The Trumpets of Matthias Höfs Matthias Höfs

Album info

Album-Release:
2020

HRA-Release:
30.10.2020

Label: Berlin Classics

Genre: Classical

Subgenre: Chamber Music

Artist: Matthias Höfs

Composer: Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759), Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Alexander Glasunow (1865-1936), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Alessandro Marcello (1669-1747), Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949), Andre Jolivet (1905-1974), Wolf Kerschek (1969)

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  • George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759):
  • 1Messiah, HWV 56: "The Trumpet Shall Sound"03:54
  • Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major, Hob.VIIe:1:
  • 2Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major, Hob.VIIe:1: I. Allegro06:51
  • 3Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major, Hob.VIIe:1: II. Andante03:09
  • 4Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major, Hob.VIIe:1: III. Finale. Allegro04:36
  • Alexander Glazunov (1865 - 1936):
  • 5Album Leaf (1899) (Arr. For Cornet and Chamber Orchestra)04:32
  • Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901):
  • 6Aida: Triumphal March (Arr. For Brass Ensemble)05:58
  • Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937):
  • 7Pavane pour une infante défunte (Arr. for Trumpet and Harp)05:53
  • Alessandro Marcello (1673 - 1747):
  • 8Oboe Concerto in D Minor: II. Adagio04:18
  • Nikos Skalkottas (1904 - 1949):
  • 9Concertino for Trumpet and Piano05:33
  • Andre Jolivet (1905 - 1974):
  • 10Concertino for Trumpet, Piano and Strings (1948)09:40
  • Wolf Kerschek (b. 1969):
  • 11Poem for Matthias for Flügelhorn, Jazz Trio and String Quartet (2008)06:09
  • Total Runtime01:00:33

Info for The Trumpets of Matthias Höfs



On his new album "The Trumpets of Matthias Höfs" trumpeter Matthias Höfs gives an insight into his private trumpet collection. In the course of his career he has not only collected a large number of modern trumpets, but also historical models which he even partly reconstructed himself. "The gigantic variety of trumpet instruments has always fascinated me," says Höfs. "There is hardly any other instrument that is so versatile in sound and expression combined with this enormous dynamic range and possibilities". In cooperation with the Bremen wind instrument manufacturer Thein Brass, a treasure chest of over 30 different instruments has been collected over the years, which Matthias Höfs opens for this album. Meanwhile he plays exclusively on the trumpets he helped develop. "We are constantly trying to improve the intonation and trick the physics in the process, to test the sound characteristics of the most diverse materials and alloys and to make the instruments even easier to play. Every time it is like Christmas for me, when the instrument is then freshly shining and ready for the first concerts. For me it is a great luck to have these possibilities. When composers are interested in it and compose for special instruments, it's fantastic!”

The beginnings of the album as well as Höfs' history of the trumpet lie in the Baroque period and in Handel's most famous trumpet aria "The Trumpet Shall Sound". Despite the few natural tones of the baroque trumpet, Handel creates a harmonious musical statement. Matthias Höfs shines with a rare keyed trumpet in Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, in which the composer plays interestingly with the louder natural and the soft keyed tones, especially in the 2nd movement. Höfs demonstrates the special features of the cornet in an arrangement of Glazunov's Albumblatt (1899), and with his colleagues from German Brass, with whom he has toured the world for decades, he lets the Aida trumpet shine in Verdi's Triumphal March. Also with German Brass, he performs the arrangement of the 2nd movement of Marcello’s Oboe Concert on the so-called piccolo valve trumpet in high Bb/A, whose agility invites you to embellish the melodies. The unique combination of harp and descant horn and later in the piece piccolo trumpet is presented in Matthias Höfs' arrangement of "Pavane pour une infante défunte", in which Ravel's sound conception is transferred into a miniature.

With three works of the 20th century Höfs enters the here and now: Skalkottas' Concertino for trumpet and piano and André Jolivet's Concertino for trumpet, piano and strings make full use of the possibilities of modern trumpets. Sections with march-like formulas, triplet tongues, delicate lyricism and gripping ascents to the highest heights - a compendium of all the technical elements necessary to master the instrument. Wolf Kerschek's "Poem for Matthias" for flugelhorn, jazz trio and string quartet, whose calm melodic arcs, enriched by expressive jazz elements, bring out the soft elements of the flugelhorn, form the conclusion of this exciting album.

Matthias Höfs, trumpet
Yorck Felix Speer, bass
Anaelle Tourret, harp
Concerto Köln
Philharmoniker Hamburg
German Brass
Virtuosi di Praga


Matthias Höfs
By the age of six, Matthias Höfs declared the trumpet his instrument, “because it shines so nicely”. He received his musical education from Professor Peter Kallensee at Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, as well as from Professor Konradin Groth at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Just being eighteen years old, Höfs was already engaged as solo-trumpeter at the Philharmonic State Orchestra in Hamburg, where he enjoyed the fascinating world of opera for sixteen years. At the same time, Höfs became a member of the GERMAN BRASS Ensemble, with whom he continues to achieve worldwide successes. Since their first joint concert in 1985, he has been writing costumized and innovative arrangements for his colleagues and himself, which span more than one genre and continue to inspire the world of brass. Matthias Höfs always proved to be a pioneering spirit by consistently widening the horizon of his instrument. These continuous developments are encouraged by a close cooperation with other composers, who feel themselves inspired by his incomparable virtuosity and joy of experimentation. Additionally inspired by his position as “trumpet ambassador” in his home state Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany as well as the cooperation with the instrument makers Max and Heinrich Thein.

Starting in 2000, Matthias Höfs has been teaching as a Professor at Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, where he continues to inspire his students with enthusiasm, passion for his instrument, and great knowledge. In addition to his extensive concert performances as solo-trumpeter and chamber musician, Höfs recorded numerous solo-albums, as well as over twenty recordings with GERMAN BRASS.

This album contains no booklet.

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