Suite for trumpet and piano No.1

The First Suite for Trumpet was composed in Prague in 1945 after Winterberg's return from Theresienstadt. Nothing is known about a performance in his home town. Winterberg must have had it in his luggage when he decided to relocate to Bavaria in 1947. It is uncertain whether the performance organized by the Munich Studio for New Music in Amerika-Haus on 2 March 1950 was the world premiere, since the program does not identify the performance as such. Interestingly, performed in the same concert, alongside Winterberg's trumpet suite, was also a song cycle by Maria Maschat and excerpts from a piano suite by the fourteen-year-old Hans Zender, whose tender age is specially noted. The performers of the suite were Willy Brem (trumpet) and Agi Brand-Setterl, who also premiered Winterberg's First Piano Concerto with the Munich Philharmonic under Fritz Rieger in the same year. Striking is the depth of Winterberg's understanding of the character and style of playing of the solo instrument, how skillfully and confidently he handled the "idiom" of the trumpet. The Munich performance was very successful according to the critics and may have prompted Willy Brem to encourage Winterberg to compose the 2nd Suite. While the 1st Suite is still entirely indebted to Winterberg's Czech idiom, the 2nd Suite shows an orientation towards the tonal language of contemporary music in Germany, especially towards Hindemith. Both suites offer a kaleidoscope of moods and technical finesse in a small space.
Frank Harders-Wuthenow