Search - Hakan Hardenberger, Tomaso Albinoni, Johann Sebastian Bach :: The Art of the Trumpet [Box Set]

That's a LOT of trumpet!

Dr. Christopher Coleman | HONG KONG | 09/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger gives a truly uplifting performance of Jeremiah Clarke's trumpet tune, with organist Simon Preston . That piece is a favorite of trumpet players everywhere, and so too will be this collection of five CDs called The Art of the Trumpet. That's a LOT of trumpet playing, and it's all done by Hardenberger--this is in fact a collection of some of his previously recorded works, so if you are a long time Hardenberger aficionado, actually there will be nothing new here. In addition to the CD of baroque music for trumpet and organ, one of the highlights are the favorite classical concertos of Haydn and Hummel.

Also on that particular CD are concertos by Stamitz, and Hertel, the whole conducted by Neville Marriner and accompanied by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.



Born in 1961, and originally schooled at the Paris Conservatory, Haredenberger is a fantastic performer--The Times once called him "The greatest trumpet player on Earth", and his own website confirms that he is the greatest trumpet soloist today, so it must be true. Certainly his sound is bright and lovely, intonation true, vibrato beautifully controlled. He performs an impressively wide repertorie, from the baroque to the present--the 5 CDs in this collection include one of the Classical concerti I've mentioned; two of baroque music; one of unaccompanied modern pieces, and one of works from various periods for trumpet or cornet and piano. It's all delightful, and technically perfect. But I have to admit to feeling let down by someone who bills themself as the greatest trumpet soloist today, if that's all I'm going to get. Maybe it's my jazz background, but there's SO much more the trumpet can do other than this somewhat dry perfection, all with a very controlled and rather limited dynamic range. Maynard Ferguson could make the hair stand up on your arms when he played, and granted that style isn't appropriate for most of these piece, even the contemporary pieces maintain this cool attitude. Honestly, I think very few listeners are going to be fascinated by that particular CD in this set--I'm a composer and it doesn't hold my attention. Maybe I'm just getting old and nasty, but I guess I prefer my Hardenbergers with cheese! Or if I'm going to use bad wordplay, perhaps what I want is less reserved--more The Tart of Trumpet. And definitely in smaller doses than a 5 CD set. Trumpet players will definitely want to go out and get this immediately, but the rest of us might just want to get the individual recordings one at a time, perhaps starting with my favorite of the recordings, Vivaldi's Concerto in C major for two trumpets."