Wynton Marsalis Receives Thunderous UK Premiere

On April 11th, Alison Balsom gave the UK premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra. She calls it the “most important piece written for trumpet in 200 years.”

Playing catch-up: The Wynton Marsalis Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra premiered in 2023 by the trumpeter Michael Sachs with the Cleveland Orchestra. It has also been performed in Verbier and with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. This is the first major orchestral work the 62-year-old Marsalis has written for his own instrument. His previous orchestral works include a violin concerto written for Nicole Benedetti and his Pulitzer-nominated jazz oratorio, Blood on the Fields.

Digging deeper: The Marsalis trumpet concerto has been described as a virtuosic pastiche of idioms ranging from jazz to blues to mariachi to classical. It opens with a triumphant elephant call, which you can watch Balsom demonstrate. Though only a year old, Marsalis’ trumpet concerto may be destined to become a staple of the repertoire, alongside obligatory concerti for aspiring trumpeters by Haydn and Hummel. For a little taste, check out Håkan Hardenberg performing it with Christoph Eschenbach at the Verbier Festival last summer.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a soprano and writer born and bred in the heart of Toronto’s musical community. When she’s not singing opera, you can find her covering Carole King on the ukulele, biking through the Annex and advocating the merits of Puccini.