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Articles
Overview
1Concerto 1
Concertino 9
Concerto grosso 10
Concerto for orchestra 11
Sinfonia concertante 13
Ripieno concerto 15
Solo concerto 16
Student concerto 18
Concertos by instrument
19Bass oboe concerto 19
Bassoon concerto 19
Cello concerto 23
Clarinet concerto 27
Double bass concerto 34
Double concertos for violin and cello 36
English horn 41 Flute concerto 51 Harmonica concerto 55 Harpsichord concerto 58 Oboe concerto 60 Organ concerto 62 Piano concerto 66 Timpani concerto 68
Triple concertos for violin, cello, and piano 69
Trumpet concerto 72
Viola concerto 73
Violin concerto 78
Examples
82Bassoon – Bassoon Concerto (Mozart) 82
Flute – Flute Concerto (Simpson) 92
Harmonica – Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (Arnold) 93
Harpsichord – Harpsichord concertos (Bach) 93
Oboe – Oboe Concerto (Mozart) 100
Orchestra – Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók) 101
Organ – Organ Concerto (Poulenc) 104
Piano – Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) 105
Sinfonia – Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (Mozart) 109
Triple – Triple Concerto (Beethoven) 110
Trumpet – Trumpet Concerto (Haydn) 111
Viola – Viola Concerto (Bartók) 112
Violin – Violin Concerto (Beethoven) 114
Concertos by composer
116Concertos by Christoph Graupner 116
Concertos by Joseph Haydn 118
References
Article Sources and Contributors 121
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 123
Article Licenses
Overview
Concerto
Frederick the Great playing a flute concerto in Sanssouci, C. P. E. Bach at the piano, Johann Joachim Quantz is leaning on the wall to the right; by Adolph
Menzel, 1852
A concerto (from the Italian: concerto, plural concerti or, often, the anglicised form
concertos) is a musical work usually
composed in three parts or movements, in which (usually) one solo instrument (for instance, a piano, violin, cello or flute) is accompanied by an orchestra.
The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words
conserere (meaning to tie, to join, to weave)
and certamen (competition, fight): the idea is that the two parts in a concerto, the soloist and the orchestra, alternate episodes of opposition, cooperation, and independence in the creation of the music flow.
The concerto, as understood in this modern way, arose in the Baroque period side by side with the concerto grosso, which contrasted a small group of instruments with the rest of the orchestra. The popularity of the concerto grosso form declined after the Baroque period, and the genre was not revived until the 20th century. The solo concerto, however, has remained a vital musical force from its inception to this day.
Baroque concerto
The concerto was established as a form of composition in the Baroque period. Starting from a form called Concerto grosso introduced by Arcangelo Corelli, it evolved into the form we understand today as performance of a soloist with/against an orchestra.
The main composers of concerti of the baroque were: Tommaso Albinoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Pietro Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini, Francesco Geminiani and Johann Joachim Quantz. 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, viola, cello, seldom viola d'amore or harp) or a wind instrument (oboe, trumpet, flute, or horn).
During the baroque period, before the invention of the piano, keyboard concertos were comparatively rare, with the exception of the organ and some harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. As the harpsichord evolved into the fortepiano, and in the end to the modern piano, the increased volume and the richer sound of the new instrument allowed the keyboard instrument to better compete with a full orchestra.
Cello concertos have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. Among the works from that period, those by Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini are still part of the standard repertoire today.
Classical concerto
The concerti of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of Mozart. C.P.E. Bach’s keyboard concerti contain some brilliant soloistic 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 boy, made arrangements for harpsichord and orchestra of three sonata movements by Johann Christian Bach. 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. He wrote one concerto each for flute, oboe (later rearranged for flute and known as Flute Concerto No. 2), clarinet, and bassoon, four for horn, a Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, and a Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. They all exploit and explore the characteristics of the solo instrument. His five violin concerti, written in quick succession, show a number of influences, notably Italian and Austrian. Several passages have leanings towards folk music, as manifested in Austrian serenades. However, it was in his twenty-seven original piano concerti that he excelled himself. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concerti from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form.
Romantic concerto
In the romantic era, the concerto largely narrowed to three genres: the violin concerto, the cello concerto and the piano concerto. Virtually no major composer wrote concertos for wind instruments.
Violin concertos
In the 19th century the concerto was a vehicle for virtuosic display flourished as never before. It was the age in which the artist was seen as hero, to be worshipped and adulated with rapture. 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. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is unique in its scale and melodic qualities. Recitative elements are often incorporated, showing the influence of Italian opera on purely instrumental forms. Mendelssohn opens his violin concerto (1844) with the singing qualities of the violin solo. Even later passage work is dramatic and recitative-like, rather than merely virtuosic. The wind instruments state the lyrical second subject over a low pedal G on the violin – certainly an innovation. The cadenza, placed at the start of the recapitulation, is fully written out and integrated into the structure.
