The Sonata No.1 in B minor for solo pianoforte — of c. 14 minutes duration — was composed while Clive Strutt was studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London. It received its first performance privately in March 1965 at the RAM New Music Club concert, played by Philip Pilkington.The first public performance occurred on 6th July, 1966 at the Cheltenham Festival of Contemporary British held in Cheltenham Town Hall, and was given by the Czech pianist Martina Maixnerová of Prague.In July 1970 the Russian premiere took place at the International Society for Music Education (ISME) Conference held in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), and Derek Bell was the soloist. Bell also gave the American premiere in July 1977 at the Cummer Museum, Jacksonville, Florida, during one of his tours.