Academy of St. Martin in the Fields & Hakan Hardenberger & Sir Neville Marriner - Haydn / Hummel / Hertel / Stamitz: Trumpet Concertos (1987)

Hakan Hardenberger possesses a polished technique, a clear tone, and a smooth legato, and his playing is superb. A few examples of questionable musicianship (such as the undue stress he puts on the resolution of trills) point to the fact that he is a not-yet-fully-educated virtuoso. One might prefer a somewhat less bright, more mellow and burnished sound, but the technique and control the trumpeter exhibits are not to be faulted. He offers an excellent cadenza, true to the style of the period. Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields do a smashing job with the rest of the piece. Philips's engineering is excellent, though the trumpet is larger-sounding and closer than it should be--a small flaw. --Ted Libbey