Search - Halsey Stevens, Fisher Tull, Goffredo Petrassi :: 20th Century Settings for Trumpet

Mostly solid album, but I must protest!

Daniel T. Gianola-Norris | Cotati, CA | 12/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Overall this is a very well played album of contemporary trumpet music. The Halsey Stevens Sonata is played much faster than marked, which you might find either refreshing or somewhat frantic. The Tull piece is actually just two movements from two of Tull's Eight Profiles. The Petrassi Fanfare is well played by all. Frank Campo's Two Studies for Trumpet and Guitar is a treasure, and as far as I know, this is the only recording of it. Plog's own Animal Ditties 2 is lots of fun, pretty much what you'd expect from the title. The Hindemith is fine, though there are many superior recordings of this piece available. My only real complaint with this album is with the reading of Robert Erickson's Kryl, probably the greatest piece ever written for unaccompanied trumpet. Plog takes all of the vocal notes down an octave, completely destroying the smooth hocket effect intended by the composer. If you don't have the necessary soprano or falsetto voice, it's probably better to not record the piece. Those interested in Robert Erickson's piece need to hear Edwin Harkins' definitive interpretation. Anyway, the rest of the album is well worth it."

Pretty good

Jeremiah Lawson | Seattle, WA United States | 02/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"as a guitarist and composer the main reason I bought this is for Frank Campo's piece, which is really cool. I hadn't imagined anyone had written a piece for trumpet and classical guitar and Campo uses a lot of sounds and textures to good effect in the first movement "Texture". "Rhythms" is also fun, employing a variously muted trumpet over a guitar that shifts between broadly strummed chords and harmonics. More guitarists should take an interest in playing this piece.



The rest of the CD sounds good, too. Hindemith's sonata is always worth checking out and the other pieces, though they weren't works I had heard before, are all worth checking out. Considering I bought this CD just for two tracks I'm pleased to report the rest of the CD is a lot of fun. I hope more people record and perform Campo's chamber works that include guitar."