On the Road – Wim Van Hasselt, trumpet & soloists of Concertgebouw Orch. – Channel Classics

On the Road – [TrackList follows] Wim Van Hasselt, trumpet/Eriko Takezawa & Noriko Ischikawa, piano/ Gustavo Gimeno, snare drum & percussion/ Marijn Mijnders, violin/ Monica Naselow, violin/ Roland Krämer, viola/ Johan van Iersel, cello/ Rob Dirksen, doublebass/ Pieter Nuytten, bassoon/ Jasper de Waal & Fons Verspaandonk & Toine Martens horn/ Jörgen van Rijen, trombone/ Emily Beynon, flute/ Martin Fondse, Fender Rhodes & vibrandoneon/ Jörg Brinkman, cello/ Claudio Puntin, bass clarinet & toys – Channel Classics multichannel SACD CCS SA 31811, 74:35 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: 
Wim Van Hasselt is a member of the trumpet section of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam and teaches at the Conservatory of Amsterdam as well. He has played with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and has performed with the orchestras of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin and the Staatstheater, Stuttgart. In creating this SACD he has reflected on his own musical journey by choosing music he feels has quality and diversity, full of color and a wide range of styles.
On the Road is an autobiographical novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, and was published in 1957. It became the bible of the beat generation, based on the road trips of the author and his friends during the time of an increasingly fearful and censorious America. Strange that this work, so pegged to a specific cultural time in America, would have provided inspiration to a Dutch trumpet player, but its themes of latent bohemianism transcend the particulars of its age.[If it’s obscure, unusual or off-the-wall, someone in the Amsterdam music community is probably into it…Ed.]
Van Hasselt has done a fine job of selecting a number of works, some commissioned specifically for this release. Most are accessible, though one or two, like Wim Henderickx’s title track On the Road have some challenging passages, but even then they are integrated into a conceptual and logical whole. The pieces span several centuries and provide a wonderful platform for Van Hasselt to demonstrate his mastery over a broad range of styles and his infallible technique. A fine release, well worth acquiring!
Track List:
JULIEN-FRANCOIS ZBINDEN: Concertino for trumpet, snare drum & piano, Op. 6
ALEXANDRE LUIGINI: Caprice, for cornet & piano
BEETHOVEN: Fidelio, opera, Op. 72: Aria. Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern
DEREK BOURGEOIS: Trio, for trumpet, trombone & piano, Op. 285
PETR EBEN: Fantasia Vespertina, for trumpet & piano
WILHELM VON GRUNELIUS: Scenette a due, for flute & muted trumpet
THOMAS WILSON: Cartoon for solo cornet & brass band
WIM HENDERICKX : On the Road, for trumpet & electronics
MARTIN FONDSE: Splitting Wood, for flugelhorn/trumpet, cello, bass clarinet & fender rhodes piano: Hit the soft ground
LUCIANO BERIO: Good Night, for trumpet
—Steven Ritter