[TRUMPET CONCERTOS] Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto in A♭ major

Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto in A♭ major (1950) is the Armenian composer's sixth major composition, a "virtuoso showpiece" composed in 1949-1950. According to J. Sundram, "it is an energetic powerhouse of Eastern European lyricism and harmonic textures".[1]

Arutunian's engaging and idiomatic trumpet concerto was "quickly assimilated into the standard trumpet repertoire worldwide, earning highest international praise from audiences, critics and performers".[2] In an interview with Allan Kozinn of The New York Times, Philip Smith, the former principal trumpeter of the New York Philharmonic, observed that Arutunian's Trumpet Concerto was frequently chosen as an audition piece at Juilliard. "One of the reasons this piece has become so popular..." Smith said, "is just that it's a flashy piece. It has a very gypsyish, Russian, Armenian kind of sound, with very soulful, beautiful melodies and plenty of exciting rapid-tonguing kind of things.'"[3] * Professor Anatoly Selyanin related in 2004, "In January I headed the jury of an American competition devoted to the Arutiunian trumpet concerto. 34 trumpeters played only this concerto." Selyanin said that "even a dog", if admitted to a performance, would recognise the musical structure at once and "know that in eight steps the concerto will be complete"...[4]

Arutunian's concerto for trumpet was conceived of and written as a single-movement concerto with an extended lyrical episode.[5] The consists of seven major sections which are all performed without break:

Andante maestoso
Allegro energico
Meno mosso
Tempo I
Meno mosso
Tempo I
Cadenza & Coda

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