Roger Delmotte:

Doyen of the
French Classical Trumpet

Roger Delmotte in 1970

Success in Geneva

“Merci Monsieur Foveau”

With these words the 25-year-old trumpet player Roger Delmotte,

who had just won the Geneva International Competition for trumpet,
thanked Eugène Foveau (1886-1957) for preparing him and sending
him to the competition. Conservatoire de musique
Genève

The 6th Geneva International Music Competition 1950 was held for the categories vocal, piano, organ,
violin, clarinet and trumpet. Some 255 candidates from 30 countries applied for the competition, 66
of whom passed the preliminary round and made it to the finals with a public performance.
The jury included, amongst others, Igor Markevitch, Eugène Bigot and trumpet virtuoso
Paolo Longinotti (1913 – 1963).
Three test pieces had to be performed for the competition - the brand-new contemporary
trumpet intrada by Arthur Honnegger (published in 1947 and written for the Paris Conservatory
Concours), the Gavotte de Concert by Heinrich Sutermeister (published in 1950) and the Joseph
Haydn trumpet concerto - to demonstrate musical excellence, finesse and proficiency.
Arthur Honegger Intrada for trumpet in C and piano in B flat major
(H. 193), 1947

Heinrich Sutermeister Gavotte de Concert, for trumpet and piano, 1950

Joseph Haydn Konzert für Trompete und Orchester in Es-Dur,

Hob. VIIe:1 (Concerto per il Clarino), 1796

Trumpet test pieces for Geneva 1950

For preparing the Haydn trumpet concerto, only very few recordings were available at that time:
- George Eskdale (1897 – 1960), recorded in 1939 (2nd and 3rd movement only)
- Harry Mortimer (1902 – 1992), recorded in 1946
Roger Delmotte used the Harry Mortimer 78 rpm recording (Columbia DX 1535-36) to prepare the
Haydn part of the Geneva competition.

Clarinet 1st Paul-Jacques Lambert (France)

2nd Gilbert Voisin (France)
Organ 2nd Marie-Claire Alain (France)
Piano male 2nd Hubert Harry (England), Sergio Perticaroli (Italy),
Georges Alexandrovitch (Romania)
Trumpet 1st Roger Delmotte (France)
2nd Pierre Cox and Edgard Dewulf (Belgium)
Violin 2nd Huguette Fernandez (Spain)
Vocal female 1st Nell Rankin (USA)
2nd Gisèlle Vivarelli (Switzerland)
Vocal male 1st Matti Lehtinnen (Finland)
2nd Walter Berry (Austria)

Prize Winners in Geneva 1950

Pierre Cox (1929 - 2014) and Edgard Dewulf (1926 - 2009), both from Belgium, were Roger
Delmotte’s competitors in Geneva. It was Delmotte’s interpretation of the Haydn Andante
(“Merci Monsieur Foveau”) and his performance of the Honegger Intrada that won him the contest.
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the direction of Ernest Ansermet, an ardent advocate of the
competition, accompanied the finalists in the closing concert that was broadcasted by Swiss radio
stations.

The Geneva competition of 1950 was a breakthrough for trumpet.

It was the first time that the trumpet and a trumpet soloist were thus honored. This prize boosted
the trumpet as a solo instrument and the trumpet soloist as well. The trumpet was brought into the
focus of the public and composers. Challenging new, modern works for trumpet using jazz elements
were created that tapped into the capabilities of a modern trumpet.
The French composers Edgar Varese, André Jolivet, Florent Schmitt and Henri Tomasi wrote new,
breathtaking and challenging concertos for trumpet. The work "Nobody knows the trouble I see"
by the German composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann combined a solo trumpet, a symphony orchestra
and a jazz group including a battery of percussion. These were exciting times for trumpet!
Roger Delmotte knew most of the French composers personally, like Florent Schmitt, André Jolivet,
Henri Tomasi, Henry Barraud, Albert Moeschinger, Maurice Ohana, Jacques Bondon,
Pierre Hasquenoph and others. Georges Delerue was a close friend. He pioneered these new,
virtuoso trumpet works and performed them in public, in the studios of radio broadcasting
stations and in recording studios.

He was a brilliant ambassador for the traditional and new French trumpet repertoire of the 20th
century and a doyen for the French classical trumpet. Roger Delmotte was at home in all genres of
music.

