AN OVERVIEW OF SOVIET RUSSIAN TRUMPET SONATAS

Abstract

While Soviet composers wrote concertos and character pieces for trumpet, the genre of trumpet sonata was seemingly neglected. This situation has changed in the 1960s due to the efforts of Georgi Orvid, trumpet professor at the Moscow Conservatory. This article presents an overview of selected sonatas for trumpet and piano, majority of which were inspired by and written for Prof. Orvid: Sonatina by Yuri Chichkov; Sonata by Nikolai Platonov; Sonata, Op.40 by Mark Milman; Sonata by Yuri Aleksandrov; Sonata by Leonid Lyubovsky; Sonatina by German Okunev; Sonatina in the Russian Style by Alexander Baryshev; Sonata by Aida Isakova. Brief biographical information about each composer is followed by the short description of their respective composition, which covers the history, musical form, and specific trumpet playing aspects.