There is so much more music out there, that I was not able to include it all here. Also, a disclaimer, the music itself is the most important not necessarily this particular recording. If you find a different recording elsewhere, please get it! The most important part is to listen and see what you thing about it, see how it makes you feel, see if it makes your skin tingle.
Bach Brandenburg Concerto #2 on this cd of concertos 1-3 with Trevor Pinnock and the English Consort. Michael Laird is the trumpet player, amazing in his piccolo playing. He is well known for his natural trumpet playing. Pretty much any recording will be a good one, listen for the really high trumpet playing--it might almost sound as light and high as a flute!
Beethoven's good ol' Symphony Number 9. This cd set happens to have all of the symphonies in it, but just getting a recording with this one on it will be great! This piece has that melody, "Ode to Joy," that a lot of you have played before in band books.
Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique. This recording is a nice one with Bernstein conducting. It has some great loud and ruckus sections and some very beautiful moments as well. Listen for how Berlioz uses all the instruments in the brass section. There is even a "clock" that strikes 12 times.
Gershwin's An American in Paris. This cd also has some other fun tunes, like the piano concerto (lots of trumpet solos!) and the Rhapsody in Blue--a big clarinet tune. Listen to how Gershwin tells us a story through music and the variety of sounds you hear (even car horns!).
Holst's The Planets. This was composed before they discovered Pluto, so there are only 7 planets. You may have heard some of the beginning of this piece in cartoons. Some very strong, stately, march-like sections, and other parts are quite light and quick. Listen for the very end when the voices come in with the orchestra and see if you can hear when they actually end. Sometimes, I can hear them in my head for about 30 seconds after they have stopped singing.
Holst's First and Second Suites. Some of you are playing this in Wind Ensemble or Band. They are very fun pieces. This recording also has the Folk Song Suite which is a bit harder and usually played in college wind ensembles. Wonderful British Wind Ensemble music. This recording is an old one, but very good. Eastman Wind Ensemble is one of the best wind groups around.
Janacek's Sinfonietta fanfare section was written for the Sokol Gymnastics Festival in Prague in 1926. It has nine trumpets, two bass trumpets, two tenor tubas, and tympani. See if you can tell the difference between the instruments.
Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and any of his symphonies, really. But this one in particular is written like one big trumpet solo all the way through. It is one of my favorites, and this recording I am partial to: Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Bud Herseth, now retired, playing 1st Trumpet.
Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition This recording is also a nice Solti/Chicago Symphony one. Bud Herseth again playing the trumpet solos. It starts out with a trumpet solo and then listen to the piccolo trumpet solo towards te middle. It describes walking through a museum of art and looking at the different pictures. There is the walking music and music in different styles for each picture. See if you can tell which is which. This recording also has Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. A very fun one for trumpet, nice and loud.
Respighi's Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome. These are wonderful tunes for trumpet. Showing off the singing qualities and also the fanfare styles at the end of Pines. These are also both tone poems, musically describing places or situations, telling a story. Listen and see if you can draw pictures to describe what you hear.
Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra. This is terrific for all brass players alike. This tunes gets in a lot of movies and cartoons, so see if you have heard it before.
A compilation of Strauss' work just for brass ensembles (and organ) only. I hope someday you all will get to play one of these tunes. It is very exciting and fun to play as well as listen to.
Stravinsky was another of those composers who did a wonderful job at tone poems. You may have heard parts of these in the Fantasia movies. The Rite of Spring, Firebird Suite and Petrushka all have wonderful trumpet parts.
