A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the
late Baroque era, mostly understood as an
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
composition, written for one or more
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity
* Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character
* Napoleon Solo, fr ...
ists accompanied by an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
or other
ensemble. The typical three-
movement structure, a slow movement (e.g.,
lento or
adagio) preceded and followed by fast movements (e.g.,
presto or
allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'')
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...
), became a standard from the early 18th century.
The concerto originated as a genre of
vocal music
Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but ...
in the late 16th century: the instrumental variant appeared around a century later, when Italians such as
Giuseppe Torelli and
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...
started to publish their concertos. A few decades later,
Venetian composers, such as
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
, had written hundreds of
violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
s, while also producing
solo concertos for other instruments such as a
cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
or a
woodwind instrument
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments.
Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ...
, and
concerti grossi for a group of soloists. The first
keyboard concertos, such as
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
's
organ concerto
An organ concerto is a type of classical music composition in which a pipe organ soloist is accompanied by an orchestra, although some works exist with the name "concerto" which are for organ alone.
The orchestral form first evolved in the 18th ...
s and
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
's
harpsichord concerto A harpsichord concerto is a piece of music for an orchestra with the harpsichord in a solo role (though for another sense, see below). Sometimes these works are played on the modern piano (see '' piano concerto''). For a period in the late 18th cen ...
s, were written around the same time.
In the second half of the 18th century, the
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
became the most used
keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital piano ...
, and composers of the
Classical Era
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilization ...
such as
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
and
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
each wrote several
piano concerto
A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...
s, and, to a lesser extent, violin concertos, and concertos for other instruments. In the
Romantic Era
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, many composers, including
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...
,
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
,
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
,
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
,
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
,
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
and
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
, continued to write solo concertos, and, more exceptionally, concertos for more than one instrument; 19th century concertos for instruments other than the piano, violin and cello remained comparatively rare however. In the first half of the 20th century, concertos were written by, among others,
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
,
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
,
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
,
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
,
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
,
Heitor Villa-Lobos,
Joaquín Rodrigo and
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
, the latter also composing a
concerto for orchestra, that is without soloist. During the 20th century concertos appeared by major composers for orchestral instruments which had been neglected in the 19th century such as the
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
,
viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
and
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
.
In the second half of the 20th century and onwards into the 21st a great many composers have continued to write concertos, including
Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...
,
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
,
Dimitri Shostakovich,
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
and
James MacMillan among many others. An interesting feature of this period is the proliferation of concerti for less usual instruments, including orchestral ones such as the
double bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
(by composers like
Eduard Tubin or
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
) and
cor anglais
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...
(like those by MacMillan and
Aaron Jay Kernis), but also
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
instruments (such as Tubin's concerto for
Balalaika
The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...
,
Serry's ''
Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion'',
[Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester - Sibley Music Library: John J. Serry Sr. Collection score "Concetro in C Major (1967) for Free Bass Accordion " Folder 15 & 16 p. 10 archived at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music Sibley Music Library Special collections on esm.rochester.edu](_blank)
/ref> or the concertos for Harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
by Villa-Lobos and Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...
), and even Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
's '' Concerto for Group and Orchestra'', a concerto for a rock band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
.
Concertos from previous ages have remained a conspicuous part of the repertoire for concert performances and recordings. Less common has been the previously common practice of the composition of concertos by a performer to be performed personally, though the practice has continued via certain composer-performers such as Daniil Trifonov.
Genre
The Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
word ''concerto'', meaning accord or gathering, derives from the Latin verb ''concertare'', which indicates a competition or battle.
Baroque Era
Compositions were for the first time indicated as concertos in the title of a music print when the were published in 1587.
Concerto as a genre of vocal music
In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, as reflected by J. S. Bach's usage of the title "concerto" for many of the works that are now known as cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
s. The term "concerto" was initially used to denote works that involved voices and instruments in which the instruments had independent parts—as opposed to the Renaissance common practice in which instruments that accompanied voices only doubled the voice parts. Examples of this earlier form of concerto include Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli (/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School (music), Venetian School, at the t ...
's "In Ecclesiis" or Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...
's "Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich".
Instrumental concerto
The concerto began to take its modern shape in the late-Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
period, beginning with the ''concerto grosso
The concerto grosso (; Italian for ''big concert(o)'', plural ''concerti grossi'' ) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the '' concertino'') and full orchestra (the '' ripieno'', '' ...
'' form developed by Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...
. Corelli's concertino group was two violins, a cello and basso continuo. In J. S. Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, for example, the concertino is a flute, a violin, and a harpsichord; although the harpsichord is a featured solo instrument, it also sometimes plays with the ''ripieno'', functioning as a continuo keyboard accompaniment.
Later, the concerto approached its modern form, in which the concertino usually reduces to a single solo instrument playing with (or against) an orchestra. The main composers of concertos of the baroque were Tommaso Albinoni, Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
(e.g., published in ''L'estro armonico
''L'estro armonico'' (''The Harmonic Inspiration''), opus number, Op. 3, is a set of 12 concertos for string instruments by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, first published in Amsterdam in 1711. Vivaldi's Twelve Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 (Vivaldi), T ...
'', '' La stravaganza'', Six Violin Concertos, Op. 6, Twelve Concertos, Op. 7, '' Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione'', Six Flute Concertos, Op. 10, Six Concertos, Op. 11 and Six Violin Concertos, Op. 12), Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...
, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
, George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
, Pietro Locatelli, Jean-Marie Leclair, Giuseppe Tartini
Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in Pirano in the Republic of Venice (now Piran, Slovenia). Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred pieces for the ...
, Francesco Geminiani and Johann Joachim Quantz
Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flute, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great, where he s ...
.
The concerto was intended as a composition typical of the Italian style of the time, and all the composers were studying how to compose in the Italian fashion (''all'Italiana'').
The Baroque concerto was mainly for a string instrument (violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
, viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
, cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
, seldom viola d'amore or harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
) or a wind instrument (flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, recorder, oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
, bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
, horn, or trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
,). Bach also wrote a concerto for two violins and orchestra. During the Baroque period, before the invention of the piano, keyboard concertos were comparatively rare, with the exception of the twelve organ concertos by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
and the thirteen harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
.
