Let's Get Personal

In the comments to this post, reader Peter Konefal asks an unrelated question that I thought I'd take the time to answer in a seperate post.

Here is Peter's question:

Matt, you play trumpet don't you. Do you play any hummel? What is your favorite baroque piece for that instrument? Mine is the hummel trumpet concerto mvmt 1 (not sure which number of concerto, but its 9:53 long...!) in any case, its fantastic and quite a workout I would imagine.
Peter Konefal | 04.21.05 - 10:22 pm

That is correct, I do play trumpet and am a member of the faculty at College of Heavy Metal (Weighted Brass) [not a real division, but rather an inside joke] at The Rock School [a real music school that I and Doug (trombone) do teach at].

The Hummel Concerto (score in zipped .pdf) is a favorite, but the Haydn (score in zipped .pdf) is my favorite of the trumpet concerti...I've got a good deal of the first movement memorized and I play it a lot as part of my warm-up routine.

Although, I must admit, I am partial to film scores, symphonies, and major orchestral works for my trumpet playing.

My favorite recording of both concerti is by Wynton Marsalis. For the record, my favorite trumpet player is still Doc Severinsen...he was my idol as a youngster and I still think he's the ideal trumpet player and musician.