Once in a while a performer on an 'unusual' instrument raises the overall profile of the instrument forever more. In decades past, Maurice André gave the modern trumpet a boost by playing it beautifully and mostly in traditional baroque repertoire.

It has taken the young Swede Håkan Hardenberger to complete that crusade and give the modern trumpet its own distinctive concert voice.

Hardenberger trained first in his native Sweden with Bo Nilsson and then in Los Angeles with Thomas Stevens. From the outset Hardenberger was determined to pique the interest of living composers, thus adding to the potential concert repertoire of this brilliant instrument.

And so it went. Birwistle, Ligeti and Henze have already written significant pieces for him and more will follow. Hardenberger has not neglected the classic trumpet showpieces of Hummel and Haydn, but his virtuosity has been put in the service of bringing new audiences to the instrument itself in music from all eras.

Håkan Hardenberger has recorded extensively for Philips Classics.