# Hummel Trumpet Concerto



## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Wanting this wonderful concerto but only two performances available on CD.

Alison Balsom or Niklas Eklund.

Not too familiar with trumpeters so who do you think I should go for? Which is the better recording?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Judith said:


> Wanting this wonderful concerto but only two performances available on CD.
> 
> Alison Balsom or Niklas Eklund.
> 
> Not too familiar with trumpeters so who do you think I should go for? Which is the better recording?


May I add some another choices?
Wynton Marsalis or Maurice André .
Somewhat older recording but great.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Pugg said:


> May I add some another choices?
> Wynton Marsalis or Maurice André .
> Somewhat older recording but great.


Thank you but only the two I have mentioned are available, so in dilemma as I don't know the better of the two!


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Available where? Wynton's recording is everywhere: Spotify, Amazon, ITunes.

It is positively gorgeous trumpeting by him. The second movement melts.

https://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Hummel...&qid=1500295666&sr=8-1&keywords=Wynton+Hummel


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Judith said:


> Wanting this wonderful concerto but only two performances available on CD.


There are a lot of performances available on CD - what do you mean? Your local shop or library only has these two?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

For many years now the standard for the Hummel Trumpet Concerto has been with Haken Hardenberger as trumpet soloist.

There are many recordings available of the Hummel, including the one I listed.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Eklunds is on natural trumpet. Well played and all that but nothing that makes it really special.

Haven't been able to hear Balsom's Hummel, but my experience is that she has a rather gentle approach to the trumpet. It's probably well played and quite musical. I would guess that it would be better than the Ecklund.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Decided to go for Wynton Marsalis and National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard. Found it lower down on Amazon. Thank you Pugg for recommendation.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Judith said:


> Wanting this wonderful concerto but only two performances available on CD.
> 
> Alison Balsom or Niklas Eklund.
> 
> Not too familiar with trumpeters so who do you think I should go for? Which is the better recording?


My recommendation goes to Adolph "Bud" Herseth, of Chicago SO fame, who recorded it, released on CSO "Soloists of the Orchestra Vol II"


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

Judith said:


> Decided to go for Wynton Marsalis and National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard. Found it lower down on Amazon. Thank you Pugg for recommendation.


I do not know about the recording, but I remember hearing Marsalis playing this piece live in a concert, and found his tendency to impose a somewhat jazz-like interpretation off-putting.


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## Holden4th (Jul 14, 2017)

Marsalis without a doubt. Prefer him to Haaken Hardenberger who is also very good.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I wonder what a Beethoven trumpet concerto might have sounded like? I'll never know.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Holden4th said:


> Marsalis without a doubt. Prefer him to Haaken Hardenberger who is also very good.


They are all good, just like Maurice Andre.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Judith said:


> Decided to go for Wynton Marsalis and National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard. Found it lower down on Amazon. Thank you Pugg for recommendation.


I've also heard the Marsalis performance of the Hummel Concerto and would recommend it as well. For those who would like to get an idea of his interpretation, all three of the separate movements can be found online:


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## Holden4th (Jul 14, 2017)

The opening of the third movement is my ringtone - which really amuses people when they hear it.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Indeed, the Hummel concerto remains a stellar choice amongst trumpet concerti, and one owes it to him/herself to explore various interpretations. I would also recommend Wynton Marsalis's recording, but there are many others out there available as well.

Berkshire Record Outlet currently lists 6 recordings:

https://broinc.com/search.php?row=0...rumpet+concerto&filter=all&cd=1&submit=Search

And you'll find more at H&B Direct ( https://www.hbdirect.com/search/#https://www.hbdirect.com/solr/select?indent=on&facet=true&facet.field=label&facet.field=format&wt=json&qf=artist^10+title^20+text&defType=dismax&q=Hummel trumpet&fq=list_price:[0+TO+550]&start=0&rows=20&searchSrc=Classical), ArkivMusic ( http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/main.jsp ), and nearly any other major music seller on the net.

But don't miss the Marsalis recording, please.


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Edward H. Tarr's recording has a slightly different sound than others. He used a trumpet that Alexndre Brass in Mainz made for the work.


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## gixus12 (Mar 19, 2018)

According to my experience, i think Niklas Eklund give better performance than Alison Balsom


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

gixus12 said:


> According to my experience, i think Niklas Eklund give better performance than Alison Balsom


Did you ever heard the Håkan Hardenberger recording?


