Concerto

Concerto for trumpet and orchestra was written in 1963 at the request of Anatoly Maximenko, the brilliant solo trumpeter of the orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR. Later, at the all-Soviet competition of composers, I emerged as the winner, and the Concerto was chosen to be a compulsory composition at the national trumpet competition. At the International “Prague Spring” Festival (1964) Anatoly Maximenko performed the Concerto at the finals of the competition, winning 1st Prize, and following his return to Moscow, he made a recording of the Concerto with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Boris Khaikin conducting. This is a single movement concerto, composed in the traditional sonata allegro form. It includes certain technical issues, like the high "D" in the finale, that were extremely challenging at the time it was written, but which have become commonplace in today's world, as evidenced by the growing popularity of the composition, often a required piece at trumpet competitions. Svetlana Leontchik, Moscow, December 2007