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In June, the fourth CD with orchestral works by Toshio Hosokawa was released on the Naxos label, including his trumpet concerto Im Nebel, which Jeroen Berwaerts recorded together with the Residentie Orkest under Jun Märkl.
Jeroen Berwaerts explains what connects him to the brass band tradition, what yoga taught him about breath, and why singing became an essential part of his trumpet recitals.
Belgian trumpeter Jeroen Berwaerts is a musical powerhouse whose all-encompassing love for music knows no genre boundaries. Highly esteemed worldwide for his exceptional technical skills and sensitive musicality, he explores repertoire spanning all eras, from Baroque to contemporary music and jazz.
As a soloist, Jeroen Berwaerts has performed with leading orchestras including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Het Residentie Orkest, Belgian National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg. He has collaborated with conductors such as Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Markus Stenz, Jun Märkl, and Matthias Pintscher. He is a regular guest at internationally renowned festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, BBC Proms, Takefu International Music Festival in Japan, Domaine Forget International Festival in Canada, Ars Musica in Belgium, Heidelberg Spring, and Rheingau Musik Festival.
In the 2023/24 season, Jeroen Berwaerts begins his tour in Australia with concerts in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. In October, he will premiere a new work by Vito Žuraj with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by German and Japanese premieres with Ensemble Resonanz at the Elbphilharmonie and the Aichi Chamber Orchestra, respectively. Throughout the season, he will also perform with Camerata Bern and Alexander Melnikov, as well as at venues such as the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Liszt Academy Budapest, and Seoul Recital Hall.
Jeroen Berwaerts is known for reinvigorating the standard trumpet repertoire by placing it in inventive and unusual contexts. For instance, he combines Handel’s Feuerwerksmusik and dances from Rameau’s opera Dardanus with chansons by Jacques Brel, often taking on the vocal parts himself. Alongside his vibrant career as a trumpeter, he also completed jazz vocal studies at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.
His extraordinary commitment to contemporary music is evident in numerous world premieres, particularly Toshio Hosokawa’s second trumpet concerto Im Nebel and Francesco Filidei’s Carnevale. Following Håkan Hardenberger, he became the second trumpeter worldwide to incorporate HK Gruber’s Busking into his repertoire. In 2019, he premiered Tobias Broström's double concerto for two trumpets, Nigredo: The Dark Night of the Soul, alongside Håkan Hardenberger.
His latest discography addition is the album Signals from Heaven, recorded in 2017 with Salaputia Brass, where he appears as a trumpeter, jazz vocalist, and ensemble leader.
Jeroen Berwaerts studied with the renowned trumpet virtuoso Reinhold Friedrich in Karlsruhe. Since 2008, he has served as Professor of Trumpet at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media. He is also Professor in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music in London and an official Yamaha Artist.
2024/25 season
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Trumpet and large orchestra
Trumpet and chamber orchestra
Trumpet and piano
PROGRAMMVORSCHLÄGE
RAGTIMES & HABANERAS (for the 100th birthday of H.W. Henze)
Henze, Sonata per Otto ottoni (based on Vitali, Sonata op.4 nr.11)Holborne, The Fairie Round (arr. Roger Harvey) ***Weil, Threepenny opera suite (arr. Steven Verhaert)Henze, Ragtimes & HabanerasBizet, Carmen suite (arr. Rodger Harvey)
ROARING FIFTIES
Jeroen Berwaerts & Benni Brown (Trompete), Akiko Nikami (Piano) and Giovanni Weiss (Gitarre)Ibert, ImpromptuRodgers, My Favorite ThingsFrançaix, Sonatine (with a blue note)Hamilton, Cry me a RiverEnescu, LégendeScott, A Taste of HoneyBrubeck, Blue rondo à la Turk
VOYAGES
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 3Hosokawa, New Work for recorder and stringsHosokawa, Voyage VII for trumpet, strings and percussion (2005)Bach, Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 2
RAMEAU/BREL +
Telemann, Concert in D major for trumpet and stringsTelemann, Ouverture Les Nations in B-flat majorRameau/Brel, Dances from Platee and Chansons by Jacques Brel (Ne me quitte pas and La Quête)Händel, Suite in D major from Water Music for trumpet, strings and b.c.Rameau/Brel, Dances from Dardanus and Chansons by Jacques Brel (Marieke, Mathilde and Amsterdam)
SIGNALS FROM HEAVEN
Spiritual, Swing Lord sweet chariotGabrieli, Canzon noni toni (C173)Takemitsu, Garden RainGabrieli, Canzon septimi toni (C172)Gershwin, Summertime (Arrangement Boris Netsvetaev)***Takemitsu, Signals from Heaven Day SignalGabrieli, Canzon primi toni (C170)Ellington, from Sacred Concerts: Come Sunday (Arrangement Boris Netsvetaev)Gabrieli, Canzon (C194)Spiritual, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child (Arrangement Boris Netsvetaev)Takemitsu, Signals from Heaven Night Signal
"Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 1 was a masterclass in chamber music-making: faced away from Tognetti, Melnikov remained in intimate contact. Shifts of mood were constant and collective – a hint of Chopin here, a blush of Romantic passion there, biting neoclassicism all over the place. Trumpeter Jeroen Berwaerts’s solos were crystal-toned, injecting a flash of circus pizzazz when needed."