Classical era
The concertos of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
, such as C. P. E. Bach, are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of the Classical era. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concertos from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form
The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...
. Final movements are often in rondo
The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "c ...
form, as in J.S. Bach's E Major Violin Concerto.
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
wrote five violin concertos, all in 1775, except the first in 1773. They show a number of influences, notably Italian and Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n. Several passages have leanings towards folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
, as manifested in Austrian serenade
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...
s. Mozart also wrote the ''Sinfonia Concertante'' for violin, viola and orchestra. Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
wrote three concertos for violin and above all two for cello. Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
wrote only one violin concerto that remained obscure until revealed as a masterpiece in a performance by violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim on 27 May 1844.
C.P.E. Bach's keyboard concertos contain some virtuosic solo writing. Some of them have movements that run into one another without a break, and there are frequent cross-movement thematic references. Mozart, as a child, made arrangements for keyboard and orchestra of four sonatas by now little-known composers. Then he arranged three sonata movements by Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...
. By the time he was twenty, Mozart was able to write concerto ritornelli that gave the orchestra admirable opportunity for asserting its character in an exposition with some five or six sharply contrasted themes, before the soloist enters to elaborate on the material. Of his 27 piano concertos, the last 17 are highly appreciated. Eleven cataloged keyboard concertos are attributed to Haydn, of which seven are considered genuine. Beethoven wrote five concertos for piano and orchestra.
C. P. E. Bach wrote five flute concertos and two oboe concertos. Mozart wrote four horn concertos, two for flute, one for oboe (later rearranged for flute and known as Flute Concerto No. 2), one for clarinet, one for bassoon, one for flute and harp, and '' Exsultate, jubilate'', a ''de facto'' concerto for soprano voice. They all exploit and explore the characteristics of the solo instrument(s). Haydn wrote an important trumpet concerto and a ''Sinfonia Concertante'' for violin, cello, oboe, bassoon and orchestra, as well as one horn concerto. Haydn also wrote a concerto for double bass but has since been lost to history in the great fire of Esterhaza in 1779.
Romantic era
In the 19th century, the concerto as a vehicle for virtuosic display flourished, and concertos became increasingly complex and ambitious works. Whilst performances of typical concertos in the baroque era lasted about ten minutes, those by Beethoven could last half an hour or longer. The term concertino, or the German ''Konzertstuck'' ("Concert Piece") began to be used to designate smaller pieces not considered large enough to be considered a full concerto, though the distinction has never been formalised and many Concertinos are still longer than the original Baroque concertos.
During the Romantic era the cello became increasingly used as a concerto instrument; though the violin and piano remained the most frequently used. Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
contributed to the repertoire of concertos for more than one soloist with a '' Triple Concerto'' for piano, violin, cello and orchestra while later in the century, Brahms wrote a '' Double Concerto'' for violin, cello and orchestra.
20th and 21st century
Many of the concertos written in the early 20th century belong more to the late Romantic school, hence modernistic movement. Masterpieces were written by Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
(a violin concerto and a cello concerto), Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
and Nikolai Medtner (four and three piano concertos, respectively), Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...
(a violin concerto), Frederick Delius
file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...
(a violin concerto, a cello concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments.
These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...
, a piano concerto and a double concerto for violin and cello), Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Szymanowski's early w ...
(two violin concertos and a "Symphonie Concertante" for piano), and Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
(two horn concertos, a violin concerto, ''Don Quixote''—a tone poem that features the cello as a soloist—and among later works, an oboe concerto).
However, in the first decades of the 20th century, several composers such as Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
, Schoenberg, Berg
Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* General Berg (disambiguation)
* Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
, Hindemith, Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
and Bartók started experimenting with ideas that were to have far-reaching consequences for the way music is written and, in some cases, performed. Some of these innovations include a more frequent use of modality
Modality may refer to:
Humanities
* Modality (theology), the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations
* Modality (music), in music, the subject concerning certain diatonic scales
* Modalit ...
, the exploration of non-western scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number ...
, the development of atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...
and neotonality, the wider acceptance of dissonances, the invention of the twelve-tone technique
The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...
of composition and the use of polyrhythm
Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...
s and complex time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
s.
These changes also affected the concerto as a musical form. Beside more or less radical effects on musical language, they led to a redefinition of the concept of virtuosity that included new and extended instrumental techniques and a focus on previously neglected aspects of sound such as pitch, timbre
In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
and dynamics. In some cases, they also brought about a new approach to the role of soloists and their relation to the orchestra.
Two great innovators of early 20th-century music, Schoenberg and Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
, both wrote violin concertos. The material in Schoenberg's concerto, like that in Berg's, is linked by the twelve-tone serial method. In the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War, the cello enjoyed an unprecedented popularity. As a result, its concertante repertoire caught up with those of the piano and the violin both in terms of quantity and quality.
The 20th century also witnessed a growth of the concertante repertoire of instruments, some of which had seldom or never been used in this capacity, and even a concerto for wordless coloratura soprano by Reinhold Glière. As a result, almost all classical instruments now have a concertante repertoire. Among the works of the prolific composer Alan Hovhaness may be noted ''Prayer of St. Gregory'' for trumpet and strings, though it is not a concerto in the usual sense of the term. In the later 20th century the concerto tradition was continued by composers such as Maxwell Davies, whose series of Strathclyde Concertos exploit some of the instruments less familiar as soloists.
In addition, the 20th century gave rise to several composers who experimented further by showcasing a variety of nontraditional orchestral instruments within the center of the orthodox concerto form. Included within this group are: Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
(''Concerto for Trautonium
The Trautonium is an electronic synthesizer invented in 1930 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon afterward Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's de ...
and String Orchestra'' in 1931), Andre Jolivet (''Concerto of Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot ( ; , ) or ondes musicales () is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a lateral-vibrato Keyboard instrument, keyboard or by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. D ...
'' in 1947), Heitor Villa-Lobos (''Concerto for Harmonica'' in 1956), John Serry Sr. ('' Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion'' in 1966), Astor Piazzolla (''Concerto for Bandoneon, String Orchestra and Percussion'', "Aconcagua" in 1979), Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
(''Concerto for Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
and Orchestra,'' Op. 182 in 1996), and Tan Dun
Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a pairing which has shaped much of his life and mu ...
