Maurice Andre, trumpeter, has died

Paris - The classical music trumpeter Maurice Andre has died aged 78. He was perhaps best known for his skills in interpreting Baroque music.

The BBC has noted that the lauded and famous French musician Maurice Andre, a virtuoso trumpeter, has died. As well as the trumpet, Andre was skilled with the oboe, flute, and the human voice. Maurice Andre was born in 1933 in Alès in the Cévennes region of France. He initially worked as a miner before he became a trumpet player. He won on the Geneva International Music Competition in 1955 and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 1963, before making a series of acclaimed recordings (over 300 records). He retired in 2004. According to France 24 Andre elevated "the trumpet to the level of serious classical concert music and encouraged contemporary composers like Andre Jolivet and Marcel Landowski to write for the instrument." Expatica states that Andre died hospital in the southwestern city of Bayonne. The cause of death is unknown.