Education
As a young boy, Roger Delmotte started out playing piccolo
flute, performing fanfares and harmonies in Roubaix. He soon
switched from flute to flugelhorn and took
trumpet lessons at the conservatory of his
hometown Roubaix. His first trumpet teacher
in Roubaix was Maurice Leclercq, a former Merri Franquin student.
In France, the fast track for studying the trumpet is attendance of the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris,
where Roger Delmotte enrolled in 1944.
Eugène Foveau
Professor of Trumpet at
1944, Roubaix Studied with Maurice Leclercq CNMD Paris 1925 - 1957
(1st prize CNMD 1911)
1944 Prix d’Honneur Roubaix
1946 1st prize Roubaix
1944 – 1946, Paris Student of Eugène Foveau (1886 – 1957)
1950 1st prize Geneva
1951 - 1986 Paris Opera Orchestra

Roger Delmotte was committed to the great French

trumpet tradition associated with the names Buhl,
Dauvergne, Arban, Franquin and Foveau.
It was Maître Foveau who instructed Roger Delmotte
and committed him to the French trumpet legacy.

« L’archet à la corde »
With these words Maître Foveau adapted and
translated string techniques to trumpet. Learning from
strings, woodwinds and singers was an important
aspect of Eugène Foveau’s educational approach. Eugène Foveau students
Photo Thierry Caens
“Foveau possédait une emission et un sens du phrasé exceptionnels digne des meilleurs violinistes
(il avait joue du violon)” quotet Roger Delmotte on his teacher Foveau.
He developed Roger Delmotte’s sound, the attaque and the finesse required to perform in all
categories. For one year, in 1951, Eugène Foveau and Roger Delmotte became colleagues and shared
the orchestra pit in the Paris opera.

“Little ballet for trumpet"” – Jolivet’s trumpet works

André Jolivet’s Concertino for Trumpet, Strings and Piano (1948)

André Jolivet (1905 – 1974), a French avant-garde composer, was influenced by Debussy, Ravel,
Stravinsky and Messiaen. He also admired Arnold Schönberg and Edgar Varèse, with whom Jolivet
shared an obvious relish for the piercing sonorities of the brass instruments, especially the trumpet.
In 1933 Varèse had given Jolivet this advice: “Not too many notes. Make the piece concise...
The more you add, the more you restrict the chances for the sounds to open out and project
themselves. They lose their power to make their mark and to free themselves.”

André Jolivet created these works featuring trumpet as a solo instrument:

1948 Concertino for piano, trumpet and strings

1952 Air de Bravoure for piano and trumpet
1954 Trumpet Concerto No. 2
1968 Arioso barocco for trumpet and organ
1971 Heptade for trumpet and percussion

The Jolivet Trumpet Concertino was commissioned in 1948 by

the CNSMP Paris. Eugene Foveau and Raymond Sabarich,
professors of trumpet at the Conservatoire Paris, used the Jolivet
concertino as a practice and competition piece.
The concertino was performed at the conservatory in 1948, with
some parts left out. Two years later Arthur Haneuse
(1922 – 2010) premiered the concertino at Royaumont
Abbey, a Cistercian monastery north of Paris. One of the
most prestigious avant-garde trumpet works of the
XX century was born.
Roger Delmotte: André Jolivet
Concertino, recorded 1953
Roger Delmotte performed the Jolivet Concertino with LAG 1020
Concerts Lamoureux under the direction of J. Martinon in 1952.
In March 1953 he recorded it for the Ducretet-Thomson label. Ernest Bour conducted the Orchestre
du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Serge Baudo played the piano part. The recording was published
in 1954 by Ducretet-Thomson and Westminster.
Roger Delmotte’s recording of the concertino caused a sensation, with the piece, a dazzling showcase
for trumpet, then setting out on a tour around the world. Mannie Klein, trumpet, and André Previn,
piano, brought the Concertino to the USA through a performance in Los Angeles, and Mel Broiles
performed it on the East coast in 1961.

Andre Jolivet’s Concerto No. 2 (1954)

André Jolivet 2nd concerto for trumpet combined the trumpet with two saxophones to emphasize the
jazz-like sonority along with 14 different percussion instruments.

