John La Montaine was an American pianist and composer who won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Piano Concerto No. 1 (1958). He wrote the Sonata for Cello and Piano (opus 8) in 1950, relatively early in his compositional career. The piece was dedicated to George Sopkin, who at the age of 18 joined the Chicago Symphony under the direction of Frederick Stock. It is in four movements: Allegro amabile, Scherzo, Soliloquy, Finale.