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## gixus12 (Mar 19, 2018)

[QUTE=Pugg;1415755]Did you ever heard the Håkan Hardenberger recording?[/QUOTE]

Yes, I hear the Hakan Hardenberger recording.But why you asked me.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

gixus12 said:


> [QUTE=Pugg;1415755]Did you ever heard the Håkan Hardenberger recording?


Yes, I hear the Hakan Hardenberger recording.But why you asked me.[/QUOTE]
Because in my humble opinion it's on of the best as is the Sergei Nakariakov who's recording is also excellent.


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## gixus12 (Mar 19, 2018)

you are right. I have not a good quality Niklas Eklund that's why I said it is good.
I make a site about trumpets.Please read it and give me the suggestion for its betterment.I am worried about this.http://besttrumpetsguide.com/


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

I have just listened through several recordings, and I must say that to my ear I much prefer the Eklund over all the others. And this is from someone who normally avoids Naxos like the plague. But it is a recording with perfect balance between soloist and orchestra, and that is the thing that really drew me in. Roy Goodman, as usual, has a nice touch with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and manages to pull an almost period sound from the small forces of the band.

By comparison, Tine Thing Helseth on Simax while having a nice tone, and equally good playing from the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, is placed way too forward in the mix and easily overpowers the orchestra. It's a recording that is more about the soloist than the work. The result is distracting. I find Hardenberger to be too forceful for this gentle concerto, and Marsalis is paired with an orchestra that is too large and too distant. Most of the others similarly read this concerto in a style that is more mid-20th century than turn-of-the-19th, which does not appeal to me at all.

Eklund is definitely the one for me. My thanks to all for bringing this to my attention, and to gixus12 for resurrecting the thread!


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

gixus12, the trumpet listed as #1 on that link must be something. $269 gets one a horn better than a Bach, Yamaha, or Shires. Your leg may have been pulled


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

Really enjoying it right now. Generally I am not a big fan of trumpet and I find brass sounds a bit harsh, but here trumpet sounds so nice and expressive. Gentle. And generally the work is excellent. One of the better discoveries recently.


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## Melvin (Mar 25, 2011)

It happens to be that I've been addicted to this particular piece all week long. I've been listening to the Maurice Andre recording. So I just requested the Hardenberger recording from the library, and I've just ordered the Eklund recording for 1 cent on Amazon (still 3.99 shipping... Amazon is weird)

Thanks for the recommendations forum.

Hummel delivers yet again.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Bud Herseth or Maurice Andre, you can't go wrong....for newer ones, Hardenberger should be fine.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Hummel's trumpet concerto is often paired with Haydn's, and a fine pair they are. Mozart also wrote a trumpet concerto, but it got lost somewhere (careless of somebody!)

Listen to the opening of Hummel's concerto, and then the opening of Mozart's 35th Symphony, the "Haffner." They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...


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## Melvin (Mar 25, 2011)

Hummel's tc was written 7 years after Haydn's, and both were commissioned by the Viennese trumpeter Anton Weidinger, for the recently developed 5-keyed trumpet. (Hummel had recently succeeded Haydn as Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court.) 

The modulations are meant to exercise the chromatic capabilities of the new instrument, and they happen to be what make this piece quite attractive.

There are 2 slightly different versions. One of them has some extra trills and other minor elaborations. It is possible that one of these versions may have been Weidinger's own modifications.

Hummel also wrote a Trio for trumpet, piano and violin for Weidinger, but it is now presumed lost.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

I have Haydn & Hummel: Trumpet Concertos by Balsam and think it's very good, I performed some extensive comparisons on Spotify before plumping for this CD and liked her particular swift, controlled and melodious style compared to others. Not sure about the cover, it's a bit "Wedding Day of Miss Havisham". It looks like she's just chased the band away after the bridegroom didn't turn up, snatched the trumpet, and is going to throw it at you. The music's too jovial for that scene.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

This thread made me dig out the Hakegard recording which I had burned into iTunes years ago. I don’t have any competing versions but it sounded pretty good to me. However, the Haydn Concerto, which I know better and which was the original disc mate, sounds under powered, so I bought the Marsalis disc for $2 from Amazon


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