Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with a trumpet as its highest solo voice.
The concerto is scored for trumpet, flute, oboe, violin, strings, and continuo. Its trumpet part reaches an unusually high register for a natural trumpet, making it one of the work’s most demanding and immediately recognizable features.
Bach composed the six Brandenburg Concertos around 1721 and dedicated them to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt. The second concerto uses a concertino group in which the solo instruments interact rather than treating one instrument as the only protagonist.
Modern performances often use a valveless baroque trumpet or a modern instrument adapted for historical repertoire. The trumpet’s role here is therefore more virtuosic than the ceremonial role many listeners associate with the instrument.