(''Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra'' in 1998)
Other composers of this era adopted a neoclassical rejection of specific features which typically characterized the concerto form during the Baroque or Romantic periods. Several of them achieved this objective by incorporating various musical elements from the realm of jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
within the structure of the concerto. Included in this group were: Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...
(''Concerto for Piano'', 1926), Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
('' Concerto for the Left Hand'', 1929), Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
('' Ebony Concerto'' for clarinet and jazz band, 1945) and George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
('' Concerto in F'', 1925). Still others called upon the orchestra itself to function as the primary virtuosic force within the concerto form. This approach was adopted by Bela Bartok in his '' Concerto for Orchestra'' as well by other composers of the period including: Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.
Life
Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...
(1933), Zoltan Kodaly (1939), Michael Tippet (1962) and Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...
(1969).
Concertos with concert band include:
* Bryant – 2007–2010
*Foss
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...
– 2002
* Husa – 1982
*Jacob
Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
– 1974
* Jager – 1982
By type
Vocal concerto
20th century:
*Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills.
The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...
Concerto: Reinhold Glière
Without orchestra
Single solo instrument
Baroque era:
* Bach:
** '' Italian Concerto''
** Weimar concerto transcriptions
20th century:
* Serry's Concerto In C Major For Free Bass Accordion
Multiple instruments
Baroque era:
* Bach's concerto for two harpsichords, BWV 1061.1
* Telemann's concertos for four violins
20th century:
* Webern's Concerto for Nine Instruments
* Stravinsky's Concerto for Two Pianos
For one instrumental soloist and orchestra
For bowed string instrument and orchestra
=Violin concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi:
** Nos. 3, 6, 9 and 12 of ''L'estro armonico
''L'estro armonico'' (''The Harmonic Inspiration''), opus number, Op. 3, is a set of 12 concertos for string instruments by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, first published in Amsterdam in 1711. Vivaldi's Twelve Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 (Vivaldi), T ...
''
** '' La stravaganza''
** Six Violin Concertos, Op. 6
** Ten of the Twelve Concertos, Op. 7
** '' Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione'', which includes '' The Four Seasons''
** Five of the Six Concertos, Op. 11
** Six Violin Concertos, Op. 12
** '' Grosso mogul''
* Bach:
** Violin Concerto in A minor
** Violin Concerto in E major
Classical era:
* Mozart:
** No. 1 in B flat major, K. 207
** No. 2 in D major, K. 211
** No. 3 in G major, K. 216 (''Straßburg'')
** No. 4 in D major, K. 218
** No. 5 in A major, K. 219 (''Turkish'')
Early Romantic traits can be found in the violin concertos of Viotti, but it is Spohr's twelve violin concertos, written between 1802 and 1827, that truly embrace the Romantic spirit with their melodic as well as their dramatic qualities.
20th century:
* Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
* Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
* Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
* Bartók wrote two concertos for violin.
* Russian composers Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
and Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...
each wrote two concertos while Khachaturian wrote a concerto and a Concerto-Rhapsody for the instrument.
* Hindemith's concertos hark back to the forms of the 19th century, even if the harmonic language he used was different.
* Three violin concertos from David Diamond show the form in neoclassical style.
* In 1950 Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conducting, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influence ...
completed a substantial Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
with an enormous central cadenza for the unaccompanied violin.
* Dutilleux
Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionism in music, Impressionistic ...
's ''L'Arbre des songes'' has proved an important addition to the repertoire and a fine example of the composer's atonal yet melodic style.
* Other composers of major violin concertos include John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
, Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...
, Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
, Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
, Miguel del Aguila, Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
, Cristóbal Halffter, György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
, Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...
, Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.
Life
Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...
, Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...
, Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
, William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...
, John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
and Roger Sessions.
21st century:
*Violin Concerto (Elfman), Elfman's violin concerto
=Viola concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Viola Concerto in G major (Telemann)
Classical era:
* Franz Anton Hoffmeister
** Viola Concerto in D major
** Viola Concerto in B-flat major
* Viola Concerto in D major, Op. 1 (Carl Stamitz)
* Viola Concerto in E♭ major, ICZ 17 (Carl Friedrich Zelter)
20th century:
* Viola concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Viola Concerto (Bartók), Bartók, Miguel del Aguila, del Aguila, Edison Denisov, Denisov, Renaud Gagneux, Gagneux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Gubaidulina, Paul Hindemith, Hindemith, Giya Kancheli, Kancheli, Bohuslav Martinů, Martinů, Darius Milhaud, Milhaud, Tristan Murail, Murail, Krzysztof Penderecki, Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Schnittke, Tōru Takemitsu, Takemitsu, Viola Concerto (Walton), Walton
=Cello concerto
=
The 'core' repertoire—performed the most of any cello concertos—are by Edward Elgar, Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Haydn, Dmitri Shostakovich, Shostakovich and Schumann, but many more concertos are performed nearly as often.
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi's cello concertos Ryom-Verzeichnis, RV 398–403, 405–414 and 416–424
Classical era:
* Haydn wrote two cello concertos (for cello, oboes, horns, and strings), which are the most important works in that genre of the classical era.
* Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote three cello concertos and Luigi Boccherini wrote twelve cello concertos.
Romantic era:
* Antonín Dvořák's cello concerto ranks among the supreme examples from the Romantic era while Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
's focuses on the lyrical qualities of the instrument.
* The instrument was also popular with composers of the Franco-Belgian tradition: Camille Saint-Saëns, Saint-Saëns and Henri Vieuxtemps, Vieuxtemps wrote two cello concertos each and Édouard Lalo, Lalo and Joseph Jongen, Jongen one.
* Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky's contribution to the genre is a series of Variations on a Rococo Theme. He also left very fragmentary sketches of a projected Cello Concerto. Cellist Yuriy Leonovich and Tchaikovsky researcher Brett Langston published Cello Concerto (Tchaikovsky/Leonovich), their completion of the piece in 2006.
