Whilst it is technically possible to play the concerto on an E-flat natural horn,[1] in practice it would be impossible to give a convincing performance.
[2] Strauss's sister Johanna wrote to the British horn player Dennis Brain that she "vividly remembered her father struggling with the solo part, which he found very tiring, even using the high B-flat crook.
Strauss himself went on to fully exploit the possibilities of the valved horn in his tone poems starting with Don Juan, written just a few years later.
The composition is typical of Strauss' music at this time in being Romantic in style, showing the influence of Mendelssohn.
The orchestral version uses a classical orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.
The public premiere with piano was in 1883, shortly after the composition completed with one of Franz Strauss's pupils Bruno Hoyer as soloist.