The first sound in Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto is the call of an elephant — a reminder that, in the natural world, there may be no more spectacular “trumpeter” than the largest land animal on Earth. From that whimsical opening, Marsalis launches a concerto unlike almost any other — a musical journey through an extraordinary variety of styles, colors and sound worlds.
Composed for Michael Sachs, principal trumpet of The Cleveland Orchestra, the concerto was co-commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra, the Verbier Festival and the London Symphony Orchestra. Sachs and the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, gave the world premiere in April 2023.
In six movements lasting about 35 minutes, Marsalis draws upon an encyclopedic knowledge of trumpet traditions. Jazz, blues, classical music, Latin American rhythms, marches and other popular idioms mingle freely, while the orchestra contributes its own vivid array of colors and textures.
The concerto is both a celebration and a formidable examination of the trumpet. Marsalis is himself one of the instrument’s supreme virtuosos, equally accomplished in jazz and classical music, and he writes for the instrument with an intimate knowledge of its possibilities.
The soloist is called upon to negotiate extreme registers, rapid passagework, contrasting articulations, varied tone colors and a succession of musical styles. The solo part demands extraordinary range, flexibility, precision, endurance and command of contrasting styles.
Marsalis seems fascinated by how many personalities a trumpet can assume: commanding, comic, lyrical, mournful, jazzy, brassy and even animal-like.
The elephant at the beginning is therefore more than a delightful surprise. It announces the concerto’s central idea — that the trumpet can become almost anything.
The opening is a march-like movement with fanfare sounds from the trumpet. Soloist and orchestra trade phrases in call-and-response style. The movement ends, whimsically enough, with the return of the elephant call.
The second movement, a bluesy ballad, may recall Louis Armstrong’s beautiful sound and elegance.
In the third movement, with its Latin American rhythms, the soloist is confronted with an abundance of leaps and lightning-fast scales to test a virtuoso’s technique.
The fourth movement, another bluesy episode, offers the soloist an opportunity to explore a variety of lyrical, intimate, sassy and humorous sounds using five different mutes: cup, straight, Harmon, plunger, and felt hat.
The brief fifth movement is suave and almost impressionistic in style.
Marsalis told trumpeter Michael Sachs that the finale combined an Eastern European and Jewish feel with Bebop, featuring playful episodes and a spirited dancing energy. Here again, the soloist negotiates a dizzying array of technical challenges. A series of elephant calls brings the piece to a rousing conclusion.
© 2026 Paul Hyde
Paul Hyde, a longtime arts journalist, is an English instructor at Tri-County Technical College in South Carolina. He writes regularly for the Washington Post, Greenville Journal, the S.C. Daily Gazette, ArtsATL, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Readers may write to him at pah598@g.harvard.edu.