Horn Violin

The horn violin is a string instrument. Although in the past it was quite common, the horn violin passed into obscurity in all but the Bihor musical tradition, where is has become a symbol of the region. Bihor region stretches on the western border of Romania with Hungary. Until 1918 belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

These violins were found in Nasaud, Mures, Banat and Bihor counties, but today are present only in Bihor, where folk music bands adopted the horn violin for its ability to amplify its sound; something which enables it to be heard at large or outdoor events and sets it apart from other string instruments.

n Central and Western Europe, the horn violin was not successful because when it was used in classical pieces (such as the works of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, etc.) it was noticed that the instrument sounded too similar in tone to ‘fiddler’s music’, and was not compatible with the scores written for classical violins at that time.