Maurice Andre: Great Artists of the Century = HAYDN: Trumpet
Concerto in E-flat; ALBINONI: Trumpet Concerto in B-flat, Op. 7, No. 3;
HANDEL: Concerto for Trumpet and Organ in D Minor; TELEMANN: Trumpet
Concerto in D; HERTEL: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat; HUMMEL: Trumpet
Concerto in E-flat
Among modern practitioners of the virtuoso trumpet, Maurice Andre (b.
1933) stands virtually on a peak of his own making, having proselytized
and popularized the piccolo trumpet to a superstar status, a
coloratura, vocal instrument capable of any number of degrees of
nuance, along with its fierce, high tessitura. The six concertos
assembled on this disc, recorded 1974-1984, testify to
Andre&Mac226;s seamless facility on his chosen instrument, with the
concerto by Hertel’s serving as a competition piece for any trumpeter
who favors the musical stratosphere. Herbert von Karajan provides
accompaniment for the Telemann Concerto, which along with Handel
concerto, has the ancient sonata di chiesa as its precedent, and
exploits long stretches of high registration for the instrument.
Concerto in E-flat; ALBINONI: Trumpet Concerto in B-flat, Op. 7, No. 3;
HANDEL: Concerto for Trumpet and Organ in D Minor; TELEMANN: Trumpet
Concerto in D; HERTEL: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat; HUMMEL: Trumpet
Concerto in E-flat
Riccardo Muti conducts
Philharmonia Orchestra (Haydn); Sir Charles Mackerras conducts English
Chamber Orchestra; Herbert von Karajan conducts Berlin Philharmonic
(Telemann, Hummel)
EMI 7243 5 62947 2 77:07 ****:
Among modern practitioners of the virtuoso trumpet, Maurice Andre (b.
1933) stands virtually on a peak of his own making, having proselytized
and popularized the piccolo trumpet to a superstar status, a
coloratura, vocal instrument capable of any number of degrees of
nuance, along with its fierce, high tessitura. The six concertos
assembled on this disc, recorded 1974-1984, testify to
Andre&Mac226;s seamless facility on his chosen instrument, with the
concerto by Hertel’s serving as a competition piece for any trumpeter
who favors the musical stratosphere. Herbert von Karajan provides
accompaniment for the Telemann Concerto, which along with Handel
concerto, has the ancient sonata di chiesa as its precedent, and
exploits long stretches of high registration for the instrument.
The Haydn, Albinoni, and Hummel concertos move so gracefully,
effortlessly, and articulately, that we marvel at the exactness of the
playing and its capacity for soft passagework. To some extent, Roger
Voisin of the Boston Symphony may have provided Andre an example of the
stellar virtuosity to which the trumpet could rise, but Andre’s own
contribution has been immense – comparable to what Rampal brought to
the flute repertory. This disc is to make even the angelic trumpeters
envious.
