Mark Niehaus blows his horn

Mark Niehaus searched for just the right words to describe Alexander Arutunian’s 16-minute Trumpet Concerto in A-flat, which he will perform with the Milwaukee Symphony and guest conductor Evan Rogister.

“It’s as if Rimsky-Korsakov had written a concerto for Doc Severinsen,” Niehaus said.

I’m listening to it as I write the story. Niehaus got it right: This 1949 piece, by a prominent Armenian composer in the middle of the Soviet era, is glamorous, flashy and planted in the musical language of the late 19th century.

“It’s schmaltzy and cinematic,” Niehaus said, over lunch at Via on Downer. “And like most trumpet concertos of the 1940s and ’50s, it has a jazzy element. In the middle of the piece, you put on a mute and play to these sultry rhythms. It’s not sophisticated. It’s a vehicle through which the trumpeter shows what he can do.  With a piece like this, you just go for it 100%. You have to be shameless. That’s why it made me think of Doc.”

Niehaus wasn’t putting down Severinsen, of Tonight Show and MSO Pops fame, with that comment. In the right context, he’s all for Doc’s gaudy, glamorous style and can imitate it expertly.

“Yes, I can — but I can’t do it as long or as high as Doc can,” Niehaus said.

“Doc is the reason I’m a trumpet player. My parents used to let me stay up and watch the Tonight Show just so I could see him. I wanted to be like that guy — to play the trumpet and be funny and attract attention. So to be here for 12 years while he was principal Pops conductor was like a dream come true.”

Niehaus is in his 14th season as the MSO’s trumpet principal. He’s played countless orchestral solos and has been featured in a number of road and school concerts, but this will be his first full concerto on a subscription weekend.

It’s about time. Niehaus is a spectacular player and a great representative for the orchestra. The orchestra often calls upon him for pre-concert announcements, and he’s always funny and charming. He makes it his business to interact with patrons whenever he can. For example: Instead of holing up backstage in advance of his big Messiah solo on Dec. 14, Niehaus was out chatting with the crowd before the first performance, at St. Mary’s Catholic Faith Community in Hales Corners.

“I like people more than I like music,” Niehaus said. “I have a stepson with Down’s syndrome. There was a girl, just his age, 9, with Down’s Syndrome sitting there with her mom.  The incredible thing to me was watching her listen to us play, to see how completely engaged she was with the music. I remember that a lot more clearly than I remember how I played The Trumpet Shall Sound that night.”

The Arutunian trumpet concerto shares this program with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. Guest conductor Evan Rogister, 30, principal assistant conductor of the Deutsch Oper Berlin, will make his Milwaukee debut.

Concerts begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14, at Marcus Center Uihlein Hall.  Tickets range from $25 to $102. Call 414 291-7605, visit the MSO website or call the Marcus Center box office, 414 273-7206.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, assistant conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong will lead the MSO in a Kinderkonzert focused on Beethoven and featuring actor Rich Pendzich. Doors open at 1 p.m. for a variety of kid-friendly activities. This concert, aimed at 10 and younger and their families, will take place at the Pabst Theater, 144 E. Well St. Tickets are $10; they too are on sale at the Marcus Center box office, the MSO website and the MSO ticket line, 414 291-7605.