Progress in Trumpet Technique: Hora Staccato

Grigoraș Dinicu wrote “Hora Staccato” as a showpiece for violin on the occasion of his graduation ceremony from the Bucharest Conservatory in 1906. Jascha Heifetz adapted it in 1932 and violists have been playing it ever since.

Harry James performed a trumpet adaptation in 1944 in the movie, Bathing Beauty. As far as I know this is the first recording of a trumpet version:

Rafael Mendez recorded “Hora Staccato” in 1957:

His performance is better than James’. The tempo is faster and Mendez's articulation is lighter and more precise. In comparison James’ version feels ‘thick’ and awkward. I attribute the difference to technique. Mendez has more technical skill than James did, though he couldn’t play jazz nearly so well.

Here is a 2015 recording by Brandon Ridenour:

It is comparable to Mendez’s version. I could easily have chosen a half dozen other contemporary performances, all as fleet as Mendez’s and Ridenour’s. I have no idea how many of Mendez’s contemporaries could play it as well as he did. But I suspect that the general level of trumpet technique has gone up over the last half-century so that the number of trumpet players who can perform at that level now is greater than the number in 1957.