The great violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini was a legendary figure who, as a composer, exploited the technical potential of his instrument to its very limits. Each one exploits rhapsodic ideas but is unique in its own form. The Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps contributed several works to this form. Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole (1875) displays virtuoso writing with a Spanish flavor. Max Bruch wrote three violin concertos, but it is the first, in G minor, that has remained a firm favorite in the repertoire. The opening movement relates so closely to the two remaining movements that it functions like an operatic prelude. Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto (1878) is a powerful work which succeeds in being lyrical as well as superbly virtuosic. In the same year Brahms wrote his violin concerto for the virtuoso Joseph Joachim. This work makes new demands on the player, so much so that when it was first written it was referred to as a "concerto against the violin". The first movement brings the concerto into the realm of symphonic development. The second movement is traditionally lyrical, and the finale is based on a lively Hungarian theme.
Cello concertos
Since the Romantic era, the cello has received as much attention as the piano and violin as a concerto instrument, and many great Romantic and even more 20th century composers left examples. Antonín Dvořák’s cello concerto ranks among the supreme examples from the Romantic era while those of Robert Schumann, Carl Reinecke, David Popper, and Julius Klengel focus on the lyrical qualities of the instrument. Beethoven contributed to the repertoire 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. The instrument was also popular with composers of the Franco-Belgian
tradition: Saint-Saëns and Vieuxtemps wrote two cello concertos each and Lalo and Jongen one. 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 which was only completed in 2006. Elgar's popular concerto, while written in the early 20th century, belongs to the late romantic period stylistically. In addition, Ernest Bloch wrote Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hébraïque for cello solo and orchestra in the 20th century.
Today's 'core' repertoire which is performed the most of any cello concertos are by Elgar, Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Haydn, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Schumann but there are many more concertos which are performed nearly as often (see below: cello concertos in the 20th century).
Piano concertos
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 starts, against tradition, with a statement by the piano, after which the orchestra magically enters in a foreign key, to present what would normally have been the opening tutti. The work has an essentially lyrical character. The slow movement is a dramatic dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. Concerto no 5 has the basic rhythm of a Viennese military march. There is no lyrical second subject, but in its place a continuous development of the opening material. He also wrote a Triple Concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra.
The piano concertos of Mendelssohn, Field, and Hummel provide a link from the Classical concerto to the Romantic concerto. Chopin wrote two piano concertos in which the orchestra is very much 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.
Liszt's mastery of piano technique matched that of Paganini for the violin. His concertos No. 1 and No. 2 left a deep impression on the style of piano concerto writing, influencing Rubinstein, and especially Tchaikovsky, whose first piano concerto's rich chordal opening is justly famous. Grieg’s concerto likewise begins in a striking manner after which it continues in a lyrical vein.
Brahms's 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 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 Grieg-inspired Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote 4 piano concertos between 1891 and 1926. His 2nd and 3rd, being the most popular of the 4, went on to become among the most famous in piano repertoire and shining examples of Russian musicianship.
Small-scale works
Besides the usual three-movement works with the title "concerto", many 19th-century composers wrote shorter pieces for solo instrument and orchestra, often bearing descriptive titles. From around 1800 such pieces were often called Konzertstück or Phantasie by German composers. Liszt wrote the Totentanz for piano and orchestra, a paraphrase of the Dies Irae. Max Bruch wrote a popular Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra, César Franck wrote Les Djinns and Variations symphoniques, and Gabriel Fauré wrote a Ballade for piano and orchestra. Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme for cello and orchestra have an important place in the instrument's repertoire. Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is widely considered to be structured similarly to a piano concerto.
20th century
Many of the concertos written in the early 20th century belong more to the late Romantic school than to any modernistic movement. Masterpieces were written by Edward Elgar (a violin concerto and a cello concerto), Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner (four and three piano concertos, respectively), Jean Sibelius (a violin concerto), Frederick Delius (a violin concerto, a cello concerto, a piano concerto and a double concerto for violin and cello), Karol Szymanowski (two violin concertos and a "Symphonie Concertante" for piano), and Richard Strauss (two horn concertos, a violin concerto, Don Quixote —a tone poem which 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, Schoenberg, Berg, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Prokofiev 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, the exploration of non-western scales, the development of atonality, the wider acceptance of dissonances, the invention of the twelve-tone technique of composition and the use of polyrhythms and complex time signatures. 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 in order to include new and extended instrumental techniques as well as a focus on aspects of sound that had been neglected or even ignored before such as pitch, timbre and dynamics. In some cases, they also brought about a new approach to the role of the soloist and its relation to the orchestra.
Violin concertos
Two great innovators of early 20th-century music, Schoenberg and Stravinsky, both wrote violin concertos. The material in Schoenberg’s concerto, like that in Berg’s, is linked by the twelve-tone serial method. Bartók, another major 20th century composer, wrote two important concertos for violin. Russian composers Prokofiev and Shostakovich both 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 which he used was different.
Three violin concertos from David Diamond show the form in neoclassical style.
More recently, Dutilleux'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 Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Walton, Benjamin Britten, Frank Martin, Carl Nielsen, Paul Hindemith, Alfred Schnittke, György Ligeti, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Kan-no.
Cello concertos
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.
