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The repertoire for trumpet and piano began to develop about 100 years ago as the instrument outgrew its technical limitations and composers began to realise the musical possibilities offered by its distinctive sound. Georges Enescu, arguably Rumania’s finest composer, was one of the first composers to write for trumpet and piano. His work ‘Legende’ was written in 1906 and is, perhaps, one of the greatest pieces for the instrument. Jacques Ibert won the Prix de Rome in 1919, which launched his career as a wide-ranging and imaginative composer, and his ‘Impromptu’ shows his ability to produce entertaining and finely crafted miniatures. Jean Françaix‘s ‘Sonatine’ reproduces the transparent sounds of Clementi or Mozart, which are recalled in the outer movements, while in the central movement an 18th-century dance is transported to a 20th-century ballroom! Arthur Honegger wrote his ‘Intrada’ as a competition piece for the International Competition for Musical Performance in Geneva in April 1947 and the piece recalls the sunny and diatonic language of his Fourth Symphony of the previous year.
| Sample programme |
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| Jean Françaix |
Sonatine |
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| Georges Enescu |
Légende |
| Paul Hindemith |
Sonata |
interval |
| Bohuslav Martinu |
Sonatine |
| Pierre Gabaye |
Sonatine |
| Susanne Erding Swiridoff |
Xi You Ji Fantasy - Blues and Explosion |
| Jean Hubeau |
Sonata |
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Another substantial work is the Sonata by Hindemith composed in 1939 as part of his project to supply music of substance and challenge to serious amateur performers on various instruments. This particular work took on a depth quite beyond the scope of its companion sonatas; it became one of Hindemith's most personal expressions, and in that sense suggests a link to such works as the opera Mathis der Maler and the more familiar three-part symphony he created from materials in that work – the music that became the flashpoint of his unplanned confrontation with the Nazi authorities in his native country.
Paul performs contemporary works for trumpet and piano including composers such as Peter Maxwell Davies, Luciano Berio and Steve Martland. He has also commissioned new repertoire, featuring new works by Cecilia McDowall, John Reeman, Susanne Erding Swiridoff and Christina Athinodorou. Paul performs these pieces, and many others, in collaboration with various pianists including Kathron Sturrock and Juliet Edwards
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