Bertold Hummel met horn player Gotfried Langenstein in 1972 as a colleague at the University of Music in Würzburg. The two musicians bonded over their love of chamber music and the works of Gustav Mahler. Hummel wrote the now famous Sonatina for Horn and Piano op. 75a (1981) for his students.

Biography

Born in 1941 in the Swabian town of Biberach an der Riß, Gottfried Langenstein studied horn at the State Academy of Music in Munich between 1958 and 1962. At the same time as working at the Städtische Bühnen Freiburg (from 1962), he completed his masterclass diploma with Hans Noeth. From 1963 to 1972 he held the position of principal horn with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed extensively as a soloist in Europe, Australia and Japan and played in major cultural orchestras; from 1971 to 1975 he was first horn player in the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, from 1973 to 1995 he was a member of the "Münchner Nonett" and from 1980 to 1986 a member of the "Deutsche Bläsersolisten". He has also appeared in numerous television productions and recordings.

From 1972 to 2006, Gottfried Langenstein taught as a professor at the Würzburg University of Music. He was also active as an editor of literature for horn, especially for horn ensembles, and wrote his own compositions.