An important factor in this phenomenon 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. His creations include such masterpieces as Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto, Dmitri Shostakovich's two cello concertos, Benjamin Britten's Cello-Symphony (which emphasizes, as its title suggests, the equal importance of soloist and orchestra), Henri Dutilleux' Tout un monde lointain, Witold Lutosławski's cello concerto, Dmitri Kabalevsky's two cello concertos, Aram Khachaturian's Concerto-Rhapsody, Arvo Pärt's Pro et
Contra, Alfred Schnittke, André Jolivet and Krzysztof Penderecki second cello concertos, Sofia Gubaidulina's 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: György Ligeti, Alexander Glazunov, Paul Hindemith, Toru Takemitsu, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Samuel Barber, Joaquín Rodrigo, Elliot Carter, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, William Walton, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Hans Werner Henze, Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Einojuhani Rautavaara for instance.
Piano concertos
Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto is a well known example of piano concerti. In addition, Stravinsky wrote three works for solo piano and orchestra: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, and Movements for Piano and Orchestra. Prokofiev, another Russian composer, wrote no less than five piano concertos which he himself performed. Shostakovich composed two. Fellow soviet composer Khachaturian contributed to the repertoire with a piano concerto and a Concerto-Rhapsody.
Bartók also wrote three piano concertos. Like their violin counterparts, they show the various stages in his musical development.
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote concertos for piano and for two pianos while Britten's concerto for piano (1938) is a fine work from his early period.
György Ligeti's concerto is a good example of a more recent piece (1985) that uses complex rhythms. 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.
Concertos for other instruments
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. As a result, almost all the instruments of the classical orchestra now have a concertante repertoire. Examples include:
• Alto saxophone Concerto:Creston, Dahl, Denisov, Dubois, Glazunov, Ibert, Koch, Larsson, Maslanka, Tomasi, Yoshimatsu
• Bandoneón Concerto: Piazzolla • Baritone saxophone Concerto: Gaines
• Bassoon Concerto: Aho, Eckhardt-Gramatté, Gubaidulina, Hétu, Jolivet, Davies, Panufnik, Sæverud, J. Williams • Bass clarinet Concerto: Bouliane
• Clarinet Concerto: Aho, Arnold, Copland, Denisov, Dusapin, Fairouz, Françaix, Hétu, Hindemith, Kan-no, Nielsen, Penderecki, Rautavaara, Stravinsky, Takemitsu, Tomasi, J. Williams
• Contrabassoon Concerto: Aho, Erb • Cornet Concerto: Wright
• Double bass Concerto: Aho, Bottesini, Dragonetti, Henze, Koussevitsky, Davies, Ohzawa Rautavaara, Tubin • Drum set Concerto : Beck
• Euphonium Concerto: Cosma, Ewazen, Gillingham, Golland, Graham, Horovitz, Lindberg, Linkola, Sparke, Wilby.
• Flute Concerto: Aho, Arnold, Denisov, Dusapin, Harman, Hétu, Ibert, Jolivet, Nielsen, Penderecki, Rautavaara, Rodrigo, Takemitsu, J. Williams
• Free bass accordion Concerto: Serry, Sr.
• Guitar Concerto: Arnold, Brouwer, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Carulli, Giuliani, Hovhaness, Ohana, Ponce, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos
• Harmonica Concerto: Arnold, Vaughan Williams, Villa-Lobos
• Harp Concerto: Ginastera, Glière, Jongen, Milhaud, Jolivet, Rautavaara, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos • Harpsichord Concerto: de Falla, Glass, Górecki, Martinů, Poulenc
• Horn Concerto: Aho, Arnold, Arutiunian, Bowen, Carter, Davies, Glière, Gipps, Hindemith, Hovhaness, Jacob, Knussen, Ligeti, Murail, Penderecki, Strauss, Tomasi, J. Williams
• Mandolin Concerto: Thile
• Marimba Concerto: Creston, Larsen, Milhaud, Rosauro, Svoboda, Viñao
• Oboe Concerto: Aho, Arnold, Bouliane, Denisov, Harman, MacMillan, Maderna, Martinů, Penderecki, Shchedrin, Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Zimmermann
• Organ Concerto: Arnold, Hanson, Harrison, Hétu, Hindemith, Jongen, Kan-no, MacMillan, Peeters, Poulenc, Rorem, Sowerby
• Percussion Concerto: Aho, Glass, Jolivet, MacMillan, Milhaud, Rautavaara, Susman • Piccolo Concerto: Liebermann
• Shakuhachi Concerto: Takemitsu • Sheng Concerto: Kan-no, Unsuk Chin.
• Soprano saxophone Concerto: Mackey, Torke, Yoshimatsu. • Tenor saxophone Concerto: Bennett, Ewazen, Wilder. • Timpani Concerto : Druschetzky, Glass, Kraft, Rosauro
• Trombone Concerto: Aho, Dusapin, Holmboe, Milhaud, Rota, Rouse, Tomasi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Grondahl • Trumpet Concerto:Aho, Arnold, Arutiunian, Böhme, Jolivet, Perry, Williams, Zimmermann
• Tuba Concerto: Aho, Arutiunian, Holmboe, Vaughan Williams, J. Williams
• Viola Concerto: Aho, Arnold, Bartók, Denisov, Gubaidulina, Hindemith, Kan-no, Kancheli, Martinů, Milhaud, Murail, Penderecki, Schnittke, Takemitsu, Walton
Among the works of the prolific composer Alan Hovhaness may be noted Prayer of St. Gregory for trumpet and strings.
