orientation is less pronounced than that of the First, further reflecting Strauss' evolution from gifted teenager to assured master.

The first movement, Allegro, opens with wide, dramatic leaps, requiring a soloist with excellent control of the instrument. The themes develop with rhapsodic freedom, hearkening to the expansive vocal lines of the composer's operas. The second movement, Andante con moto, exudes a calmness that is absent from the previous movement. The sonorities and scoring are more intimate here, even chamber-like; the horn's line often blends almost seamlessly with the accompaniment, lending the movement the character of a single through-composed gesture. In the Allegro molto rondo, Strauss focuses on more compact melodic units, isolating motives that become the focus of interplay between the soloist and the orchestra. Near the end the solo horn is joined by the horns in the orchestra, bringing the work to a close in bravura style.

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