Torque: Sonata for Trumpet in B♭ and Piano

Torque: Sonata for Trumpet in B♭ and Piano

Three movements built on a scale that turns like a gear. Torque is a brilliant concert sonata for trumpet and piano, made entirely from the octatonic scale. That scale returns to itself every minor third, so its themes can be rotated like the wheels of a machine.

I. Engine. A machine wakes in the dark. Out of a spinning wheel of notes comes a fluttering call that rips upward into a stamping, syncopated theme. A muted passage ticks like clockwork, the theme is heard at two speeds at once, and the engine winds down, notch by notch, into silence.

II. Nocturne. The factory after dark. Deep bells, glints of light, and from far away a veiled, muted song that rises to its full height in the open. The pulse grows restless, the melody walks out into the streets, and a single voice is left alone in a free cadenza to remember.

III. Torque. The engine is cranked back into life, relentless in sevens. The song of the night returns at full speed, the first theme sets off a fugal chase, and fanfares give way to the machine winding up from nothing. The finale spins faster and faster to the end.

The trumpet part is written for a professional player and uses straight, harmon and cup mutes, flutter-tongue, rips, falls, bends, lip trills, half-valve, and double- and triple-tonguing. The piano is an equal partner throughout.

Instrumentation: Trumpet in B♭ and PianoDuration: about 11 minutesLevel: Advanced / professionalYear: 2026Includes: Full score (transposed) and trumpet part, with program note, performance notes and a notation guide

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