Today the concerto tradition has been continued by composers such as Maxwell Davies, whose series of Strathclyde Concertos exploit some of the instruments less familiar as soloists.
Concertos for orchestra
In the 20th century, several important composers wrote concertos for orchestra. In these works, different sections and/or instruments of the orchestra are treated at one point or another as soloists with emphasis on solo sections and/or instruments changing during the piece. Famous examples include those written by:
• Bartók • Kodály • Lutoslawski • Hindemith • Carter • Lindberg • Shchedrin
Dutilleux has also described his Métaboles as a concerto for orchestra, while Britten's well-known pedagogical work
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is essentially a concerto for orchestra in all but name.
Concertos for two or more instruments
Many composers also wrote concertos for two or more soloists. In the Baroque era:
• Vivaldi's concerti for 2, 3 or 4 violins, for 2 cellos, for 2 mandolins, for 2 trumpets, for 2 flutes, for oboe and bassoon, for cello and bassoon... etc.
• Bach's concerti for 2 violins, for 2, 3, or 4 harpsichords as well as several of his Brandenburg concertos. In the Classical era:
• Mozart's concerti for 2 pianos and 3 pianos, the Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola, and his concerto for flute and harp.
• Salieri's Triple Concerto for oboe, violin and cello, and his double concerto for flute and oboe. In the Romantic era:
• Beethoven's triple concerto for piano, violin, and cello. • Brahms's double concerto for violin and cello.
• Bruch's double concerto for viola and clarinet. In the 20th century:
• Malcolm Arnold's concerto for piano duet and strings, as well as his concerto for two violins and string orchestra • Béla Bartók's concerto for two pianos and percussion
• Samuel Barber's Capricorn Concerto for flute, oboe and trumpet. • Benjamin Britten's double concerto for violin and viola.
• Elliott Carter's double concerto for piano and harpsichord. • Frederick Delius's double concerto for violin and cello.
• Jean Françaix's concerto for two pianos and another for two harps, as well as his Divertissement for string trio and orchestra, his Quadruple Concerto for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and orchestra, his Double Concerto for flute and clarinet, and his Concerto for 15 Soloists and Orchestra
• Philip Glass's concerto for saxophone quartet.
• Hans Werner Henze's double concerto for oboe and harp.
• Paul Hindemith's concerto for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and orchestra as well as his concerto for trumpet, bassoon, and strings
• Gustav Holst's Fugal Concerto for flute, oboe and string orchestra • György Kurtág's double concerto for piano and cello.
• Lowell Liebermann's concerto for flute and harp • György Ligeti's double concerto for flute and oboe. • Jon Lord's concerto for rock band.
• Witold Lutosławski's concerto for oboe and harp.
• Bohuslav Martinu's concerto for string quartet, concertino for piano trio and string orchestra, two concertante duos for two violins, concerto for two pianos, sinfonia concertante No. 2 for violin, cello, oboe, bassoon and orchestra with piano, and his concerto for violin and piano.
• Olivier Messiaen's Concert à quatre for piano, cello, oboe and flute.
• Darius Milhaud's Symphonie concertante for bassoon, horn, trumpet and double bass, as well as his concerti for flute and violin, and for marimba and vibraphone.
• Francis Poulenc's concerto for two pianos.
• Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto madrigal for 2 guitars and Concierto Andaluz for 4 guitars. • William Russo's concerto for blues band.
• Alfred Schnittke's double concerto for oboe, harp, and strings as well as his Konzert zu Dritt, for violin, viola, violoncello and strings.
• Rodion Shchedrin's double concerto for piano and cello. • Michael Tippett's triple concerto for violin, viola, and cello. In the 21st century:
• Leo Brouwer's Guitar Concerto No. 10 "Book of Signs", for two guitars • Mohammed Fairouz's Double Concerto 'States of Fantasy' for violin and cello • William P. Perry's Gemini Concerto for violin and piano
• Karl Jenkins' Over the Stone for two harps
External links
• Anthology of 20th century violin concertos [1]
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Concerto". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
References
Concertino
A concertino (or Konzertstück) is a short concerto freer in form. It normally takes the form of a one-movement musical composition for solo instrument and orchestra, though some concertinos are written in several movements played without a pause.
Famous concertinos
Listed by composer:
• Cécile Chaminade: Concertino for Flute and Orchestra in D major • Ferdinand David: Concertino for Trombone and Bassoon
• Lorenzo Ferrero: Three Baroque Buildings (1997) for trumpet, bassoon and string orchestra • Ferrero: Rastrelli in Saint Petersburg (2000) for oboe and string orchestra
• Ferrero: Two Cathedrals in the South (2001) for trumpet and string orchestra • Ferrero: Guarini, the Master (2004) for violin and string orchestra
• Leoš Janáček: Concertino for piano and chamber ensemble • Julius Klengel: Concertino for Cello in C major
• Carl Maria von Weber: Concertino in C minor/E flat for Clarinet and Orchestra • Weber: Concertino in E minor for Horn and Orchestra
• Weber: Konzertstück in F minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 79, J. 282 (later arranged for solo piano by Franz Liszt, S. 576a)
• Gilad Hochman: Concertino for String Orchestra and Flute Obbligato (2003). [1]
References
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). This is in contrast to the concerto which features a single solo instrument with the melody line, accompanied by the orchestra.
