Spohr Learns the Horn Overnight

Louis Spohr—famous as a violinist and composer—was also quick-witted and resourceful. In his autobiography he tells a story from 1808, when Napoleon hosted a dazzling gathering of sovereigns at Erfurt. As part of the festivities, tragedies were brought from Paris with the actor Talma.

Spohr and some pupils walked from Gotha to Erfurt just to see Talma. But the theater was effectively closed to ordinary people: the best seats were reserved for royalty and their suites. Spohr bribed four orchestra musicians to let his group take their places. Three were string players, so his pupils could cover them. The fourth was a horn player—no one could fake that.

So Spohr did the only thing possible: he learned the horn. He practiced the whole day with fierce concentration. At night, the musicians were ordered to sit with their backs to the royal audience, and forbidden even to glance at them. Spohr, curious, brought a small mirror so he could watch the court reflected behind him—until the drama on stage absorbed him and he handed the mirror to his pupils.

After his all-day practice his lips were swollen. When his wife saw them, she was horrified; Spohr joked that they had swollen from kissing the pretty women of Erfurt. Later, when the real reason came out, the joke landed on him.