None of us alive now — or for the past two hundred years, actually — remembers when the trumpet was not able to play a melody. As loud, commanding and often shrill as it was; prior to 1800, the sleek and shiny instrument was basically a one trick pony. Then, at a concert in Venice in the spring of 1800, along came the trumpet soloist of the Royal Imperial Theatre, Anton Weidinger, proudly waving his newly invented keyed trumpet for all to see. What Weidinger did next is exactly what BSO principal trumpet Andrew Balio will do Thursday at the Music Center at Strathmore. Although 212 years separates the two performances, Balio will once again demonstrate the trumpet’s versatility through Haydn’s “Trumpet Concerto,” a piece that was commissioned for the big event back in Venice. He and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra perform under the baton of conductor, Nicholas McGegan.
“During the time of Haydn and Mozart, the trumpets weren’t doing much at all,” said the Wisconsin native, Balio. “The big revival for trumpet was when keys were invented and the trumpet could play all the notes of the scale.”
| Onstage |
| Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Haydn, Bach and Mozart |
| Where: Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday |
| Info: $28 to $88; 410-783-8000; bsomusic.org |
Balio first played the “Trumpet Concerto” when he was 15 years old, making his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony. And just as the trumpet evolved, so too did the player.
“Back then, just playing the notes was a challenge and an honor,” he continued. “But now I think I have a much better sense of what the piece is about and what each phrase needs to advance the music. It’s a life-long relationship we have with these composers.”
Because Haydn’s composition was the first piece to feature the modern trumpet as a solo instrument, the composer wrote a number of jokes into it beginning with false entrances at the top of the work.
“I come in and I play one note,” Balio explained. “Then I don’t play. Then I come in and play an old trumpet motif. But it’s only the third time when I come in and play the actual melody that the concerto really begins. Haydn was playing with the people’s expectations and makes fun of old-school fanfares [and] of the trumpet’s character.”
Included in the evening’s repertoire are Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 1” and Mozart’s “Symphony No. 39.”
