Maurice André

Maurice André works in the mine from the age of 14 to 18, while studying trumpet with his father. He then joined the army as a musician and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1951. A brilliant student, he won first prize for trumpet and joined the Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire, then the Orchestre Lamoureux and the Orchestre philharmonique de l'ORTF. In 1953, he recorded his first disc with Jean-François Paillard's orchestra. However, he did not turn away from popular music, whether he played alongside the Medrano circus or alongside Charles Trenet.

In 1955 he won first prize at the prestigious Geneva competition, but it was in 1963 that his fame became international, after winning first prize at the Munich competition. His virtuosity, his delicacy, but also his joviality made him a real star and allowed him to restore the nobility of the trumpet through classical and baroque recordings, as well as recordings of popular tunes.

Professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1967 to 1978, Maurice André was also artistic advisor to Henri Selmer Paris from 1966 to 1985. He contributed to the development of the four-piston piccolo trumpet in B-flat, which became his preferred instrument and with which he rediscovered the baroque repertoire.

Deceased in 2012, Maurice André recorded more than 250 recordings for which he received numerous prizes and awards. He was also crowned "Best trumpet player in the world" in 2006 in the United States.

Photo credit: Henri SELMER Paris