This Sonata for Brass was written in 1973 in response to a request from the John Carpenter Quintet. The work is in three movements, the first of which gives the work its title, as it is cast in standard sonata structure, with three main ideas that occur together at the opening of the piece, a fanfare motif between the two trumpets, an irregular staccato accompaniment figure, and a three-note motif first heard on the horn; a rising fifth followed by a major third in the same direction. The second slow movement is a simple ternary design made out of three chords, and seems to convey a tragic, almost funereal impression, the performance of which requires great control of dynamics. The third movement is in rondo style, fast and extrovert, but with an unexpectedly reserved and quiet ending. 

Sonata for Brass was revised in 1997.