The form developed in the late seventeenth century, although the name was not used at first. Alessandro Stradella seems to have written the first music in which two groups of different sizes are combined in the characteristic way. The name was first used by Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori in a set of 10 compositions published in Lucca in 1698[1] . The first major composer to use the term concerto grosso was Arcangelo Corelli. After Corelli's death, a collection of twelve of his concerti grossi was published; not long after, composers such as Francesco Geminiani, Pietro Locatelli and Giuseppe Torelli wrote concertos in the style of Corelli. He also had a strong influence on Antonio Vivaldi.
Two distinct forms of the concerto grosso exist: the concerto da chiesa (church concert) and the concerto da camera (chamber concert). (See also Sonata for a discussion about sonatas da camera and da chiesa.) The concerto da
chiesa alternated slow and fast movements; the concerto da camera had the character of a suite, being introduced by
a prelude and incorporating popular dance forms. These distinctions blurred over time.
Corelli's concertino group was invariably two violins and a cello, with a string section as ripieno group. Both were accompanied by a basso continuo with some combination of harpsichord, organ, lute or theorbo. Handel wrote several collections of concerti grossi, and several of the Brandenburg Concertos by Bach also loosely follow the
concerto grosso form.
The concerto grosso form was superseded by the solo concerto and the sinfonia concertante in the late eighteenth century, and new examples of the form did not appear for more than a century. In the twentieth century, the concerto
grosso has been used by composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Ernest Bloch, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Bohuslav
Martinů, Malcolm Williamson, Henry Cowell, Alfred Schnittke, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Andrei Eshpai, Eino Tamberg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jean Françaix and Philip Glass. While Edward Elgar may not be considered a modern composer, his romantic Introduction and Allegro strongly resembled the instrumentation setup of a concerto grosso.
References
[1] Treccani Dizionario Biografico (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giovanni-lorenzo-gregori_(Dizionario-Biografico)/)
Concerto for orchestra
Although a concerto is usually a piece of music for one or more solo instruments accompanied by a full orchestra, several composers have written works with the apparently contradictory title Concerto for Orchestra. This title is usually chosen to emphasise soloistic and virtuosic treatment of various individual instruments or sections in the orchestra, with emphasis on instruments changing during the piece.
For the distinction between the Concerto for Orchestra and the Sinfonia Concertante genres (or: forms): see sinfonia concertante
The best known Concerto for Orchestra is the one by Béla Bartók (1943), although the title had been used several times before.
Goffredo Petrassi made the concerto for orchestra something of a speciality, writing eight of them since 1933. He finished the last one in 1972.
Concertos for Orchestra (in chronological order)
• Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 38 by Paul Hindemith (1925) • Concerto for Orchestra, by Tadeusz Szeligowski (1930) • Concerto for Orchestra, by Gian Francesco Malipiero (1931) • Philharmonic Concerto, also by Paul Hindemith (1932) • Concerto per orchestra in Do maggiore by Mario Pilati (1933)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Walter Piston (1933), which is based in part on Hindemith's work • Concerto for Orchestra by Zoltán Kodály (1939)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Béla Bartók (1943)
• Concerto for String Orchestra by Grażyna Bacewicz (1948) • Concerto for String Orchestra by Alan Rawsthorne (1949)
• Concerto No.1 for Orchestra 'Arevakal', Op. 88 by Alan Hovhaness (1951) • Concerto No.7 for Orchestra, Op. 116 by Alan Hovhaness (1953)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutosławski (1950–54, which won him the UNESCO 1st prize in 1963. • Concerto No.8 for Orchestra, Op. 117 by Alan Hovhaness (1957)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Giya Kancheli (1961) • Concerto for Orchestra by Grażyna Bacewicz (1962) • Concerto for Orchestra by Michael Tippett (1962–63)
• Concerto for Orchestra No. 1 by Rodion Shchedrin (1963), subtitled "Naughty Limericks" • Concerto for Orchestra by Havergal Brian (1964)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Roberto Gerhard (1965) • Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 8 by Robin Holloway (1967) • Concerto for Orchestra by Thea Musgrave (1967) • Concerto for Orchestra by Elliott Carter (1969) • Concerto for orchestra by Anthony Payne (1974)
• Second Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 40 by Robin Holloway (1978)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Roger Sessions (1979–81), which won him the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1982 • Concerto for Orchestra by John McCabe (1982)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Edward Gregson (1983) (revised versions 1989 and 2001) • Concerto for Orchestra by Robert Saxton (1984)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Karel Husa (1986)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Leonard Bernstein (1986–89), which is also known as "Jubilee Games" for orchestra and baritone
• Concerto for Orchestra (Variations without a theme) by Denys Bouliane (1985–95) • Concerto for Orchestra by Joan Tower (1991)
