Hans Winterberg

2 Suites

Hans Winterberg (1901–1991) composed his two trumpet suites at decisive turning points in his life– the first in December 1945 in Prague, a few months after his liberation from the Theresienstadt ghetto, the second in 1952 at the beginning of a promising new beginning as a composer in West Germany, where he had emigrated to in 1947. The first documented performance of the 1st Suite at the Amerika-Haus in Munich in 1950 was very successful according to the critics and may have prompted the performer of this premiere, the trumpeter 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.