The trumpet has had many concertos written for it by composers from the Soviet era and beyond. Appealing in its unabashed melodies and colorfully nostalgic feel, Alexander Arutiunian’s Concerto became popular in the West, while Mieczysław Weinberg’s emotive Concerto in B flat major was summed up by Dmitri Shostakovich as a “symphony for trumpet and orchestra.” Shostakovich’s own playful Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, is recorded here by Paul Merkelo with Timofei Dokschizer’s extended trumpet part, bringing it closer to the Baroque “double concerto” model that the composer may initially have intended.
Arutiunian, Weinberg, Shostakovich: Trumpet Concertos – Paul Merkelo