* Carl Reinecke, David Popper and Julius Klengel also wrote cello concertos that were popular in their time and are still played occasionally nowadays.
* Elgar's popular concerto, while written in the early 20th century, belongs to the late romantic period stylistically.
20th century:
* An important factor for the 20th-century cello concerto was the rise of virtuoso cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. His outstanding technique and passionate playing prompted dozens of composers to write pieces for him, first in his native Soviet Union and then abroad. Among such compositions may be listed Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
's Symphony-Concerto (Prokofiev), Symphony-Concerto, Dmitri Shostakovich's two cello concertos, Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
's Cello Symphony (Britten), Cello-Symphony (which emphasizes, as its title suggests, the equal importance of soloist and orchestra), Henri Dutilleux' ''Tout un monde lointain...'', Cristóbal Halffter's two cello concertos, Witold Lutosławski's cello concerto, Dmitry Kabalevsky's two cello concertos, Aram Khachaturian's ''Concerto-Rhapsody'', Arvo Pärt's ''Pro et Contra'', Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...
, André Jolivet and Krzysztof Penderecki second cello concertos, Sofia Gubaidulina's ''The Canticle of the Sun (Gubaidulina), Canticles of the Sun'', Luciano Berio's ''Ritorno degli Snovidenia'', Leonard Bernstein's ''Three Meditations'', James MacMillan's cello concerto and Olivier Messiaen's ''Concert à quatre'' (a quadruple concerto for cello, piano, oboe, flute and orchestra).
* In addition, several important composers who were not directly influenced by Rostropovich wrote cello concertos: Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...
, Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...
, Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conducting, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influence ...
, Miguel del Aguila, Alexander Glazunov, Hans Werner Henze, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
, Arthur Honegger, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
, Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
, Darius Milhaud, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Joaquín Rodrigo, Toru Takemitsu, William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...
, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann for instance.
=Double bass concerto
=
20th century:
*Double bass concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Renaud Gagneux, Gagneux, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Dittersdorf, Hans Werner Henze, Henze, Serge Koussevitsky, Koussevitsky, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Hisato Ohzawa, Ohzawa, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Rautavaara, Nikos Skalkottas, Skalkottas, Eduard Tubin, Tubin
=Other bowed string instruments
=
20th century:
*Viola d'amore concerto: Paul Hindemith, Hindemith
For plucked string instrument and orchestra
=Harp concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Handel's Harp Concerto, HWV 294 (a.k.a. )
Classical era:
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
: Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra (Mozart), Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra
* Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz: Harp Concertos and
* Francesco Petrini: Harp Concertos , and
* Ernst Eichner's
* Jan Ladislav Dussek: Harp Concertos , and
* François-Adrien Boieldieu's [Hurwitz, David]
"Harp Concertos SACD"
at Classics Today website.
Romantic era:
* Nicolas-Charles Bochsa: Harp Concertos and
* Elias Parish Alvars: Harp Concertos and
* Carl Reinecke's
* John Thomas (harpist), John Thomas's
* Henriette Renié's
20th century:
* Reinhold Glière's Harp Concerto (Ginastera), Harp Concerto[Harp Concertos: Ginastera / Jolivet / Glière](_blank)
at Alice Giles website
* Joseph Jongen's Harp Concerto
* Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto serenata''
* André Jolivet's Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra (1952)
* Darius Milhaud's Harp Concerto, Op. 323 (1953)
* Heitor Villa-Lobos's Harp Concerto
* Alberto Ginastera's Harp Concerto (Ginastera), Harp Concerto
* Einojuhani Rautavaara's Harp Concerto (2000)
=Mandolin concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Mandolin Concerto (Vivaldi), Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto, RV 425
20th century:
* Chris Thile, Thile, Avner Dorman, Dorman
=Guitar concerto
=
20th century:
*Guitar Concerto: Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Elmer Bernstein, E. Bernstein, Leo Brouwer, Brouwer, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Alan Hovhaness, Hovhaness, Yngwie Malmsteen, Malmsteen, Maurice Ohana, Ohana, Manuel Ponce, Ponce, Joaquín Rodrigo, Rodrigo, Juan Trigos, Trigos, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Villa-Lobos
=Other plucked string instruments
=
Baroque era:
* Lute concerto in D major (Vivaldi)
20th century:
*Kanun (instrument), Kanun Concerto: Hasan Ferit Alnar, Alnar
For woodwind instrument and orchestra
=Flute concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi:
** Six Flute Concertos, Op. 10
** ''Il gran mogol''
Classical era:
* Mozart:
** Flute Concerto No. 1 (Mozart), Flute Concerto No. 1
** Flute Concerto No. 2
20th century:
*Western concert flute Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Flute Concertino (Chaminade), Chaminade, John Corigliano, Corigliano, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Edison Denisov, Denisov, Pascal Dusapin, Dusapin, Chris Harman (composer), Harman, Jacques Hétu, Hétu, Jacques Ibert, Ibert, André Jolivet, Jolivet, Marcel Landowski, Landowski, Carl Nielsen, Nielsen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Penderecki, Walter Piston, Piston, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Rautavaara, Joaquín Rodrigo, Rodrigo, Tōru Takemitsu, Takemitsu, John Williams, J. Williams
*Contrabass flute Concerto: Ned McGowan, McGowan
*Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
Concerto: Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Lowell Liebermann, Liebermann
*Recorder (musical instrument), Recorder concerto: Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...
