VELVET ECHOES / 绯色回声

Velvet Echoes bridges half a century of Romantic Trumpet expression, uniting two concertos separated by history yet bound by artistic vision. The title evokes multiple resonances: the rich, velvety tone of lyrical trumpet playing, the crimson velvet curtains of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre where Böhme served as cornet player for 24 years, and—most poignantly—the blood-red shadow of Stalin's terror that both composers endured.

Oskar Böhme's Trumpet Concerto in F minor, Op. 18 (1899) holds unique historical significance as the only full-scale concerto from the entire 19th-century Romantic era. While Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Schumann composed prolifically for other instruments, they somehow neglected the trumpet. Böhme filled this void with a work of violin-like lyricism and Russian-inflected passion, composed during his early years at the Mariinsky, when Tchaikovsky's and Rimsky-Korsakov's works still echoed through those halls.

Vladimir Peskin's Concerto No. 1 in C minor (1948) sounds remarkably Romantic despite being written in Stalin's Soviet Union during the brutal Zhdanovshchina cultural purges. Composed for legendary trumpeter Timofei Dokshitzer, it channels Rachmaninov's lush harmonies and Glazunov's melodic sweep—a bold artistic statement disguised as political compliance. His intimate Romance in D-flat Major (1945), written right after the war ended, closes the program with tender vulnerability

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Both composers paid dearly for their art. Böhme, after 24 years at the Mariinsky, was arrested in 1935 and executed three years later. Peskin's father was persecuted and his mother was deported to Kazakhstan; forced to support his family alone, he worked as a pianist with the Red Army's Balalaika Orchestra, where he met the young Dokshitzer. Yet from such persecution arose transcendent beauty—the profound emotional depth in their music born not despite suffering, but through it, proving music's power to outlive tyranny.

Recorded at the Beijing Film Academy Sound School Scoring Stage using premium microphones in high-resolution stereo and Dolby Atmos, this album is released by XWX Music, one of China's leading classical music labels known for partnering with Sony Music, Universal Music, and other major international labels.

Trumpeter and educator Chenguang “Edmond” Wang joined the University of Virginia faculty in 2024 as the trumpet instructor and Interim Principal Trumpet of the Charlottesville Symphony.  He is also a member of the University of Michigan Faculty Brass Quintet.  His career spans solo, chamber, orchestral, and commercial performance.

Performers: Trumpet: Chenguang "Edmond" Wang       Piano: Jingbo Zong