Roger Delmotte advised Jolivet on the Concerto No. 2 which Jolivet described as his “little ballet for
trumpet.” Jolivet’s Second Trumpet Concerto, one of the composer’s best-known works today,
was premièred by Raymond Tournesac in Vichy on 5th September 1956 under the direction of
Louis de Froment. Roger Delmotte recorded it for the Columbia label with the Orchestre
National de la Radiodiffusion Française with André Jolivet as conductor.

Jolivet Concerto No. 2: First recording Jolivet: Reissue on CD

Soloist: Roger Delmotte EMI Classics EAN 7 24358 52372 0
Columbia FCX 500

Roger Delmotte’s recordings of Jolivet trumpet works were honored with the Grand Prix du Disque in
1954, 1957 and 1958.
1953 Concertino pour trompette, orchestre à cordes et piano, 1948
Dir. Ernest Bour, Grand Prix du disque 1954

1954 Air de bravoure - Pour trompette (ou cornet à pistons), 1952

1956 Concerto pour trompette et orchestre n° 2, 1954

Orchestre National de l’O.R.T.F. , Dir. André Jolivet,
Grand Prix du disque 1957

1957 Suite delphique, 1943

Orchestre de chambre, Dir. André Jolivet
Grand Prix du disque 1957-1958

1958 Rhapsodie à sept, 1957

Orchestre Colonne, Dir. André Jolivet

André Jolivet works recorded by Roger Delmotte

Orchestra Trumpet at the Paris Opera

In his capacity as principal trumpet (super soliste) at the Paris

Opera from 1951 to 1986, Roger Delmotte was involved in most
of the productions and premieres that took place in those years.

Roger Delmotte worked for George Prêtre and

André Cluytens, among other conductors.
He witnessed the beginnings of
- Robert Massard, baritone, in 1952 (Samson & Dalila)
and the French debuts of
- Marie Callas, soprano
- Joan Sutherland
- Galina Vishnevskaya (Verdi, Aida, Georges Prêtre)
Edward Degas:
L'Orchestre de l'Opéra, 1870
Désiré Dihau, bassoon,
From 1952 to 1965, Roger Delmotte performed Henri Altes, flute
the famous Busser Lehmann production of
Rameaus’s Indes Galantes.
“Tiens, on joue du bugle maintenant a l’Opera?”
Albert Adriano, his friend and colleague in the
opera trumpet section, raised this question
when Roger Delmotte introduced the first
American medium-large model Bach trumpet
in C to the Paris opera pit.

When Roger Delmotte started out performing in the opera

orchestra, its brass section included his former teacher
Eugène Foveau along with Jean Greffin, Ludovic Vaillant
(1912 – 1974) and Arthur Haneuse (1922 – 2010).
In 1966 Pierre Thibaud (1929 – 2004) joined the
orchestra’s brass section as 1st cornet. Maria Callas in Paris 1958 (DVD)

André Cluytens rehearsing with the Société des

Concerts du Conservatoire brass section –
Roger Delmotte 2nd from right

The new generation came along, with Thierry Caens as 1st cornet from 1982 to 1986 and Bernard
Gabel joining the section as well. On trombone there were Gabriel Masson (1st solist), André Lafosse
(2nd solist), Roger Tudescq and Roger Rouyer, and on horn Jackie Magnardi and Michel Bergès .
Roger Delmotte worked with such conductors as Serge Baudo, Roberto Benzi, Pierre Boulez,
Ernest Bour, André Cluytens, Pierre Devevey, Roland Douatte, Jean Doussard, Robert Dunand,
Louis Fremaux, Louis de Froment, Maurice Hewitt, Paul Kuentz, Fernand Oubradous,
Francis Poulenc, J. F. Paillard, Georges Prêtre, Karl Ristenpart, Manuel Rosenthal,
Hermann Scherchen, Günter Wand and Bernard Wahl.

(L to R) Reinhold Friedrich, Roger Delmotte, Marc Geujon

(Super Soloiste opera Paris since 2016): the dream team

The Trumpet Soloist

Parallel to his opera orchestra obligations, Roger Delmotte

performed music from the Renaissance to the Baroque as a
trumpet soloist. He also worked in the studios of radio stations
and film studios and acted as an advocate of contemporary
French trumpet works by performing them in public.

The end of the 78-rpm era required re-recordings of the

trumpet repertoire using the newer recording technology.
Along with Ludovic Vaillant and Lucien Picavais, Roger
Delmotte made his first recording of this kind in 1950, for
Discophiles Françaises. Under the direction of Maurice Hewitt
he recorded J. S. Bach’s Suites No. 3 and No. 4.

In 1952 Roger Delmotte was the trumpet soloist for the Serge Roger Delmotte performing the
Baudo recording of the Joseph Haydn Concerto and the Haydn Concerto
Leopold Mozart trumpet concerto; it was around the same Orchestra Dir. F. Oubradous
time in which Helmut Wobisch recorded the Joseph Haydn Photo: Guy Bardet
trumpet concerto in Vienna.
1952: Serge Baudo - J. Haydn and Nov 1954: Hermann Scherchen
L. Mozart trumpet concertos J.S. Bach Concertos Brandenbourgeois
Contrepoint MC 20.117 Club Français du Disque CFD 34

Roger Delmotte performed the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 after his success in Geneva with the
ensemble de Nadia Boulanger conducted by Fernand Oubradous. Roger Delmotte used a trumpet
in F from Eugene Foveau. In the final movement he used his standard trumpet in C.

The Club Français du Disque recorded the Brandenburg Concerto in November 1954
with a formation de chambre de l'Orchestre des Cento Soli and Hermann Scherchen conducting.
The soloists of Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 were Georges Tessier, violin; Lucien Lavaillote, flute;
Robert Casier, oboe and Roger Delmotte, trumpet in F.

Delalande’s Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy form one of the most famous works in the French
musical patrimony. These symphonies are one of the best-known works of French baroque
instrumental music. The Collegium Musicum de Paris under Roland Douatte pioneered in the 50ties
french baroque music with Roger Delmotte on solo trumpet.

French Baroque

Collegium Musicum de Paris, Dir. Roland Douatte

Roger Delmotte, solo trumpet
Contrepoint MC 20.086
Roger Delmotte and Albert Adriano, trumpet Roger Delmotte
Collegium Musicum de Paris, Roland Douatte Collegium Academicum de Geneve,
Vogue SCK 03-30 Robert Dunand, 1972,
Concert Hall SMS-2784

Trumpet Organ
In 1968, together with his friend, the organist
Pierre Cochereau (1924 - 1984), Roger Delmotte
brought the trumpet together with the organ.
It was natural to combine organ pipes and the
trumpet, since both produce sounds through air
streams. Roger Delmotte’s approach was to
blend in with the organ, employing the sound of
the trumpet sound as a special register
of the organ.
Trumpet and organ recitals became very
popular from this time on.
Roger Delmotte and Pierre Cochereau

Pierre Cochereau and Roger Delmotte performed their first concert in the Cathedral of Strasbourg,
followed by trumpet and organ recitals at Notre-Dame Paris and in large French cities. By putting a
portable positif organ on a trailer of the car (an organ made by Philippe Hartmann), they brought
trumpet and organ music to small villages and to places which had none of their own or only a poorly
maintained one. Pierre Cochereau and Roger Delmotte did such touring for fifteen years, performing
mostly Baroque programs.

With John Grady, the organist of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City (1970-1990), Roger
Delmotte gave concerts all over Europe and they embarked on a concert tour to Turkey together.
A Chamber Musician

Performances of Roger Delmotte as a chamber musician spanned works from the Renaissance
through music of the twentieth century.

In the early 50s under the direction of Pierre Devevey, the Ensemble d’instruments ancient and a
brass ensemble promoted a repertoire from medieval and Renaissance areas.
They released several modern-instrument recordings with the pitch of 20th century orchestra and
the knowledge of historical practice of that time. Development of period instruments and research
on historically music practice was just at the beginning.

Pierre Devevey released the first recording with works from Girolamo Fantini and contemporaries
in 1952. Fantini was the greatest trumpet player of the 17th century, his “Modo per imparare a
sonare di tromba”, printed in 1638, was one of the first instrumental performing methods.
The major part of Fantini’s method is devoted to works for one or two solo trumpets with
continuo accompaniment. Fantini opened the door for trumpet into art music.

Roger Delmotte and members of the Paris opera

pioneered and recorded the trumpet music of Fantini,
Banchieri, Gabrieli. The works of Purcell and Clarke were
promoted in “Musique de Ceremonies”, Contrepoint
1028, works of Fantini, Gervaise and
du Tertre were also recorded in “Danseries et Fanfares”,
Vogue Contrepoint MC 20128 and in the recording
“Cuivres et Violes de la Renaissance”.

Cuivres et Violes de la Renaissance

L’Ensemble d’Instruments ancient Pierre Devevey
L’Ensemble de Cuivres Opera Paris
Vogue Contrepoint MC 20145, Paris 1952
L’ensemble de Cuivres Gabriel Masson, or the Gabriel
Masson brass ensemble, was a pioneer brass ensemble
dedicated to exploring Mediaeval, Renaissance and
Baroque music in France. Members of the Paris Opera
were led by trombonist Gabriel Masson, and modern
instruments were used, including up to eight trumpets and
eight trombones.
Their first recording was Musique pour Cuivres de la
Renaissance, released in the 60ties for the Club Français
Du Disque CFD 367. German, French and Italian
Renaissance music of the XV and the XVIth centuries was
recorded, with Roger Delmotte, Marcel Heyte, Lucien
Picavais and Pierre Thibaud on the trumpet, Gabriel
Masson, Camille Verdier, Serge Tevet and Roger Rouyer
on trombone.
From 1974 on, Roger Delmotte managed his own brass ensemble, which toured France and
South Africa.

One of the last recordings Karl Ristenpart issued in cooperation with his chamber orchestra of the
Saarländischer Rundfunk was the Marcel Bitsch/Claude Pascal edition of J.S. Bach’s
Art of the Fugue. It was recorded on June 16-19, 1966, by Club Français du Disque, and issued in US
on a Nonesuch 2-LP set. Karl Ristenpart regarded this recording as a sort of personal legacy.

J.S. Bach/Bitsch/Pascal: L’Art de la Fugue Die Kunst der Fuge Reissue CD

CFD 138-139, Musidisc RC-744 (vinyl), 1966 Klassik Haus KHCD-2011-025
Accord 465893-2 CD
 André Jolivet composed and conducted
incidental music for the 1943 Comedie Francaise
production of Gerhart Hauptman’s play
Iphigenie in Delphi. The Suite Delphique for 12
instruments was recorded in 1957 by Columbia
with Roger Delmotte on the cornet. It received
the prestigious Grand prix du disque 1957-58
and the Prix du Président de la République.

Columbia FCX 639, 1957

Jolivet: Suite Delphique, Dir. Andre Jolivet,

Roger Delmotte cornet

The Jolivet work Rapsodie à sept (1957)

combines a spasmodic gesture with an insistent
pulse and is scored for clarinet, bassoon, cornet,
trombone, percussion, violon and double bass.
This is the same combination of instruments
Stravinsky had used four-and-a-half decades
earlier in L’Histoire du soldat. Roger Delmotte
played the cornet for the Columbia FCX 724
recording.

Columbia FCX 724, 1958

 Jean Rivier (1896 – 1987) composed eight
symphonies and eleven concertos, two of them
for trumpet and strings.
Roger Delmotte recorded the concerto for
trumpet, alto saxophone and strings (195x) with
the orchestra de chambre de l’O.R.T.F conducted
by André Girard.

He recorded Rivier’s Aria for trumpet and organ

with Pierre Cochereau
Trois Siècles D'Orgue Et Trompette A Notre-Dame
De Paris, Philips 6504 104, 1979.

Inedits ORTF 995 006, 1971

Stravinsky - L’Histoire du Soldat

In 1952 Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat was

recorded for Pathé under the direction of
Fernand Oubradous. The ensemble consisted of
the most famous French soloists, with Roger
Delmotte on the cornet.
In the same year Ernest Ansermet recorded
L’Histoire in Geneve with Paolo Longinotti,
cornet. The popular recording conducted by
Markevitch with Jean Cocteau as Speaker, Peter
Ustinov as Devil and Maurice André on the cornet
was recorded in 1962, ten years after the
Oubradous recording was made.

VOX PL 7960, 1953

Shostakovich – Concerto in C minor for Piano,
Trumpet, and String Orchestra, Op. 35

This concerto was premiered on 15 October 1933

in the season opening concerts of the Leningrad
Philharmonic Orchestra with Shostakovich at the
piano, Fritz Stiedry conducting, and Alexander
Schmidt playing the trumpet solos.
Louis de Froment with the Ensemble Instrumental
de Paris, Genevieve Joye, piano and Roger
Delmotte, trumpet, recorded with Ensemble
instrumental 1954 the Shostakovich op. 35

France Allegro APG 120, ca. 1955

Shostakovich op. 35 reissue CD

Forgotten Records fr 1353
In Concert with Trumpet Colleagues
Mutual exchange and playing
with other professional trumpet
colleagues were key aspects
of Roger Delmotte’s musical life.
He performed Elektra together
with Eugène Foveau, Ludovic
Vaillant and Jean Greffin, he
teamed up with Raymond
Sabarich and Pierre Thibaud on
the trumpet, and he performed
the Vivaldi concerto for two
trumpets with Pierre Dutot and
the Orchestre de Chambre de
Radio France under the direction
of Jean Dussard.

Roger Delmotte at the ITG Conference in 2011

L2R: Pierre Cotelle, Andrew Naumann, Thomas Reiner,
Roger Delmotte

Les Trompettes de Paris

Roger Guérin (1926 - 2010), a leading French jazz

trumpeter and singer, and Georges Jouvin,
(1923 - 2016), composer and trumpet soloist
("La trompette d'or") formed with Roger Delmotte
an ensemble of three trumpets.
"Les Trompettes de Paris" combined different styles
of trumpet, jazz, variété and classical trumpet.
Roger Delmotte aided the classical trumpet part
playing the piccolo trumpet. Two recordings in the
years 1970-71 documented this crossover project.

L2R: Roger Delmotte, Georges Jouvin,

Roger Guerin
EMI 2C072 - 11797

Trumpet Masters
L2R: Roger Delmotte, Maurice André,
Georges Jouvin, Marcel Lagorce
Source: Gazette des Cuivres * 26 october 2016
Maurice André was still a student at the Paris Superior Conservatory
when he recorded the concerto for 2 trumpet, strings and Continuo in C Major, RV 537. Roger
Delmotte played first trumpet, Maurice André was 2nd trumpet, Roland Douatte conducted the
Collegium Musicum de Paris. The recording was issued 1952, label Symposium.

Vivaldi Concerto for 2 trumpets RV 537.

Roger Delmotte (tp1), Maurice André (tp2) Maurice André’s first
Symphonium 1107 recording was made
with Roger Delmotte
A Studio Film Music & TV Performer
Roger Delmotte’s work in the studios included film music of Georges Auric, George Delerue,
Hans Eissler, Jean Francaix, Paul Sarde and Jean Wiener, Raymond Sabarich was a regular
member of the trumpet section.
Roger Delmotte made trumpet recordings for radio broadcasts and TV, among them the
Rosenkavalier and “Dichter und Bauer” in 1981.

A Recording Artist
In May 1985, Alvin Lowrey and Michel Laplace provided a discography
for Roger Delmotte as a supplement to the ITG Journal outlining more
than 50 trumpet recordings.

A comprehensive discography is contained also in

Laplace, Michel – Le Monde de la Trompette et des Cuivres

A Trumpet Pedagogue

1950 – 1992 Trumpet professor at CNR in Versailles

1965 – 1966 Assistant to Sabarich at CNSM Paris
1966 – 1967 Interim professor at CNSM Paris
– 199x Master Classes in Salzburg, Tokyo, Switzerland
1981 – 1982 Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon
1985 – 1991 Conservatoire in Lausanne (master classes)
1967, 1968 (summer) Conservatoire in Nice

Theo Charlier:
36 Etudes for trumpet
Edited by Roger Delmotte
Roger Delmotte was an influential mentor for many trumpet students, among them
Nicolas André, Guy Bardet, Michel Blanc, Robert Bouché, Roger Boufferet, Alain Cambon,
Antoine Curé, Dominique Derasse, Pierre Dutot, Albrecht Eichberger, Michel Gandolfo,
Roger Jeanmarie, René Maze, Manu Mellaerts, Gérard Millière, Elisabeth Nouaille-Degorce,
René Périnelli, Jean-Luc Ramecourt, Jean Sibra, Rudi Scheck, Olivier Theurillat, Marc Ullrich,
Pascal Vigneron and Urban Walser.
More than 400 trumpet students were educated by Roger Delmotte at the Conservatoire CNR de
Versailles between 1950 and 1984. He served as Directeur Artistique of the International Toulon
Trumpet competition from 1974 to 2000.

Roger Delmotte shared his trumpet skills with young trumpet students in trumpet master classes in
France, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.

Roger Delmotte’s Trumpet Class at Versailles, June 1970

Roger Delmotte with a trumpet class in

Nice in 1968, at the Cloister of Cimiez

L2R: Michel Blanc, Jean-Louis Cagnon,

Gaston Cagnon, Roger Delmotte, Juan
Forisco-Riba, Jean Christoph Wiener,
Francois Louche, Guy Bardet
Photo: Guy Bardet (1st from right)
Trumpets and other instruments played

Roger Delmotte collaborated with the Antoine Courtois instrument maker to improve trumpets.
A special series of trumpets were signed with “R. Delmotte” on the lead pipe and on the bell.
Roger Delmotte used the first medium-large V. Bach trumpet at the Opera Paris.
The following trumpets did he played during his professional life:

Aubertin C trumpet
Lefevre cornet (owner Paul Chaine)
Millerau D trumpet (for Mozart, Bach Suites, Stölzel …)
Courtois E-flat/D trumpet
Schilke trumpet, C and B, E-flat, Schilke/G. Mager mouthpiece
Piccolo: Courtois, Scherzer/Augsburg

Courtois Model “Roger Delmotte” Piccolo Signature R. Delmotte on leadpipe 1

Signature 'R. Delmotte' on trumpet bell

Personal notes
Roger Delmotte was honored with
Chevalier des Arts & Lettres (1965)
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (1972)
Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (2001)
The International Trumpet Guild honored him with the ITG Honorary Award in 2011

Roger Delmotte was born September 20, 1925 in Roubaix, France. He now resides in
Versailles near Paris and in Switzerland.
Soundfiles and Clips

Bach, J. S. Ouverture No. 3

Ludovic Vaillant & Roger Delmotte - French Trumpet Legends
Ludovic Vaillant, trp1, Roger Delmotte, trp2, Lucien Picavais (?), trp3
Recorded 1950
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKl0O1JTvyA&t=97s

Charpentier Te Deum - Concerto a Pisogne - brass/organ

Roger Delmotte, Michel Becquet, trp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5nyyp24G5k

Delerue Récit et Choral

Roger Delmotte and Pierre Cochereau
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrN3zg1yRCc

Gounod Faust
Chorus & Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opera, Paris
Andre Cluytens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIQWjSIsDf8

Händel Watermusic
Roger Delmotte, Arthur Haneuse, trp
Hermann Scherchen, Vienna State Opera Orchestra,
Westminster, 1960
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AN3L33gWZE

Husquenoph Concertino for Trumpet

Roger Delmotte, Trumpet
ORTF Chamber Orchestra, Manuel Rosenthal
ORTF-Paris 1964
https://pastdaily.com/2016/12/11/roger-delmotte-with-manuel-rosenthal-
and-the-ortf-chamber-orchestra-play-music-of-husquenoph-1963-past-
daily-weekend-gramophone/

Jolivet, Andre Concertino Pour Trompette, Orchestre a Cordes et Piano

Roger Delmotte, trp, Serge Baudo, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeBhYLvbfMA

Rhapsodie à sept
Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Colonne , André Jolivet,
Columbia, 1958
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Feiq_x724x0

Langlais, Jean Messe "Salve Regina" (1954)

Ensemble de Cuivres Roger Delmotte, trp, Pierre Cochereau, organ
Patrick Giraud, Direction, 1979
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLyg3WB8qwo

Lully Symphonies et Fanfares pour les Soupers du Roy

Collegium Musicum de Paris, Roland Douatte, Contrepoint 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV2mK5E11FU

Manfredini Roger Delmotte (4)/Adolf Scherbaum (3) - Trumpet Legends

Concerto for 2 trumpets & Orchestra
Roger Delmotte, Albert Adriano, trp in C
Ensemble Instrumental de Paris, Louis de Froment, April 19, 1955
world premiere recording of this concerto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtnqLvvkQrI

