Serger Gabel

During the second half of the 19th century, a French school of trumpet playing was established, with French musicians and composers at the forefront of the instrument’s musical and technical development. As a result, it was entrusted with a more prominent role within the orchestra and soon also as a solo instrument. On the present disc, Håkan Hardenberger – who like so many other leading trumpet players studied in Paris – presents some of the fruits of this development: five important French works composed between 1944 and 1977. With the support of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Fabien Gabel – who incidentally began his career as a trumpet player – he opens the disc with Henri Tomasi’s Trumpet Concerto. Often performed and recorded, it here appears on disc for the first time with its original, longer ending, reconstructed from a newly discovered manuscript.

The German saxophonist Denis Gäbel comes from a musical family, so it is no wonder that he began his musical journey at a young age. After taking his first musical steps with the cello and the piano, it wasn't long before he finally discovered the saxophone. At the age of 13, Denis won first prize at the national competition "Jugend jazzt" and it was during this time that he first discovered the music of Charles Mingus. "I had my first contact with the music of Mingus at the age of 13 at the JungendJazzWorkshop NRW. Since then I have been a passionate fan of his work. The first Mingus album I heard was his "Blues and Roots" and it is still my favourite album to this day," Denis explains.