@brownsfan ,
I know what you mean. Listening to 3 or 4 movements of a horn piece can be overwhelming. Mozart did it well, but best suited in a symphony.
I saw Bruckner's 7th & 8th live which featured 8 French horns and they had the sweetest sound I've ever heard from a brass instrument.
4 of them doubled as Wagner tubas to accompany the French horns which sounded heavenly.
The Wagner horn when used by Strauss and Wagner has the familiar brassy sound, intentional of course.