This little concerto, probably composed in Salzburg in the mid-1760s, has the distinction of containing one of the highest notes (and perhaps the highest note) ever written for the trumpet, an F sharp two and a half octaves above middle C. The work is actually written for the clarino, a Baroque ancestor of the trumpet with a distinct construction and a special mouthpiece that emphasized the instrument's highest register and enabled the player to hit notes well above the range of a conventional trumpet. The result is a very tough trumpet part that has endeared the piece to Maurice André and other virtuoso trumpeters, they being the only players these days who have the lips for the very top notes. Beyond this special feature the Trumpet Concerto in D major is a pleasant piece of early Classical-period instrumental music. It is in two movements of roughly equal length, the first a singing Adagio and the second a flashily arpeggiated Allegro that contains the virtuoso thrills and room for a cadenza; the two movements total nine or ten minutes in performance. The work is perhaps at its most effective when juxtaposed with trumpet works from other periods, as an illustration of the surprising sounds that have come from the instrument at various points during its long history.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide