Léon Pétré, a great musician and pedagogue of the previous generation, is having a birthday.
On Friday 27 January 2023 this trumpeter turns 80.
He earned his spurs in early music but equally explored the landscape of New Music. As a teacher he trained well-known musicians such as Manu Mellaerts, Leo Wouters and Benny Wiame, … In his spare time he has committed himself for 45 years to a brass band from Rummen that grew into Brassband Haspengouw. Under the direction of Hans Wuestenberg they perform a beautiful programme on Sunday 29 January 2023 at 15:00 in the basilica of Tongeren.
80 years back …
Actually his father wanted young Léon to study violin, but by quirks of fate, Léon Pétré has devoted his soul to the trumpet. And actually it was even intended that he would become a doctor. While he studied medicine in Leuven for six years, he achieved - it must be said - first prizes in music theory, harmony, music history, … and trumpet at the Brussels Conservatory. He definitively put aside the white doctor's coat when he began commuting regularly between Sint-Truiden and Paris to refine his trumpet technique with the legendary Maurice André.
Concert life
Léon Pétre was one of the pioneers in the revival of early music by being the first in Flanders to put the natural trumpet without valves back on the map. His colleague Theo Mertens, who dismissed this new development laughingly as 'something for antique dealers', turned out to be completely wrong. In the 1970s and 1980s Léon Pétré collaborated with renowned ensembles such as Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra or La Petite Bande. Of historical significance are the recordings of the Messe in H-Moll and the Weihnachtsoratorium by Bach by Collegium Vocale conducted by Philippe Herreweghe in which Léon Pétré played the trumpet part (Virgin Classics). Besides his pioneering work in early music, he explored the other end of the spectrum with the ensembles De Nieuwe Muziekgroep by Mark Michaël De Smet and the Xenakis-ensemble conducted by the master himself. For a while he worked for public broadcasting on commission from Leonce Gras.
Inspirer
Thank you for being at the foundation of my career, you
who shaped me into the trumpeter I am now…
who shaped me into the teacher I am now…
who shaped me into the person I am now..
Mieke De Meyer, 21 January 2023.
With great dedication, Léon Pétre taught throughout his musical life at the music schools of Sint-Truiden and Diest, the Antwerp Conservatory and the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven. From his class come among others Manu Mellaerts, Leo Wouters, Benny Wiame, Ward Hoornaert and Rik Ghesquière... When some of his proteges encounter technical or artistic problems in their performance practice, they can still turn to their coach, who cherishes them.
But perhaps the most remarkable thing in the career of this inspiring man is that in 1978 he was asked by chance to help out a modest village brass band from Rummen, which was in dire straits and without a conductor, for a while. And that he wielded the conductor's baton there for 45 years and built the brass band into the Brassband Haspengouw, respected both at home and abroad. Perhaps it is typical of the HaFaBra world, but if he truly believes in someone, he or she gets Leon's full attention, even free lessons. That he always treats his musicians, including amateurs, with the greatest respect, is perhaps an important secret ingredient in the success of getting his musicians away from under the church tower.
On Friday 20 January the band honored its founding conductor with a gala concert "A Tribute to Léon" conducted by Hans Wuestenberg. On Sunday 29 January at 15:00 Brassband Haspengouw performs with a similar programme in the Basilica of Tongeren, featuring among others
Edward Elgar: Nimrod
Philip Sparke: Song for Ina
Otto Schwarz: Last Call
John Williams: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
