Young Norwegian trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth's debut CD on EMI Classics is titled Storyteller. It's a whole disc of songs.
An Early Start In A Nurturing Environment
Helseth got an early start. "Actually my mother plays the trumpet, so it was kind of natural for me to do the same. So that was the reason for me to start playing at the age of seven." She wasn't alone. "We have a very strong wind band and brass band tradition in Norway. So even though it's not part of a school curriculum we have a band that has the name of the school. A number of my class mates were also in the band and we started together."
Additions To A Limited Repertoire
Although Helseth has played the standard repertoire and of course the show pieces, she early began to seek other music. "Trumpet player do have a lot of very nice repertoire, but compared to violinists and pianists it's quite limited. We have to borrow or steal from others. So, I've done transcriptions for some years now and mostly songs."
"I did a program with some of those in a recital in Berlin where the A and R person from EMI and I were discussing what I might record for my first disc. And we decided to just do a whole CD of songs, half with orchestra and half with piano. So, it's quite a personal CD and I'm very happy with that."
Her Story And The Audience's Story
Helseth's Storyteller CD not only offers individual pieces, it features "The Mountain Maid, an entire song cycle by fellow Norwegian Edvard Grieg. Helseth has some special insights about playing songs without the words. "I still try to tell the story. What I think is very interesting is that I can have something very specific on my mind, but the audience will connect the playing with something that they are thinking about, their own feeling and experience. They will actually make their own version of the story."