I just saw master trumpeter Leonard Candelaria perform with accompaniment on piano from Natalia Bolkshakova at the Whitmore Recital Hall on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. The recital to my understanding did not follow the program notes exactly here are my thoughts:
Abblasen (Gottfriend Reiche, 1667-1739): A short piece (1 min?) taken from notes in an inscription? or painting? The piece was played on the piccolo trumpet, an instrument that produced sharp, high brassy notes that were less dense and weighty that I expected. If I understood Candelaria correctly, this piece might be authored by Bach and not Reiche, but who knows.
Allegra Spiritoso (first movement), Concerto in D (Giuseppe Tartini, 1693-1770): Again with the piccolo trumpet and accompanied by the piano. There sometimes an awkwardness when you pair the piano, with its mellow fluidity, with wind instruments, which are brighter, brassier, and more punctuated. This piece seemed to work well thought.
Caprice (Joseph Turrin, b. 1947): I wasn’t able to take notes on the trumpet used in this piece, but it was a bright, jaunty piece of music that played deftly with mood and pace. Candelaria was able to use the diversity of the instrument well; overall, the piece had a coy, flighty mood that played with emotion and tone well.
La virgen de la Macarena (‘The Bull Fighter’s Song’, Benardo Monterde 1880-1959, arr. Rafael Mendez and Charles Koff): the story of Rafael Mendez was the most interesting part of Candelaria’s brief notes; Mendez was a musician who went to Detroit as a laborer in the automobile industry, was discovered through the local music scene, and made a career in California as a top performer.
Dr. Candelaria’s expertise on his instrument is well known throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States. The fluidity and ease of his musical interpretations are a thing of beauty. Bravo!!