Paul Merkelo’s nicely programmed album is a tribute to the great Ukrainian-born trumpet virtuoso Timofei Dokschitzer (also spelled Dokschizer or Dokschitser; 1921-2005). Dokschitzer expanded the solo trumpet repertoire immeasurably by dint of championing, commissioning and arranging, so it is fitting that an example of each is featured, especially as none of Dokschitzer’s recordings of them are currently available, even on the Marcophon label, which has issued many archival recordings of his. Arutiunian composed his Concerto (1950) for Aykaz Messlayan, who gave the premiere, but it was Dokschitzer’s recording that popularised the work internationally. Writing of a now deleted competitor (10/96), Jonathan Freeman-Attwood noted the work’s ‘satisfying combination of brisk-tongued virtuosity, poignant sentimentality and bold military asides’, features prominent in Merkelo’s bright, dazzling rendition with the Russian National Orchestra.

Soloist, orchestra and conductor – Hans Graf – are put rather more on their mettle by Weinberg’s masterly Concerto (1966-70), a work of greater expressive complexity and depth. Merkelo, nimble-tongued and acute in the outer movements, is at his finest in the exploratory central ‘Episodes’, which prepares the ground for the polystylistic web of allusions in the finale, ‘Fanfares’, including Mendelssohn, Rimsky, Shostakovich and – not mentioned by the annotator – Stravinsky’s Petrushka.

In a 1995 interview with Robert Duffie (available online), Dokschitzer mentioned that he had arranged Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto (Op 102), rather than the First (Op 35); presumably an unfortunate slip of the tongue. The arrangement given here is not quite Dokschitzer’s, published only in 2009, four years after his death, and in a trumpet-and-piano reduction. Dokschitzer aimed to restore Shostakovich’s original intention for the work as a true double concerto for piano and trumpet, transferring some lines from the piano right hand, and even violins, to his instrument. Merkelo has made his own edition in conjunction with Graf and pianist Jae-Hyuck Cho, using Shostakovich’s original orchestration and adapting Dokschitzer’s arrangement. It still sounds as riotous and high-spirited as before, and Merkelo and company raise the roof at the end.