concerto
Soloist with orchestra
A concerto is a musical composition for orchestra featuring one or more solo instruments.
The soloist and orchestra engage in dialogue—sometimes the soloist takes the spotlight while the orchestra accompanies, sometimes they play in conversation: a piano concerto, a violin concerto.
The form emerged in the Baroque period and remains central to classical repertoire.
Plural: concertos or concerti.
Solo musical performance
- debutFirst public appearance
- premiereFirst public performance
- encoreAudience-demanded extra performance
- ovationExtended audience applause
applause · audience · stage · interpretation · program · intermission · virtuoso · maestro
Change in position
- cadenzaExtended solo passage
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
- recapitulationSummarizing what came before
- developmentProgress toward maturity
coda · tutti · solo · double · triple · allegro · adagio · andante
Unified group or outfit
- conductorOne who directs musicians
- soloistUnaccompanied performer
- accompanimentSupplementary support element
- philharmonicLarge orchestra organization
chamber · strings · woodwinds · brass · percussion · baton · score · podium
Keyed percussion instrument
- violinBowed string instrument
- celloDeep-voiced bowed instrument
- fluteTube blown sideways
- clarinetSingle-reed woodwind instrument
oboe · trumpet · horn · viola · guitar · harpsichord · organ · bassoon
Eighteenth-century Austrian composer
- BeethovenGerman classical music giant
- BrahmsRomantic German composer
- VivaldiBaroque composer from Venice
- BachGerman composer surname
Rachmaninoff · Tchaikovsky · Chopin · Grieg · Mendelssohn · Schumann · Prokofiev · Shostakovich
Exceptional technical skill
- fingeringNote-playing hand technique
- bowingBending forward in deference
- phrasingManner of expressing something
- articulationClear vocal expression
dynamics · crescendo · diminuendo · fortissimo · pianissimo · legato · staccato · arpeggio
recital
Solo musical performance
- debutFirst public appearance
- premiereFirst public performance
- encoreAudience-demanded extra performance
ovation · applause · audience · stage · interpretation · program · intermission · virtuoso · maestro · prodigy
movement
Change in position
- cadenzaExtended solo passage
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
- recapitulationSummarizing what came before
development · coda · tutti · solo · double · triple · allegro · adagio · andante · presto
ensemble
Unified group or outfit
- conductorOne who directs musicians
- soloistUnaccompanied performer
- accompanimentSupplementary support element
philharmonic · chamber · strings · woodwinds · brass · percussion · baton · score · podium · pit
piano
Keyed percussion instrument
clarinet · oboe · trumpet · horn · viola · guitar · harpsichord · organ · bassoon · harp
Mozart
Eighteenth-century Austrian composer
- BeethovenGerman classical music giant
- BrahmsRomantic German composer
- VivaldiBaroque composer from Venice
Rachmaninoff · Tchaikovsky · Bach · Chopin · Grieg · Mendelssohn · Schumann · Prokofiev · Shostakovich · Liszt
virtuosity
Exceptional technical skill
- fingeringNote-playing hand technique
- bowingBending forward in deference
- phrasingManner of expressing something
articulation · dynamics · crescendo · diminuendo · fortissimo · pianissimo · legato · staccato · arpeggio · glissando
- creative worksbooks, autobiography, memoir, novels, diary
- musicmusic, song, songs, singing, singer
- creationsnovel, artwork, poem, song, film
- classical musicBach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, William III
- ClassicalMozart, Beethoven, Haydn, symphony, sonata
concertosymphony
Extended composition for orchestra
orchestral suite · tone poem · symphonic poem · overture · tutti
concertofolk song
Traditional community music
popular song · ditty · jingle · improvisation · jam session
- rock concertAmplified band performance
- concert ticketsEntry for live performances
- concert hallVenue for orchestral performances
- concert bandsLarge woodwind-brass-percussion ensembles
- concert tourMulti-city performance schedule
- live concertIn-person musical performance
concert, concerted, disconcert, disconcerting, concertos, disconcertment