, Richard Harvey (composer), Richard Harvey
*Shakuhachi Concerto: Toru Takemitsu, Takemitsu
=Oboe concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi:
** Two of the Twelve Concertos, Op. 7
** One of the Six Concertos, Op. 11
* Handel:
** Oboe Concerto No. 1 (Handel), Oboe Concerto No. 1
** Oboe Concerto No. 2 (Handel), Oboe Concerto No. 2
** Oboe Concerto No. 3 (Handel), Oboe Concerto No. 3
Classical era:
* Mozart: Oboe Concerto (Mozart), Oboe Concerto
Romantic era:
* Vincenzo Bellini: Oboe Concerto (Bellini), Oboe Concerto
20th century:
*Oboe concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Denys Bouliane, Bouliane, John Corigliano, Corigliano, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Edison Denisov, Denisov, Chris Paul Harman, Harman, James MacMillan (composer), MacMillan, Bruno Maderna, Maderna, Bohuslav Martinů, Martinů, Krzysztof Penderecki, Penderecki, Rodion Shchedrin, Shchedrin, Richard Strauss, Strauss, Oboe Concerto (Vaughan Williams), Vaughan Williams, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Zimmermann
*Bass oboe concerto: Gavin Bryars, Bryars
=English horn
=
20th century:
*English Horn Concerto: Bernard Hoffer, William Kraft, Nicholas Maw, Vazgen Muradian, Vincent Persichetti, Ned Rorem, Pēteris Vasks, Henk de Vlieger
=Bassoon concerto
=
20th century:
*Bassoon concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Arthur Butterworth, Butterworth, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Miguel del Aguila, del Aguila, Franco Donatoni, Donatoni, Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté, Eckhardt-Gramatté, Dai Fujikura, Fujikura, Sofia Gubaidulina, Gubaidulina, Jacques Hétu, Hétu, André Jolivet, Jolivet, Jouni Kaipainen, Kaipainen, Lev Knipper, Knipper, Marcel Landowski, Landowski, Andrzej Panufnik, Panufnik, Wolfgang Rihm, Rihm, Nino Rota, Rota, Harald Sæverud, Sæverud, John Williams, J. Williams
*Contrabassoon Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Donald Erb, Erb
=Clarinet concerto
=
20th century:
*Clarinet concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Unsuk Chin, Chin, Aaron Copland, Copland, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Miguel del Aguila, del Aguila, Edison Denisov, Denisov, Pascal Dusapin, Dusapin, Mohammed Fairouz, Fairouz, Gerald Finzi, Finzi, Jean Françaix, Françaix, Stephen Hartke, Hartke, Jacques Hétu, Hétu, Paul Hindemith, Hindemith, Carl Nielsen, Nielsen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Penderecki, Walter Piston, Piston, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Rautavaara, Ralph Shapey, Shapey, Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
, Tōru Takemitsu, Takemitsu, Frank Ticheli, Ticheli, Henri Tomasi, Tomasi, John Williams, J. Williams
*Bass clarinet Concerto: Denys Bouliane, Bouliane
21st century:
*Clarinet Concerto (Lindberg), Lindberg's clarinet concerto
=Saxophone concerto
=
20th century:
*Soprano saxophone Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Jennifer Higdon, Higdon, Alan Hovhaness, Hovhaness, John Mackey (composer), Mackey, Michael Torke, Torke, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Yoshimatsu.
*Alto saxophone Concerto: John Adams (composer), Adams, Paul Creston, Creston, Ingolf Dahl, Dahl, Edison Denisov, Denisov, Pierre Max Dubois, Dubois, Alexander Glazunov, Glazunov, Husa, Jacques Ibert, Ibert, Erland von Koch, Koch, Lars-Erik Larsson, Larsson, David Maslanka, Maslanka, Robert Muczynski, Muczynski, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Salonen, Frank Ticheli, Ticheli, Henri Tomasi, Tomasi, John Williams, J. Williams, John Worley, Worley, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Yoshimatsu
*Tenor saxophone Concerto: Richard Rodney Bennett, Bennett, Eric Ewazen, Ewazen, Morton Gould, Gould, Dimitri Nicolau, Nicolau, Robert Ward (composer), Ward, Alec Wilder, Wilder.
*Baritone saxophone Concerto: David Gaines (composer), Gaines, Werner Wolf Glaser, Glaser, Georg Friedrich Haas, Haas, :nl:Bernard van Beurden, van Beurden
=Other woodwind instruments
=
20th century:
*Bagpipe: Chieftain's Salute by Graham Waterhouse
For brass instrument and orchestra
=Trumpet concerto
=
20th century:
*Trumpet Concerto:
=Horn concerto
=
Classical era:
* Bohemian composer Antonio Rosetti, Francesco Antonio Rosetti composed several solo and double horn concertos. He was a significant contributor to the genre of horn concertos in the 18th century. Most of his outstanding horn concertos were composed between 1782 and 1789 for the Bohemian duo Franz Zwierzina and Joseph Nage while at the Bavarian court of Oettingen-Wallerstein. One of his best-known works in this genre is his Horn Concerto in E flat major C49/K III:36. It consists of three movements: 1. Allegro moderato 2. Romance 3. Rondo. Many common features of the galant style are present in Rosetti's music and composing style. In his E-flat horn concerto, we hear periodic and short phrases, galant harmonic rhythm and melodic line reduction. Rosetti's influence on the 18th century composers, musicians and music was considerable. At the Bavarian court of Oettingen-Wallerstein, his music was often performed by the Wallerstein ensembles. In Paris, his compositions were performed by the best ensembles of the city, including the orchestra of the Concert Spirituel. His publishers were Le Menu et Boyer and Sieber. According to H. C. Robbins Landon (Mozart scholar), Rosetti's horn concertos might have been a model for Mozart's horn concertos.
