About this Piece

John Williams is among the world’s most famous, respected, and honored film composers. But that is only part of his musical life. He has actively contributed music for the concert hall since the mid-1960s. Large-scale works for symphony orchestra, fanfares and other celebratory pieces, chamber music, and more than a dozen concertos spotlighting individual soloists are equally important aspects of his overall musical output.

The Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra was commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra and premiered in September 1996. In a preface to the work, Williams wrote:

As a youngster growing up in the 1940s, I was not unaware of the enormous influence that the brass players of the great swing bands had on the young people of our country. Beginning with Louis Armstrong, whose contribution inspired generations of trumpeters, these artists extended the expressive capabilities of their instruments and can certainly be credited with developing a school of brass playing, the influence of which can still be felt in nearly every musical ensemble that employs brass.

In my teen years, I too wanted to join in the fun. My father agreed that if I continued with my piano studies, I could have a trombone; and he arranged for me to take lessons. I also taught myself to play a little on the trumpet, but I was never very comfortable switching mouthpiece sizes, so my brass playing—always amateur level to be sure—was pretty much restricted to the trombone.

Given this background, and after writing so much brass music for films and for ceremonial pieces, you can imagine my pleasure when The Cleveland Orchestra asked me to write a concerto...an opportunity to compose a work for an instrument that I truly love.

Trumpeter Michael Sachs, who premiered the work, called it “the great American trumpet concerto,” and over three decades of performances it has been frequently hailed as a significant addition to the trumpet literature. Certainly the work’s virtuosity, its rhythmic drive, the brilliance of its orchestration, and its compelling melodic content assure its future for the best brass players.

The composer has revised the work twice. Williams wrote a new ending to the first movement for a United States Marine Band performance in December 2016. Minor revisions were also made in the second and third movements in anticipation of a later recording.

The first movement offers a series of heroic fanfares against inventive orchestral accompaniment, followed by a cadenza for solo trumpet; the second movement takes a more lyrical, contemplative turn, with hints of the jazz influences that Williams spoke about; the third movement is one of nonstop energy and excitement, with endless technical challenges for the soloist.

LA Phil Principal Trumpet Thomas Hooten recorded the concerto, with Williams conducting, in 2018, a recording that is today considered definitive. “This piece may not be what many would expect from John Williams if they only heard his movie music,” says Hooten. “This is a more complicated and sophisticated composition that showcases the best parts of the instrument while challenging the soloist to push the limits of lyricism and color of sound.”

—Jon Burlingame