Here is a description of the TRITONE Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by the composer, John Frith:

"One of my most enjoyable roles in music was conducting the Herefordshire Young People?s Orchestras (UK) in the late 1980s. Stuart Essenhigh was a very talented young trumpeter who toured Belgium with the orchestra as a soloist in 1989.

Encouraged by this experience Stuart went on to study in London graduating as a fine professional trumpeter working firstly in Hong Kong and then as a freelancer with major U.K. orchestras.

My TRITONE Sonata for Trumpet and Piano of 2016 was written specifically for Stuart. Each of its three movements uses the interval of a tritone in different ways. We hear it initially as a ?benign? element of the first movement; ?ironic? in the second and even ?playful? in the last.

I - Moderato

The use of a ?straight? mute to open and close this movement greatly enlarged my palate of sound colours and, together with some unconventional ?flutter- tonguing? techniques, it allowed me to emphasize the declamatory and strident possibilities of this powerful instrument?... I call for ?ffff? (fortissississimo) at one point! The muted coda creates an otherworldly? atmosphere - distant and questioning at the close.

II ? Andante espressivo ? piu mosso ? Tempo primo

The opening austere and angular melody (which demands great lip flexibility and control) leads to a relaxed and flowing ?piu mosso? with quasi baroque idioms. This builds towards florid, technical passages for the soloist which are matched by more assertive piano lines heralding the return of the opening material and a soulful resolution.

III ? Maestoso ? rondo

A traditional martial ?fanfare? opens the final movement by answering phrases from both instruments. There is something of a power struggle in progress here which is momentarily resolved at the ?rondo? where the piano accepts a supportive ?um-pa-pa? accompanimental role. The trumpet melody is dominant and confident but the piano gradually asserts itself propelling the music with a powerful ?boogie-woogie? style bass line. This encourages both instruments to climb ever higher in, what I trust will be, a thrilling race for the final bar." John Frith 2020

This work is about 12 minutes in length and is appropriate for advanced to virtuoso performers.

Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Antonio J. Garc�a has taken Haydn?s ?London? Symphony as a point of departure for his London Town Fantasy for trombone and orchestra (or piano accompaniment), commissioned by the Charlottesville Symphony Society for the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra (Virginia). CUSO Music Director Kate Tamarkin sought a piece that would ?showcase the trombone in a jazz ballad style and somehow reference the Haydn ?London? Symphony? that would follow it on the program, knowing that the first half of the concert would also include the Brahms ?Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn.? She and trombone soloist Nathan Dishman suggested the title ?London Town Fantasy,? envisioning a potential intersection with elements of George Gershwin?s ?A Foggy Day (In London Town),? which seemed apt given a scheduled trip of Garc�a?s to London during the compositional process.

Listeners familiar with Haydn's ?London? Symphony No. 104" will notice references starting at the first measure. And the violin part at the outset of the Symphony?s fourth movement, Allegro Spiritoso, offered the core of what became the melody to this Fantasy. The melody of the ?bridge? section of the tune is crafted from the first seven measures of the opening theme of Haydn?s first movement (Allegro).

The use of ?A Foggy Day? had to be more subtle, as copyright law must be observed, limiting the use of its actual melody within this piece. But Gershwin?s harmony actually is the harmonic basis under the melody of the Fantasy; and his devotees will recognize that when the soloist improvises medium-swing jazz with the orchestra, the chord progression is indeed entirely that of ?A Foggy Day.? (An optional written-out solo is provided.)

Note that the string section is not asked to play swing eighth-notes at any time. Their jazz-phrased passages are couched in even-eighth, syncopated double-timed-sixteenth, and triplet-eighth cross-rhythmed lines well-rooted in the jazz tradition. Winds and brass, however, have swing-eighth passages to perform (and some even-sixteenth lines).

The superb piano reduction makes the six-minute London Town Fantasy ideal for performances on student and professional recitals, and no improvisational skills are needed by the pianist. Available MIDI demonstration recordings of the duo and orchestral settings, with MIDI soloist or ?minus one,? make rehearsals easy and even provide the aural basis for your own potential ?virtual? performance.