20th century:
*French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Alexander Arutiunian, Arutiunian, Kurt Atterberg, Atterberg, York Bowen, Bowen, Elliott Carter, Carter, Peter Maxwell Davies, Davies, Reinhold Glière, Glière, Ruth Gipps, Gipps, Paul Hindemith, Hindemith, Alan Hovhaness, Hovhaness, Jacob
Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
, Oliver Knussen, Knussen, György Ligeti, Ligeti, Tristan Murail, Murail, Krzysztof Penderecki, Penderecki, Richard Strauss, Strauss, Henri Tomasi, Tomasi, John Williams, J. Williams
=Trombone concerto
=
20th century:
*Trombone Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Derek Bourgeois, Bourgeois, Trombone Concertino (David), David, Pascal Dusapin, Dusapin, Renaud Gagneux, Gagneux, Launy Grøndahl, Grøndahl, Vagn Holmboe, Holmboe, Lars-Erik Larsson, Larsson, Darius Milhaud, Milhaud, Michael Nyman, Nyman, Ole Olsen (musician), Olsen, Nino Rota, Rota, Christopher Rouse (composer), Rouse, Jan Sandström (composer), Sandström, Henri Tomasi, Tomasi
=Other brass instruments
=
20th century:
*Cornet Concerto: Derek Bourgeois, Bourgeois, Frederick Corder, Corder, Martin Ellerby, Ellerby, Edward Gregson, Gregson, Elgar Howarth, Howarth, Ernest Tomlinson, Tomlinson, Denis Wright (composer), Wright
*Euphonium Concerto: Jan Bach, Bach, Michael Ball (composer), Ball, Derek Bourgeois, Bourgeois, William Brusick, Brusick, Nigel Clarke (composer), Clarke, Vladimir Cosma, Cosma, James Curnow, Curnow, Kevin Day (composer), Day, Robert Jager, Jager, Johan De Meij, De Meij, Kenneth Downie, Downie, Martin Ellerby, Ellerby, Eric Ewazen, Ewazen, Allen Feinstein, Feinstein, Juraj Filas, Filas, David Gaines (composer), Gaines, David Gillingham, Gillingham, John Golland, Golland, Peter Graham (composer), Graham, Edward Gregson, Gregson, Robert Groslot, Groslot, Alun Hoddinott, Hoddinott, Joseph Horovitz, Horovitz, Tim Jansa, Jansa, Karl Jenkins, Jenkins, Christian Lindberg, Lindberg, Jukka Linkola, Linkola, Vanja Lisjak, Lisjak, Paul Mealor, Mealor, Pete Meechan, Meechan, Anthony O'Toole, O'Toole, Stephen Roberts (composer), Roberts, Andy Scott (saxophonist and composer), Scott, Philip Sparke, Sparke, John D. Stevens, Stevens, Adam Wesolowski, Wesolowski, Philip Wilby, Wilby.
*Tuba Concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Alexander Arutiunian, Arutiunian, Broughton, Renaud Gagneux, Gagneux, Vagn Holmboe, Holmboe, Tuba Concerto (Vaughan Williams), Vaughan Williams, John Williams, J. Williams
Keyboard concerto
=Harpsichord concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Harpsichord concertos, BWV 1052–1059 (Bach)
20th century:
*Harpsichord Concerto: Manuel de Falla, Falla, Philip Glass, Glass, Henryk Górecki, Górecki, Michael Nyman, Nyman, Bohuslav Martinů, Martinů, Francis Poulenc, Poulenc
=Organ concerto
=
Baroque era:
* Handel:
** Organ concertos, Op.4 (Handel), Organ concertos, Op.4
** Organ concertos, Op.7 (Handel), Organ concertos, Op.7
20th century:
*Organ concerto: Malcolm Arnold, Arnold, Howard Hanson, Hanson, Lou Harrison, Harrison, Jacques Hétu, Hétu, Paul Hindemith, Hindemith, Joseph Jongen, Jongen, James MacMillan, MacMillan, Flor Peeters, Peeters, Francis Poulenc, Poulenc, Ned Rorem, Rorem, Leo Sowerby, Sowerby
=Piano concerto
=
Classical era:
* Mozart:
** Piano Concertos K. 107 (Mozart), Three Concertos after J.C. Bach, K. 107
** Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 (Mozart)#No. 1 (K. 37) in F major, No. 1 in F major, K. 37
** Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 (Mozart)#No. 2 (K. 39) in B-flat major, No. 2 in B major, K. 39
** Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 (Mozart)#No. 3 (K. 40) in D major, No. 3 in D major, K. 40
** Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 (Mozart)#No. 4 (K. 41) in G major, No. 4 in G major, K. 41
** Piano Concerto No. 5 (Mozart), No. 5 in D major, K. 175
** Piano Concerto No. 6 (Mozart), No. 6 in B major, K. 238
** Piano Concerto No. 8 (Mozart), No. 8 in C major, K. 246 (''Lützow'')
** Piano Concerto No. 9 (Mozart), No. 9 in E major, K. 271 (''Jeunehomme'' / ''Jenamy'')
** Piano Concerto No. 11 (Mozart), No. 11 in F major, K. 413
** Piano Concerto No. 12 (Mozart), No. 12 in A major, K. 414
** Piano Concerto No. 13 (Mozart), No. 13 in C major, K. 415
** Piano Concerto No. 14 (Mozart), No. 14 in E major, K. 449
** Piano Concerto No. 15 (Mozart), No. 15 in B major, K. 450
** Piano Concerto No. 16 (Mozart), No. 16 in D major, K. 451
** Piano Concerto No. 17 (Mozart), No. 17 in G major, K. 453
** Piano Concerto No. 18 (Mozart), No. 18 in B major, K. 456
** Piano Concerto No. 19 (Mozart), No. 19 in F major, K. 459
** Piano Concerto No. 20 (Mozart), No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
** Piano Concerto No. 21 (Mozart), No. 21 in C major, K. 467
** Piano Concerto No. 22 (Mozart), No. 22 in E major, K. 482
** Piano Concerto No. 23 (Mozart), No. 23 in A major, K. 488
** Piano Concerto No. 24 (Mozart), No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
** Piano Concerto No. 25 (Mozart), No. 25 in C major, K. 503
** Piano Concerto No. 26 (Mozart), No. 26 in D major, K. 537 (''Coronation'')
** Piano Concerto No. 27 (Mozart), No. 27 in B major, K. 595
Romantic era:
* Beethoven's five piano concertos increase the technical demands made on the soloist. The last two are particularly remarkable, integrating the concerto into a large symphonic structure with movements that frequently run into one another. His Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven), Piano Concerto No. 4 starts with a statement by the piano, after which the orchestra enters in a foreign key, to present what would normally be the opening tutti. The work has a lyrical character. The slow movement is a dramatic dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. His Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven), Piano Concerto No. 5 has the basic rhythm of a Viennese military March (music), march. There is no lyrical second subject, but in its place a continuous development of the opening material.
* The piano concertos of Johann Baptist Cramer, Cramer, John Field (composer), Field, Jan Ladislav Dussek, Düssek, Joseph Wölfl, Woelfl, Ferdinand Ries, Ries, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Hummel provide a link from the Classical concerto to the Romantic concerto.
