Hailed as ‘the new Maurice André’ by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Paul Merkelo is a spectacular soloist who the Montreal Gazette calls ‘a most impressive master of his instrument.’ As principal trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Mr. Merkelo was the first member of the orchestra invited to record a solo album with the ensemble: ‘French Trumpet Concertos’ under the direction of maestro Kent Nagano. Making his Lincoln Center debut in 1999 with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Paul Merkelo has worked with the world’s greatest orchestras including: the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony, Venice Baroque Orchestra and the Eastman Wind Ensemble among others. He has performed with a veritable who’s who of legendary conductors. Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta and Valery Gergiev among them Paul Merkelo has now released a new recording for the Naxos label showcasing the Trumpet Concertos of Alexander Arutiunian, Dmitry Shostakovich, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Featuring The Russian National Orchestra under the direction of maestro Hans Graf, along with the acclaimed pianist Jae-Hyuck Cho, the three works on this recording each have a connection to the legendary Ukrainian trumpeter: Timofei Dokshizer who not only served as principal trumpeter with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre but who also enjoyed a spectacular live performance and recording career. Paul Merkelo is here with us to discuss these 3 great concertos. Listen to the podcast. Here's the track listing for the recording: Alexander Arutiunian (1920–2012) 1 Trumpet Concerto (1950, cadenza by Timofei Dokshizer, 1921–2005) xx:xx Andante maestoso – Allegro energico – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Cadenza – Coda Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–1996) Trumpet Concerto in B flat major, Op. 94 (1966–67) xx:xx 2 I. Etudes x:xx 3 II. Episodes – x:xx 4 III. Fanfares x:xx Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975) Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, for Piano, Trumpet and Strings (1933) (expanded trumpet part by Timofei Dokschizer* and Paul Merkelo**) xx:xx 5 I. Allegro moderato x:xx 6 II. Lento x:xx 7 III. Moderato – x:xx 8 IV. Allegro con brio x:xx *From the 2009 transcription for trumpet and piano (DSCH Publishers, 2009) **Assisted by Jae-Hyuck Cho and Hans Graf Album Produced by Michael Fine. Engineer Erdo Groot Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.