Classic Trumpet Concertos

Advantages: Wonderful transcriptions of JS Bach's majestic music; sensitive, tender, vivacious, effortless and fluid playing.
Disadvantages: Nil.

...Her latest CD from EMI Classics, ‘Bach/Works for Trumpet’, already tops zerbine28's list for Classical CD of the Year. (I know, I know, it's only April as I post this, but that's how strongly I feel about this recording.) Readers, if you please, do welcome young British trumpet player Alison Balsom, who now joins the ranks of Mssrs Miles Davis and Herb Alpert in my teeny-tiny list of favourite trumpeters. No, I never heard of her, either, before yesterday, when I first sampled her CD at the local Borders book and music shop. Released just this past January, the CD is an absolute stunner. The title is a little misleading, because Johann Sebastian Bach never wrote pieces specifically for the instrument (discounting the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, of course). Besides which, the ‘trumpet’ in Bach’s time... Read review

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Advantages: Good tuba muisc
Disadvantages: None

..., and is slightly better to listen to than the first two movements of the concerto, however it still isn't wonderful. The third concerto is the Tuba Concerto in F Minor (1954) by Ralp Vaughan Williams. 7 - Prelude 8 - Romanza 9 - Finale: Rondo alla tedesca This concerto is more classical in nature with a structure similar to something Bach would've used as opposed to something more modern by Beethoven for example. Although minor, the concerto still has a good melodic line and a great accompaniment that would be expected from an 82 year old composer with much experience in composition and is a work with originality and freshness. The first movement is a great start to the concerto, with a nice melodic line and a lovely cadenza towards the end of the movement and has an amazing final few bars which bring the movement to a close... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful relaxing music. Rich instrumentation. Played with passion.
Disadvantages: Not all instruments are from the period.

...works by Bach. This was not always the case however. They were originally not very well received. Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the giants of the baroque period, presented the set of concertos as a gift to the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg in 1721. The Margrave never even acknowledged the gift let alone thanked Bach for his work. For the next thirteen years, the concertos were to languish in the marquis' library untouched. It was only on his death, that they were then released and shared with the public. There are many, many recordings of the Brandenburg concertos. This particular album is a 1959 recording of Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Orchestra published in May, 1995 by Emi Classical. Can a recording from nearly 50 years ago possibly stand the test of time? The simple answer is yes it can and does so superbly... Read review

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