* Frédéric Chopin, Chopin wrote two piano concertos in which the orchestra is relegated to an accompanying role. Schumann, despite being a pianist-composer, wrote a piano concerto in which virtuosity is never allowed to eclipse the essential lyrical quality of the work. The gentle, expressive melody heard at the beginning on woodwind and horns (after the piano's heralding introductory chords) bears the material for most of the argument in the first movement. In fact, argument in the traditional developmental sense is replaced by a kind of variation technique in which soloist and orchestra interweave their ideas.
* Franz Liszt, Liszt's mastery of piano technique matched that of Paganini for the violin. His concertos Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt), No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 2 (Liszt), No. 2 left a deep impression on the style of piano concerto writing, influencing Rubinstein, and especially Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky, whose Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky), First Piano Concerto's rich chordal opening is justly famous.[History of the Concerto](_blank)
/ref>
* Edvard Grieg, Grieg's concerto likewise begins in a striking manner after which it continues in a lyrical vein.
* Camille Saint-Saëns, Saint-Saëns wrote five piano concertos and orchestra between 1858 and 1896, in a classical vein.
* Johannes Brahms, Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms), First Piano Concerto in D minor (pub 1861) was the result of an immense amount of work on a mass of material originally intended for a symphony. His Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms), Second Piano Concerto in B major (1881) has four movements and is written on a larger scale than any earlier concerto. Like his violin concerto, it is symphonic in proportions.
* Fewer piano concertos were written in the late Romantic Period. But Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
wrote four piano concertos between 1891 and 1926. His Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff), Second and Piano Concerto No. 3 (Rachmaninoff), Third, being the most popular of the four, went on to become among the most famous in the piano repertoire.
* Other romantic piano concertos, like those by Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Kalkbrenner, Henri Herz, Ignaz Moscheles, Moscheles and Sigismond Thalberg, Thalberg were also very popular in the Romantic era, but not today.
20th century:
* Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
wrote two pianos concertos, one in G-major (1931) and the second for the left hand in D-major (date of creation1932).
* Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
wrote three works for solo piano and orchestra:
** Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments
** Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra
** Movements for Piano and Orchestra
* Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
, another Russian composer, wrote five piano concertos, which he himself performed.
* Dmitri Shostakovich composed two piano concertos.
* Aram Khachaturian contributed to the repertoire with a Piano Concerto (Khachaturian), piano concerto and a Concerto-Rhapsody.
* Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
's Piano Concerto (Schoenberg), Piano Concerto is a well-known example of a dodecaphonic piano concerto.
* Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
also wrote three piano concertos. Like their violin counterparts, they show the various stages in his musical development. Bartok's also rearranged his chamber piece, Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, into a ''Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion'', adding orchestral accompaniment.
* Cristóbal Halffter wrote a prize-winning neoclassical Piano Concerto in 1953, and a second Piano Concerto in 1987–88.
* Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
wrote a concerto for piano, though it was later reworked as a concerto for two pianos and orchestra—both versions have been recorded
* Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
's concerto for piano (1938) is a prominent work from his early period.
* Piano concertos by Latin-American composers include one by Piano Concerto (Chávez), Carlos Chávez, two by Alberto Ginastera, and five by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
* György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
's concerto (1988) has a synthetic quality: it mixes complex rhythms, the composer's Hungarian roots and his experiments with micropolyphony from the 1960s and 1970s.
* Witold Lutosławski's piano concerto, completed in the same year, alternates between playfulness and mystery. It also displays a partial return to melody after the composer's aleatoric period.
* Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin has written six piano concertos.
* Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote three piano concertos, the third one dedicated to Vladimir Ashkenazy, who played and conducted the world première.
* French composer Germaine Tailleferre and Czech composers Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
and Vítězslava Kaprálová wrote piano concertos.
=Accordion concerto
=
20th century:
*Accordion concerto: Alan Hovhaness, Hovhaness, Sofia Gubaidulina, Toshio Hosokawa, Kalevi Aho
*Free bass accordion Concerto: John Serry Sr.
=Other keyboard instruments
=
20th century:
*Bandoneón Concerto: Ástor Piazzolla, Piazzolla
*Clavinet concerto: Randall Woolf, Woolf
*Yamaha GX-1: Yasushi Akutagawa, Akutagawa
Other instrumental soloist
=Percussion instrument
=
20th century:
*Percussion concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Avner Dorman, Dorman, Philip Glass, Glass, André Jolivet, Jolivet, James MacMillan (composer), MacMillan, Darius Milhaud, Milhaud, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Rautavaara, William Susman, Susman
*Timpani concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho, Georg Druschetzky, Druschetzky, Philip Glass, Glass, William Kraft, Kraft, Ney Rosauro, Rosauro
*Xylophone concerto: Toshiro Mayuzumi, Mayuzumi
*Marimba concerto: Paul Creston, Creston, Libby Larsen, Larsen, Darius Milhaud, Milhaud, Ney Rosauro, Rosauro (Concerto No.1 and No.2), Tomas Svoboda (composer), Svoboda, Alejandro Viñao, Viñao
*Vibraphone: Ney Rosauro, Rosauro (Concerto No.1 and Concerto No.2)
=Free reed aerophone
=
20th century:
*Harmonica concerto: Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (Arnold), Arnold, Alan Hovhaness, Hovhaness, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Vaughan Williams, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Villa-Lobos
*Sheng (instrument), Sheng Concerto: Unsuk Chin, Bernd Richard Deutsch, Jukka Tiensuu, Man Fang .
=Electronic musical instrument
=
20th century:
*Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot ( ; , ) or ondes musicales () is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a lateral-vibrato Keyboard instrument, keyboard or by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. D ...
concerto: André Jolivet, Jolivet, Miklos Rozsa, Rozsa
*Theremin concerto: Kalevi Aho, Aho
For multiple instruments and orchestra
In the Baroque era, two violins and one cello formed the standard concertino (group), concertino of a concerto grosso
The concerto grosso (; Italian for ''big concert(o)'', plural ''concerti grossi'' ) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the '' concertino'') and full orchestra (the '' ripieno'', '' ...
