Trumpet virtuoso Paul Merkulo performs four concertos by Age of Enlightenment composers that display a high level of execution. With the invention of valves to control pitches and timbre, the trumpet had evolved, and the late Baroque and early Classical composers took quick advantage of its new power.

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) composed his E-flat Concerto (c. 1800) for virtuoso Anton Weidinger. The two outer mvmts display the soloist’s bravura technique, given the mechanized keys that permit the trumpet an extended range. The middle of the 1st mvmt offers a contrast in C Minor. The Andante middle mvmt, in A-flat Major, has a highly chromatic melodic contour, moving to the distant key of C-flat. Fanfares and delicious runs mark the last mvmt, Allegro, set in lively Rondo form.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) enjoyed a diverse and prolific career. His music reveals a Baroque influence, especially in its polyphonic textures. His c.1714 Concerto in D Major favors simple, lyrical melody. In four mvmts, it resembles Baroque salon concertos, with the trumpet and strings sharing playful dialogue. The third mvmt, Grave, allows a reflective moment before the virtuoso runs of the finale, Allegro, lead to a sense of the noble gestures the trumpet may express.

Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) set his 1762 Trumpet Concerto in D Major in two mvmts. The 1st mvmt provides a cadenza. The trumpet remains content in the Andante to ride over the ensemble’s decorative support. The French horns announce the Allegro theme, a jaunty energy suffusing the animated dialogue that permits a moment of improvisation.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was approached by virtuoso trumpeter Anton Weidinger for a showpiece in 1804. The trumpet’s improvements allowed Hummel to exploit both its lyrical and decorative capabilities in his E Major Concerto. The trumpet’s chromatic color shines in the Allegro con spirito, as the music moves from E to A-flat Major. In the Andante in A Minor, the trumpet joins the oboe for a waving duet. The last mvmt, a Rondo, enjoys an operatic facility in brilliant runs and decorative filigree and quotes from an aria from Luigi Cherubini’s opera Les Deux journées. Soloist Merkelo incorporates a cadenza by Timofei Dokshizer that indulges his taste for bravura.