Transposed parts have for years been a point of discussion in the horn world. Certainly students and many adults love them, but on the whole for a player aiming for playing on a high level they are a crutch.
The Mozart concertos and transposition
The older Schirmer edition of all four Mozart concertos with transposed parts is very popular, and is likely the most common introduction to these works for many young students. With the F horn part, it takes some prodding to move on and use the real parts.
In my own case, I have never owned a copy of that transposed edition as a student, and started in on Mozart in college from parts in the original keys.
But as a teacher I do end up using the F horn version with some students, especially those who are not performance majors. For purposes of a jury, the F part sounds just the same.
Bigger picture, there are many published editions of these out there to choose from (I personally am partial to the Baumann edition of the Mozart horn concertos that was published by McCoy’s Horn Library). But also a very workable, older editions in the original key is long in the public domain and may be found as a download. For example, in the IMSLP project, the horn part of the old Kling edition of Mozart 4 may be found here, and we also have it in our Horn Matters PDF library.
A technique you do need to try to learn
Transposition is a very important skill every hornist needs to learn. It is a technical skill that can’t be ignored. Whenever possible perform from the parts notated in the original key. Natural horn parts in particular tend to be simple, you can get the hang of it pretty quickly.
See this article by Bruce Hembd for a handy chart of transpositions.
An exception: Bruckner 7 Wagner tuba
The only place where I would say to certainly think about a transposed part is when playing Wagner tuba on for example Bruckner 7. The standard version of the first Wagner tuba part for example is in B-flat alto and starts out in the key of six sharps with two double-sharp accidentals in the first bar. You have enough things to worry about with playing a Wagner tuba at all that a transposed part really is not a bad idea there. See this article for more on Wagner tuba. My Wagner tuba book contains transposed parts for Bruckner 7.
I’ve gotten more relaxed on the topic over time
Working this article over a bit in 2025 (to fix the Wagner tuba link) I realize I’m more flexible about this than I used to be, as reflected in updates to the text above. But, still, speaking generally, always use the original parts. You will find them in the long run easier to read, and the skill will pay off in the world of actual horn playing, when you walk into some church gig and there is only a part in C for the Mozart pieces they will perform that day. On at least a basic level, you must get a little comfortable with transposition.
