Mark Vladimirovich Milman (1910-1995) composed his Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Op.40 in 1962 and published it in 1967. Milman was a brilliant pianist, prolific composer and, over the course of six decades, established himself as a distinguished professor of chamber music at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students were several of the world’s greatest musicians, including Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rudolph Barshai, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, as well as composers Boris Tchaikovsky and Edison Denisov.

Milman’s single-movement Sonata is composed in the neo-Romantic tradition. The main theme is a sprightly march. Its arpeggiated dotted figures are interspersed with diatonic and chromatic sixteenth-note runs. The second theme is lyrical, full of yearning and languor, with descending chromatic figures offset by wide leaps. These features are undoubtedly – as with Platonov’s work – inspired by Alexander Scriabin’s compositional style. After the development section, there is a short muted transition, followed by a cadenza. The Sonata concludes with an extended sequence of ascending sixteenth-note passages in bravura character. Milman’s trumpet part presents a number of challenges for the performer: wide leaps (up to a major ninth), extended sections in the instrument’s upper range, ascending fanfares, numerous sixteenth-note runs slurred in pairs, triple-tongued repetitions, rapid double-tongued runs and a very awkward sequence in tri-tones in the cadenza.

Take a look at sample pages of the solo and score provided to the left and then click above for a complete download of the music. Included in this download is the solo part, piano score, and MP3 recordings of the entire piece as played by Russian trumpeter Iskander Akhmadullin.