The Guardian, Flora Willson, 23/3/2025
"Here he presented a brilliant and fascinating program accompanied by (...) Konstantin Shamray. (…) Berwaerts opened the concert in style with the arresting upward glissando of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, showing his faultless technique and golden tone with cleanly articulated runs, bluesy slides and effortless trills before switching to a mute. Shamray’s vamping piano set up a rocking pulse while the Belgian unleashed an array of effects, adding layers, textures and colours to Gershwin’s big hit. (…) This was an evening of true virtuosity from two performers in perfect sync with each other, along with a spark of showmanship and theatre."
Steve Moffatt, Limelight-arts.com.au, 19/9/2023
"With a clear, flexible tone and brilliant technique, he effortlessly mastered the gleaming key motifs, trills, and runs, while also lending powerful expression to the cantabile themes."
DARMSTÄDTER ECHO, on Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, 20/10/2020
"As a soloist, the Belgian trumpeter Jeroen Berwaerts – to whom the work is also dedicated – plays with intense musical assuredness. [...] In lieu of virtuosics, Berwaerts performs finely shaded variations of the trumpet's tonal space, which he played in the end without a mouthpiece, dissolving into nothingness, together with the chamber ensemble."
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, on Toshio Hosokawa's trumpet concerto "Voyage VII”, 14/9/2020
"Jeroen Berwaerts astonished with an incredibly warm and smooth sound together with a deeply felt approach to melodics. [...] The Andante was especially heartfelt, with Berwaerts drawing out and carrying across the phrasing from his innermost depths."
RHEIN-NECKAR-ZEITUNG, 21/2/2020
”The concert opened with Haydn’s familiar Trumpet Concerto, where Berwaerts delivered a captivating solo with golden brilliance, soaring melodies and virtuoso flair. (…) At the afterparty, listeners were treated to Berwaerts’s elegant singing voice in the Brel songs Marieke, Mathilde, Amsterdam and Ne me quitte pas. In his lovely, warm and flexible baritone, he gave a smooth and polished rendition of the songs quite different from Brel’s own rough-around-the-edges performances, but nevertheless captured something of Brel’s anxiety and ecstasy.”
Helsingin Sanomat, 6/12/2019
"He excelled (even as a jazz vocalist) (...) Almost casually, he led [us] cleverly and with a rich vocabulary through the program, which Salaputia Brass played with incredible confidence and passion. (...) Bravissimo!"
Augsburger Allegemeine, 8.10.2018, Peter Urban
"Played with blazing tone by Jeroen Berwaerts, the Trumpet Sonata emerges with particular brilliance."
BBC Music Magazine, John Allison, March 2015
"The real stars, though, are athletic trombonist Gérard Costes, and trumpeter Jeroen Berwaerts, who combines lyrical warmth with an intensity that is often breathtaking."
Guardian, Tim Ashley, 22/1/2015
"After the evening in the Laeiszhalle, the audience was above all spellbound by such beautiful music that was never dull but full of spirit and warmth. The soloist Jeroen Berwaerts made two trumpets and a flugelhorn sing in Gruber’s “Busking” with great virtuosity (…) And then, at the end of the concert, Berwaerts started singing. The synthesis of Rameau dance movements and Brel chansons was inspired. There was nothing unoriginal about the way he lit up the concert hall with Brel’s laconic amazement."
Die Welt, 5/6/2014
"From the first to the last note, initially playing the mouthpiece followed by different trumpets and flugelhorns, the Belgian trumpeter Jeroen Berwaerts was captivating. (…) He negotiated the musical cliffs with an ease and radiance that belied the feat that the soloist achieved through his playing."
kulturzeitschrift.at, Silvia Thurner, 5/8/2014
"In Haydn’s trumpet concerto in e-flat minor, Jeroen Berwaerts proved once again that his instrument can do more than play fanfares. When one masters this instrument like Jeroen Berwaerts does, Haydn’s concerto is a pearl - a musical stroke of genius that strikes a perfect balance between soloistic virtuosity and harmonious cooperation."
Kölner Zeitung, 25/8/2008
Jeroen Berwaerts Quartett - Festival aufm Platz 2023 - Die wilden 50er
Joseph Haydn - Trompetenkonzert Es-Dur | Jeroen Berwaerts | WDR Funkhausorchester
3 MOB Pieces by HK Gruber | Jeroen Berwaerts and Tapiola Sinfonietta
Salaputia Brass & Jeroen Berwaerts: Signals from Heaven
V.Brandt / J.Brahms
HK Gruber Busking
Ligeti Mysteries of the Macabre, Jeroen Berwaerts, deFilharmonie Academy, AMUZ
Rameau Brel, Jeroen Berwaerts, deFilharmonie Academy, AMUZ 2016
Jeroen Berwaerts, Toshio Hosokawa, Paul Huang, Residentie Orkest The Hague, MärklNaxos, 2024, 8.574543
Jeroen Berwaerts, Salaputia Brassaudite, 2017, 97.725
Jeroen Berwaerts, Kenichi NakagawaNihon Acoustic Records, 2016
Jeroen Berwaerts, Isabelle Faust, Teunis van der Zwart, Alexander Rudin, Gerard Costes, Alexander MelnikovHarmonia Mundi, 2015
Jeroen Berwaerts, Constantin Ribbentrop, Johannes Unger, NDR BrassFibonacci, 2015
Jeroen Berwaerts, Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Teodor CurrentzisHarmonia Mundi, 2012, LC 7045
Jeroen Berwaerts, Olivier Dartevelle, Rohan de Saram, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Robert HP PlatzNEOS, 2012, LC 15673