Catalogue | Brass

Solos de Concours - French Music for Trumpet and Piano

• Solo de Concours
• Allegro deciso (02:56)  
• Lent (02:20)  
• Final (02:04)  

• "Mobiles"
• Lent (03:09)  
• d'un rythme souple et balancé (02:58)  
• Presto (02:18)  

• Cantabile et Scherzetto
• Lent (02:34)  
• Très vite (00:42)  
• Un peu moins vite (00:37)  
• 1°. Tempo (01:05)  

• Pièce de Concours (06:13)  

• Quatre Variations sur un Thème de Domenico Scarlatti
• Thema (01:03)  
• Variation I (00:54)  
• Variation II (00:53)  
• Variation III (02:52)  
• Variation IV (01:34)  

• Fantaisie en mi bémol
• Andantino con moto (02:25)  
• Cadence (00:41)  
• Allegro molto, con fuoco (01:16)  

• Morceau de Concours
• Lent (02:29)  
• Allegro (01:59)  

• Suite en trois parties, op. 133
• I. Gaîment (03:09)  
• II. Lent sans excès (05:28)  
• III. Vif (02:24)  

The SACD “Solos de Concours” presents works by eight composers, written specially for the final exams of the trumpet class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. The composers, from Camille Saint-Saëns to Florent Schmitt, from André Chailleux to Jeanine Rueff had personal links to the Paris Conservatoire and are unified, despite all stylistic boundaries, by their belief in the future of “their” Conservatoire.
In the two centuries since its foundation, the Conservatoire has produced a large number of extraordinary artists: France’s musical elite. The educational work with the students was rooted in revolutionary ideals and continued the Enlightenment on a cultural level. The unique, maybe even “revolutionary” teaching model was the element that secured the Conservatoire’s leading position in Europe. The clear objective was the hitherto unknown specialisation on one instrument, including both the technical dimension, the méchanisme, and artistic expression. The calibre of the graduates has always reflected the quality of an educational establishment. What therefore could make more sense than to commission works for the concours, the final exams, ideally reflecting its own philosophy? Which not only demand the highest level of technical perfection but also of the musician’s personality and his artistic expression? The Conservatoire went even further: only those composers were chosen who had a personal connection to the establishment, be it as students or as professors. Apart from their original purpose, the works also mirror the unique French sound world.

Hannes Läubin (trumpet) became professor at the Musikhochschule München in 1996. He is also an orchestral performer (NDR Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio), a soloist and was a member of the ensemble “German Brass”.
Lukas Maria Kuen (piano) appears as a soloist and also holds a teaching post at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Hochschule Nürnberg, and is also official accompanist at the ARD competition.