• Third Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 80 by Robin Holloway (1981–94) • Concerto for Orchestra (Zoroastrian Riddles) by Richard Danielpour (1996)
• Strathclyde Concerto No. 10: Concerto for Orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (1996), actually a series of ten concertos for soloists from the orchestra
• Concerto for Orchestra (reseated) by Augusta Read Thomas (1998) • Concerto for Orchestra by Stanisław Skrowaczewski (1999)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Menachem Zur (2001-2002) (revised version 2010) • Boston Concerto by Elliott Carter (2002)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Jennifer Higdon (2002) • Yi°: Concerto for Orchestra by Tan Dun (2002)
• Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 81 by Lowell Liebermann (2002) • Concerto for Orchestra by Magnus Lindberg (2003)
• 2nd Concerto for Orchestra by Steven Stucky (2003, which won him the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2005 • Concerto for Orchestra by David Horne (2003–04)
• Concerti for Orchestra by Milton Babbitt (2004) • Concierto para orquestra by Agustí Charles (2004) • Concerto for Orchestra by Alejandro Arguello (2004–05)
• Fourth Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 101 by Robin Holloway (2004–06) • Concerto for Orchestra by Christopher Rouse (2007–2008)
• Concerto for Orchestra by Rolf Martinsson (2008)
• Symphony No. 5 (Concerto for Orchestra) by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (2008) • Fifth Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 107 by Robin Holloway (2009–10)
For string orchestra
• Concerto in D by Igor Stravinsky (1946)
For chamber orchestra
• Concerto for Chamber Orchestra by George Antheil (1932) • Chamber Concerto by György Ligeti (1969-70)
Sinfonia concertante
Sinfonia concertante is a musical form that emerged during the Classical period of Western music. It is essentially a
mixture of the symphony and the concerto genres: a concerto in that one or more soloists (in the classical period, usually more than one) are on prominent display, and a symphony in that the soloists are nonetheless discernibly a part of the total ensemble and not preeminent. The form was developed by Joseph Bo(u)logne, Chevalier de St. George.
Classical era
In the Baroque period, the differences between a concerto and a sinfonia (also "symphony") were initially not all that clear. The word sinfonia would, for example, be used as the name for an overture to a stage work. Antonio Vivaldi wrote "concertos" which did not highlight individual soloists and which were stylistically more or less indistinguishable from his "sinfonias." The Baroque genre that comes closest to the Classical sinfonia concertante is the concerto grosso; among the most famous of these are those by Arcangelo Corelli.
By the Classical period (roughly 1750-1800), both the symphony and the concerto had acquired more definite meanings, and the concerto grosso had disappeared altogether. This led in the last decades of the 18th century to attempts to combine the two genres, such as those by composers of the Mannheim school. Johann Christian Bach (the so-called "London Bach" and youngest son of Johann Sebastian) was publishing symphonies concertantes in Paris from the early 1770s on. Mozart, acquainted with the Mannheim school from 1777 and probably not unaware of J.C. Bach's publications, put considerable effort into attempts to produce convincing sinfonie concertanti. His most successful are the following:
• Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (the only one Mozart is actually considered to have finished that exists in an authentic copy).
• Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra K. 297b (known from an arrangement, possibly inauthentic).
Joseph Haydn, who wrote over 100 symphonies as well as a number of concertos for all kinds of instruments, produced three sinfonie concertanti. However, these works draw much more upon the concerto grosso tradition than the more symphonic treatment of the genre by Mozart.
Beethoven did not write anything designated as a sinfonia concertante, although some feel his Triple Concerto qualifies for inclusion in the genreTriple.
Romantic era
Few composers still called their compositions sinfonia concertante after the classical music era. However, some works such as Hector Berlioz' Harold in Italy, for viola and orchestra approach the genre.
Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 features an organ that is partially immersed in the orchestral sound, but also has several distinct solo passages. The second half of this work also features a semi-soloistic part for piano four hands.
By the end of the 19th century, several French composers had started using the sinfonia concertante technique in symphonic poems, for example, Saint-Saëns uses a violin in Danse macabre, and César Franck a piano in Les
Djinns.
Richard Strauss' Don Quixote (1897) uses several soloists to depict the main characters, namely cello, viola, bass clarinet and tenor tuba.
Édouard Lalo's most known work, the Symphonie Espagnole, is in fact a sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra.
A work in the same vein, but with the piano taking the "concertante" part is Vincent d'Indy's Symphonie Cévenole (Symphony on a French Mountain Air). Likewise, Henry Litolff wrote five Concerto Symphoniques, also with a piano obbligato,.
Max Bruch explored the boundaries of the solistic and symphonic genres in the Scottish Fantasy (violin soloist), Kol
Nidrei (cello soloist), and Serenade (violin soloist).