Monteclaire Musique Baroque Francaise

Monteclaire Corrette Leclair Boismortier
Claudie Saneva, soprano, Roger Delmotte, trumpet, Mireille Reculard, cello
Laurence Boulay, harpsichord
Orchestre de chambre de Versailles, Bernard Wahl
Club francais du disque recording, Paris, 1964.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME2gaFzXrD0

Purcell, Henry Sonata for Trumpet and Strings, Z. 850l

Mainzer Chamber Orchestra, Günter Kehr
Nonesuch H -1027, 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZcJr0h2n2E

Rivier Concerto for alto saxophone, trumpet and string orchestra

Roger Delmotte, trp, Daniel Deffayet, alto saxophone
Orcheste de Chambre de l'O.R.T.F., André Girard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnKjgMxxuI

Saint-Saëns Septuor en Mi b majeur Op. 65

Jeanne-Marie Darre, Roger Delmotte , trp, Quatuor Pascal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa0jy8VNg1s

Stravinsky L'Histoire du Soldat

Jean Marchat, Narrator, Marcel Herand, Voice Actor, Michel Auclair,
Voice Actor, Roger Delmotte, cornet
Ensemble Instrumentale, Fernand Oubradous
Pathé 33 DTX 124, 1952
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5O3iqB9Rb8

Rameau Suite pour trompettes et cordes – Les Paladines

„Richesse De La Musique Française Des 16e, 17e et 18e Siècles."
Roger Delmotte, trp, Lucien Thévet, frhn
 Orchestre de chambre Jean-Louis Petit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnKjgMxxuI

Torelli Trumpet Concerto in E Major

Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen
Westminster, 1960
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWTcj7GTQzk

Vivaldi Vivaldi, Concerto P75, 3rd movement

Roger Delmotte, trp1 in C, Maurice André, trp2
Conductor Roland Douatte
Recording 1952
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAN1XFttK28

Vivaldi Vivaldi, Concerto P75, 1st movement

Roger Delmotte, trp1, Pierre Dutot, trp2
L'Orchestre de chambre de Radio France, Jean Doussard
Public Perf. Jan 04, 1976
https://www.ina.fr/audio/PHD86016302/concert-de-l-orchestre-
de-chambre-de-radio-france-audio.html

Gilbert Becaud Cavalier du Grand Retour, 1961

Fred Gérard, Roger Delmotte, Robert Fassin, piccolo trp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFm5oWmXKcE

Misc Ste Cécile 2010 à Montmartre, Documentation

Meeting of French trumpeters November 22, 2010, Montmartre
Film by Michel Laplace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Poqiw6UHM

Trompettes de Paris Compilation:

L' Arlésienne - Hymne à la joie - Summertime - Saint Louis Blues -
Holydays for trumpets - Cavalerie Légère - La Truite - Les Oranges
de Jaffa - Granada - Au clair de Lune - El Condor Pasa - La vie
Parisienne - Largo - Finale de la 9° Symphonie
Roger Delmotte, Roger Guerin, Georges Jouvin, trp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjP-B8uDMl0

Roger Delmotte in Youtube (selection)

More Information / Sources:
> Caens, Thierry - http://www.thierrycaens.com/efoveau/interview.html
> Hickmann, David; Laplace, Michel; Tarr, Edward H. - Trumpet Greats: A Biographical Dictionary
Hickman Music Editions, 2013, PO Box 11370, Chandler, Arizona 85248
www.HickmanMusicEditions.com
> Interview Yves Remy, La Gazette des Cuivres No. 18 I/2011, p. 14 – p.18
> http://www.jolivet.asso.fr/
> Keim, Friedel - Das große Buch der Trompete:
Verlag: SCHOTT MUSIC GmbH & Co KG, Mainz (29. August 2005), ISBN: 978-3795705305
> Laplace, Michel – Le Monde de la Trompette et des Cuivres” - (issued 2014, version 16,
révision 2018, work in progress), ISBN: 978-2-9549741-0-1
> Lowrey, Alvin and Laplace, Michel - Roger Delmotte: A Discography, ITG, May 1985
> Lowrey, Alvin. “Lowrey's International Trumpet Discography”. Camden House, 1990
ISBN: 978-0938100799 or ISBN: 0-938100-79-3