Initially, the trumpet could only play natural tones, which is why much of the Baroque trumpet music consists of such monotonous brass bands. However, in the late 18th century, some trumpeters in London used a mechanism that significantly expanded the number of notes available. There is little doubt that after his first London tour (1791-1792) Haydn spoke about this invention with his friend, the
… trumpet player Anton Weidinger. Messages like this apparently stimulated Weidinger to develop a fully chromatic trumpet. It was for this instrument that Haydn wrote his beautiful Trumpet Concerto in E flat in 1796. The concert can be heard on a CD with classical trumpet concerts by Joseph and Michael Haydn, among others, played by Crispian Steele-Perkins and The King ' s Consort led by Robert King. Steele-Perkins plays on this CD a number of reconstructions of nature and valve trumpets after examples from the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. (HJ) _more
