HK Gruber Conductor & Chansonnier
Håkan Hardenberger Trumpet & Conductor

Unknown Kindersinfonie: Toy Symphony
Stravinsky Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant
HK Gruber Aerial
Haydn Symphony No. 22 in E flat major, Hob. 1/22 The Philosopher
HK Gruber Frankenstein!!

 

The concert starts with the playful Toy Symphony, a work with toy instruments including a trumpet, ratchet, nightingale, cuckoo and drum.

Stravinsky’s Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant was written for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, and performed by 50 elephants and 50 ballerinas.

HK Gruber’s Aerial is a trumpet concerto written for Hardenberger. The first movement depicts aerial views of a Nordic landscape; the second imagines seeing the world from space.

Written while Haydn was at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy, Symphony no. 22 The Philosopher was ground breaking. With innovative instrumentation and reordering of the movements, it broke tradition with a style that Haydn himself had been instrumental in creating.

HK Gruber describes Frankenstein!! as a “pan-demonium” for chansonnier (singing and rapid spoken patter) and orchestra after children’s rhymes by H.C. Artmann.