Musician. The premiere classical trumpeter of his generation, he used skill and an exuberant personality to make his instrument an accepted part of the solo repertory. Born into a mining family at Alles in the South of France, he learned the trumpet early but at 14 followed his forebearers underground then after five years of digging coal joined the French Army. While stationed with the 8th. Regiment he joined the unit band and evidenced sufficient talent that he was sent to the Paris Conservatory for training. Winning a 1955 competition in Geneva landed him good orchestral positions though he became frustrated at the lack of solo opportunities. In 1963 Andre declined a chance to judge the Munich International Competition, choosing instead to be a competitor; his win brought him to the notice of Herbert von Karajan and other maestros of the day and led to a 40 year career of headlining with virtually all of the world's major symphonies. Andre was to play about 200 recitals a year in which he programmed such Baroque masters as Bach, Handel, Purcell, and Vivaldi and made familiar the previously forgotten concertos of Haydn and Hummel, in the process inspiring a line of new practitioners of his art. Retiring to the village of Urrugne in 2004 he never forgot his humble origins, frequently showing his old miner's helmet to visitors at his three homes, one of which he joked was paid for by Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No. 2. At his death he left a massive recorded legacy. Of his approach to his chosen instrument he said: "You're like a matador in a bull ring. I see flautists and oboists go on the stage gingerly. If you do that with the trumpet you're finished. You have to go on as a winner".
Musician. The premiere classical trumpeter of his generation, he used skill and an exuberant personality to make his instrument an accepted part of the solo repertory. Born into a mining family at Alles in the South of France, he learned the trumpet early but at 14 followed his forebearers underground then after five years of digging coal joined the French Army. While stationed with the 8th. Regiment he joined the unit band and evidenced sufficient talent that he was sent to the Paris Conservatory for training. Winning a 1955 competition in Geneva landed him good orchestral positions though he became frustrated at the lack of solo opportunities. In 1963 Andre declined a chance to judge the Munich International Competition, choosing instead to be a competitor; his win brought him to the notice of Herbert von Karajan and other maestros of the day and led to a 40 year career of headlining with virtually all of the world's major symphonies. Andre was to play about 200 recitals a year in which he programmed such Baroque masters as Bach, Handel, Purcell, and Vivaldi and made familiar the previously forgotten concertos of Haydn and Hummel, in the process inspiring a line of new practitioners of his art. Retiring to the village of Urrugne in 2004 he never forgot his humble origins, frequently showing his old miner's helmet to visitors at his three homes, one of which he joked was paid for by Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No. 2. At his death he left a massive recorded legacy. Of his approach to his chosen instrument he said: "You're like a matador in a bull ring. I see flautists and oboists go on the stage gingerly. If you do that with the trumpet you're finished. You have to go on as a winner".
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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