20th century
In the 20th century, some composers such as George Enescu, Darius Milhaud, Frank Martin, Edmund Rubbra, William Walton and Malcolm Williamson again used the name sinfonia concertante for their compositions. Martin's work, more reminiscent of the classical works with multiple soloists, features a piano, a harpsichord, and a harp. Karol Szymanowski also composed a sinfonia concertante (for solo piano and orchestra), also known as his Symphony No. 4 "Symphonie-Concertante." Other examples include Joseph Jongen's 1926 Symphonie Concertante Op. 81, with an organ soloist, the Sinfonia Concertante (Symphony No. 4), for flute, harp and small string orchestra by Andrzej Panufnik written in 1973, and Peter Maxwell Davies's Sinfonia Concertante for wind quintet, timpani and string orchestra of 1982.
The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů wrote two works in this genre: Sinfonia Concertante for Two Orchestras, H. 219 (1932) and Sinfonia Concertante No. 2 in B-flat major for Violin, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon and Orchestra with Piano, H. 322 (1949). In fact, all of the composer's symphonies feature a piano, as do most of his orchestral works, but the two afore-mentioned works were the only two in his output which he labelled concertante symphonies. Prokofiev called his work for cello and orchestra Symphony-Concerto, stressing its serious symphonic character, in contrast to the light character of the Classical period sinfonia concertante. Britten's Cello Symphony and Zwilich's Symphony No. 4 also showcase a solo cello within the context of a full-scale symphony.
Also P. D. Q. Bach produced a (spoofical) "Sinfonia Concertante" utilizing lute, balalaika, double reed slide music stand, ocarina, left-handed sewer flute, and bagpipes.
Notes
1. For example, in the explanatory notes from the booklet to the CD "BEETHOVEN - Triple Concerto/Choral
Ripieno concerto
The ripieno concerto is a somewhat later type of Baroque music, the term concerto here reverting to its earlier meaning of work for an ensemble. The word ripieno is from the Italian for "padding". The concerto ripieno was sometimes referred to as a "concerto à quatre" (or "à cinque" if the orchestra included two viola parts, a standard scoring in the 17th century). These were merely compositions for the ripieno alone (i.e. for string orchestra and continuo), with either no solo parts or clearly subsidiary ones. Beginning with the six ripieno concertos of Giuseppe Torelli’s op. 5 (1692), this genre enjoyed an efflorescence that extended until about 1740.
Types
Most ripieno concertos fall into one of two distinct classes: a sonata type and a sinfonia type. The sonata type generally mirrors the form and style of the "sonata da chiesa" in its use of four-movement slow-fast-slow-fast cycles and predominantly fugal texture.
The more modern sinfonia type was firmly established in Torelli’s second publication to include concertos, op. 6 (1698), and in Giulio Taglietti’s Concerti a Quattro op. 4 (1699), which turn to the three-movement (fast-slow-fast) pattern and more homophonic texture familiar to us from the solo concerto and opera sinfonia. The opening movements also parallel the solo concerto in utilizing ritornello form (without solo sections), in which the opening material recurs from one to several times in various keys, the last statement normally in the tonic. Finales are most often binary in form and dancelike in style. The sinfonia type gradually merged with the early concert symphony beginning in the 1720s, doubtless in part because the term concerto was by that time acquiring an indelible association with the notion of tutti-solo contrast.
A special class of 20th century concertos is the concerto for orchestra. These works are not for the most part ripieno concertos in the Baroque sense but rather display pieces in which the orchestra itself is the virtuoso, from soloists to sections of the orchestra, choirs or tutti. Examples of this genre, best known through Bartok’s popular work of 1943, include compositions by Hindemith (1925), Walter Piston (1933), Zoltan Kodaly (1939–40), Michael Tippett (1962–63), and Elliott Carter (1969). In the latter piece, Carter dramatically personifies or characterizes the various concertino groupings, a technique he had previously explored in his Double Concerto for harpsichord and piano (1961) and his Piano Concerto (1964–65).
References
Solo concerto
A solo concerto is a concerto in which a single soloist is accompanied by an orchestra. It is the most frequent type of concerto. It originated in the Baroque Period (approximately 1600-1750) as an alternative to the traditional concertino (solo group of instruments) in a concerto grosso.
A typical concerto has three movements, traditionally fast, slow and lyrical, and fast. There are many examples of concertos that do not conform to this plan.
History
Baroque
The earliest known solo concertos are nos. 6 and 12 of Giuseppe Torelli’s op. 6 of 1698. These works employ both a three-movement cycle and clear (if diminutive) ritornello form, like that of the ripieno concerto except that sections for the soloist and continuo separate the orchestral ritornellos. Active in Bologna, Torelli would have known of the operatic arias and the numerous sonatas and sinfonias for trumpet and strings produced in Bologna since the 1660s. He himself composed more than a dozen such works for trumpet, two dated in the early 1690s. Other early violin concertos are the four in Tomaso Albinoni’s op. 2 (1700) and the six in Torelli’s important op. 8 (1709 - the other six works in this set are double concertos for two violins).
The most influential and prolific composer of concertos during the Baroque period was the Venetian Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741). In addition to his nearly 60 extant ripieno concertos, Vivaldi composed approximately 425 concertos for one or more soloists, including about 350 solo concertos (two-thirds for solo violin) and 45 double concertos (over half for two violins). Vivaldi’s concertos firmly establish the three-movement form as the norm. The virtuosity of the solo sections increases markedly, especially in the later works, and concurrently the texture becomes more homophonic.
