Harold Meek writes from a lifetime's experience playing the horn (often first chair) in several of America's great orchestras, notably the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He shares anecdotes and insights about the joys and travails of playing under Fritz Reiner, Otto Klemperer, Serge Koussevitzky, Charles Munch, and others.

Meek also brings together some important information about changes in the instrument itself, including a little-known letter from the great British horn virtuoso, Dennis Brain, about the virtues of different makes of horn.

A valuable section prints interpretively challenging horn passages from over three dozen masterpieces, ranging from Beethoven symphonies to Weber's Der Freischutz, and evaluates the solutions offered in recordings by various prominent conductors, from Leopold Stokowski, Sir Adrian Boult, George Szell, and Herbert von Karajan to Carlo Maria Giulini, Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, and Christopher Hogwood.