. In the classical era, the sinfonia concertante replaced the concerto grosso genre, although concertos for two or three soloists were still composed too. From the Romantic era works for multiple instrumental soloists and orchestra were again commonly called concerto.
Two soloists
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi's concertos for 2 violins, for 2 cellos, for 2 mandolins, for 2 trumpets, for 2 flutes, for oboe and bassoon, for cello and bassoon (etc.)
* Bach:
** Concerto for Two Violins (Bach), Concerto for Two Violins
** Concertos for two harpsichords: Concerto for two harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060, BWV 1060, BWV 1061, 1061 and BWV 1062, 1062
* Concerto for Two Violas (Telemann), Telemann's Concerto for Two Violas
Classical era:
* Haydn's concerto for violin and keyboard (usually referred to as the Keyboard Concerto No. 6)
* Mozart:
** Piano Concerto No. 10 (Mozart), Piano Concerto No. 10
** Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra (Mozart), Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra
* Antonio Salieri, Salieri's double concerto for flute and oboe
Romantic era:
* Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
:
** Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major (Mendelssohn), Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major
** Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat major (Mendelssohn), Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat major
* Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
's Double Concerto (Brahms), Double Concerto for violin and cello
* Max Bruch:
** Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra
** Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Bruch), Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
20th century:
* Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 (Shostakovich), Piano Concerto No. 1 (soloists: piano, trumpet)
* Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...
's Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra (Arnold), Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra
* Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Poulenc), Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
* Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Vaughan Williams), Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
* Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...
's Double Concerto (Carter), Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano with Two Chamber Orchestras
* Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
's Strathclyde Concertos, Strathclyde Concerto No. 3 for horn, trumpet and orchestra, and No. 4 for violin, viola and string orchestra
Three soloists
Baroque era:
* Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...
's twelve concerti grossi, Op. 6 (Corelli), twelve concerti grossi, Op. 6 for two violins and cello
* Vivaldi's concertos for 3 violins
* Bach:
** ''Brandenburg Concertos'' Nos. 4 (BWV 1049) and 5 (BWV 1050)
** Concertos for three harpsichords: BWV 1063 and BWV 1062, 1064
** Triple Concerto, BWV 1044, for harpsichord, flute and violin
Classical era:
* Piano Concerto No. 7 (Mozart), Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 7
Romantic era:
* Triple Concerto (Beethoven), Beethoven's Triple Concerto for piano, violin, and cello.
21st century:
* Triple Concerto No. 2 (Smirnov), Smirnov's Triple Concerto No. 2
Four or more soloists
Baroque era:
* Vivaldi:
** ''L'estro armonico'' Nos. 1, 4, 7 and 10
** Ryom Verzeichnis, RV 555, featuring 3 violins, an oboe, 2 recorders, 2 viole all'inglese, a chalumeau, 2 cellos, 2 harpsichords and 2 trumpets.
** Concerto in C major, RV 558, Concerto for Diverse Instruments in C major, RV 558
** Concerto in C major, RV 559, for two oboes, two clarinets, string section, strings and basso continuo, continuo
* Bach:
** ''Brandenburg Concertos'' Nos. 1 (BWV 1046) and 2 (BWV 1047)
** BWV 1065, Concerto for 4 harpsichords, BWV 1065 (after a concerto for four violins by Vivaldi)
20th century:
* Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (Schoenberg), Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra
* Maxwell Davies's Strathclyde Concerto and No. 9 for piccolo, alto flute, cor anglais, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabassoon and string orchestra.
* Frank Martin's Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion, and string orchestra.
* Jon Lord's '' Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' for rock band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
.
* Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto Andaluz'' for 4 guitars.
* Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...
's Concerto Grosso No. 3 (Schnittke), Concerto Grosso No. 3
* Olivier Messiaen's ''Concert à quatre'' for piano, cello, oboe and flute.
Concerto for orchestra
Symphonic orchestra
In the 20th and 21st centuries, several composers wrote concertos for orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
. In these works, different sections and/or instruments of the orchestra or concert band are treated at one point or another as soloists with emphasis on solo sections and/or instruments changing during the piece. Some examples include those written by:
* Hindemith – Op. 38, 1925
*Kodály – 1940
* Bartók – Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók), Concerto for Orchestra – 1945
*Lutoslawski – Concerto for Orchestra (Lutosławski), Concerto for Orchestra – 1954
*Rodion Shchedrin, Shchedrin
** No. 1 ''Naughty Limericks'' (1963)
** No. 2 ''The Chimes'' (1968)
** No. 3 ''Old Russian Circus Music'' (1989)
** No. 4 ''Round Dances (Khorovody)'' (1989)
** No. 5 ''Four Russian Songs'' (1998)
*Elliott Carter, Carter – 1969
*Knussen – 1969
*Magnus Lindberg (Finnish composer), Lindberg – 2003
Henri Dutilleux, Dutilleux has also described his ''Métaboles'' as a concerto for orchestra.
Chamber orchestra or string orchestra
Baroque era:
* Concerto alla rustica, Vivaldi's ''Concerto alla rustica''
* Bach's ''Brandenburg Concertos'' Nos. 3 (BWV 1048) and 6 (BWV 1051)
20th century:
* Stravinsky:
** Concerto in D (Stravinsky), Concerto in D
** Concerto in E-flat "Dumbarton Oaks", ''Dumbarton Oaks'' concerto
More than one orchestra
Baroque era:
* , Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis#Concerti grossi, HWV 332–334
20th century:
* Michael Tippett: Concerto for Double String Orchestra (Tippett), Concerto for Double String Orchestra[Huscher, Phillip (2010)]
Program Notes: Sir Michael Tippett – Concerto for Double String Orchestra
at Chicago Symphony Orchestra website.
References
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Further reading
* Hill, Ralph, Ed., 1952, ''The Concerto'', Penguin Books.
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* Randel, Don Michael, Ed., 1986, ''The New Harvard Dictionary of Music'', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA and London.
* Donald Tovey, Tovey, Donald Francis, 1936, ''Essays in Musical Analysis, Volume III, Concertos'', Oxford University Press.
External links
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{{Authority control
Concertos,
Classical music styles