The trumpet is the oldest brass instrument. As early as 3,000 BCE, the Egyptians were already sounding battle signals on trumpets. The brass valve was devised by Heinrich Stölzel and Friedrich Blühmel (c. 1814, patented 1818), after which the trumpet gained full chromatic range.
The trumpet is the king of ceremonial music: Bach wrote for it in vast orchestral scenes; Wagner in the climaxes of Die Walküre; Maurice Ravel entrusted the trumpet with one of the most intriguing solos in Boléro. In jazz the trumpet is an absolute star: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis. In Ukraine, the trumpet school has a strong tradition: performers from the Kyiv and Lviv conservatories win international competitions.
