Bertold Hummel met the horn player Gotfried Langenstein in 1972 whilst they were colleagues at the University of Music in Würzburg. The two musicians are united by their love of chamber music and the works of Gustav Mahler. Hummel composed the now famous Sonatina for Horn and Piano, Op. 75a (1981) for his students.

Biography
Born in 1941 in Biberach an der Riß, Swabia, Gottfried Langenstein studied the horn at the State University of Music in Munich between 1958 and 1962. Whilst working at the Städtische Bühnen Freiburg (from 1962), he completed his masterclass diploma under Hans Noeth. From 1963 to 1972, he held the post of principal horn with the Munich Philharmonic. He gave numerous concerts as a soloist in Europe, Australia and Japan and performed with leading cultural orchestras; for example, from 1971 to 1975 he was principal horn with 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 also took part in numerous television productions and record recordings.

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