Concertos for instruments other than violin began to appear early in the 18th century, including the oboe concertos of George Frideric Handel and the numerous concertos for flute, oboe, bassoon, cello, and other instruments by Vivaldi. The earliest organ concertos can probably be credited to Handel (16 concertos, ca. 1735-51), the earliest harpsichord concertos to Johann Sebastian Bach (14 concertos for one to four harpsichords, ca. 1735-40). In the latter case, all but probably one of the concertos are arrangements of existing works, though Bach had already approached the idea of a harpsichord concerto before 1721 in the Brandenburg Concerto no. 5.
Classical
The Classical period brought the triumph of the solo concerto over the group or multiple concerto, assisted by the continued rise of the virtuoso soloist and the growing demand for up-to-date works for performance by amateurs. The former trend appears most obviously in the large number of violin concertos written by violinists for their own use.
The Classical period also witnessed the rise of the keyboard concerto. Until about 1770, the preferred stringed keyboard instrument was usually the harpsichord, but it was gradually supplanted by the piano. The most important composers of keyboard concertos before Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were Bach’s sons. Vienna saw the production of many keyboard concertos. The last decades of the 18th century brought the rise of traveling piano virtuosos. The concertos of this period show a broad transition from Baroque to Classical style, though many are more conservative than contemporaneous symphonies. Most are in three movements, though a significant minority adopt lighter two-movement patterns such as Allegro-Minuet and Allegro-Rondo. Dance and rondo finales are also frequent in three-movement concertos.
Joseph Haydn’s concertos are mostly from his early career. Exceptions are the Piano Concerto in D, the Cello Concerto in D, and the Trumpet Concerto.
Of Mozart’s 23 original piano concertos, 17 date from his Viennese period. They are the crowning achievement of the concerto in the 18th century. Most of the works he wrote for Vienna are of a type that Mozart called grand concertos. These were intended for performance at his own subscription concerts, which were held in sizeable halls. They call for an orchestra that is much larger than a typical concerto of the time, especially in the expanded role assigned to the winds. The orchestra is rendered fully capable of sustaining a dramatic confrontation with the virtuosity and individuality of the soloist. Mozart’s approach in these concertos is often clearly symphonic, both in the application of formal symphonic principles, and in a Haydnesque interest in thematic unity in the later concertos. The range of styles and expression is greater than that of most other concertos of the period, from the comic-opera elements of K.467 to the Italianate lyricism of K.488, the tragic character of K.466 and 491 to the Beethovenian heroism of K.503.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s five piano concertos date from between about 1793 and 1809, (there is an early work from 1784). They are longer than Mozart's concertos, and call for even more virtuosity from the soloist. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (1806) exhibits similar achievements - Mozart’s five violin concertos are all early works written in Salzburg in 1775.
Romantic
Early Romantic concertos include Mendelssohn’s two piano concertos (1831–37) and his important Violin Concerto (1844) and Schumann's concertos for piano (1845), cello (1850), and violin (1853). The form of these works is predominantly in the Classical three-movements. Later works in this mould include examples by Johannes Brahms (two for piano - No. 1 from 1858 and No. 2 from 1878 which adds a fourth movement - and one for violin of 1878), Edvard Grieg (piano, 1868), Max Bruch (most famously his Violin Concerto No. 1, 1868), and Antonín Dvořák (piano, violin, cello, 1876–95). In France this tradition is represented primarily by Camille Saint-Saëns (ten concertos for piano, violin, and cello, 1858–1902), in Russia by Anton Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky (three piano concertos, one for violin, 1874–93).
A more overtly virtuosic trend appeared in the concertos of brilliant violinists in the 19th century including Louis Spohr and Niccolò Paganini and pianists Frédéric Chopin (two concertos, 1829–30) and Franz Liszt (two concertos, original versions 1839-49). The movement structure in most of these works is in the by-now conventional ritornello-sonata type perfected by Mozart and Beethoven. Liszt’s two concertos, however, are unconventional, in that the first concerto's five sections are connected both formally and thematically, and the second utilizes a still freer sectional structure. The first concerto in particular shows the influence of such continuous composite forms as those of Weber’s Konzertstuck and Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy. The virtuosity required by all these concertos was facilitated by—and helped to spur—technical developments in the instruments themselves.
20th Century
Numerous works of the 20th century were written in the vein of the 19th century Romantic concertos - and often using its forms and styles - including concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff (four piano concertos, 1890–1926), Jean Sibelius (violin, 1903), Edward Elgar (violin 1909-10, cello 1919), Carl Nielsen (violin, flute, clarinet), Sergei Prokofiev (five for piano, 1911–32; two for violin 1916-17 and 1935), William Walton (viola, violin, cello), Dmitri Shostakovich (two each for piano, violin, and cello), and Francis Poulenc (organ). The virtuoso tradition mirrored in these concertos is also obvious, though in radically original guise, in the concertos of Béla Bartók. Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Bartók were all piano virtuosos.
The composers of the Second Viennese School also produced several prominent concertos: Alban Berg’s Chamber Concerto for piano, violin, and 13 winds (1923–25), not fully serial but incorporating many elements of Arnold Schoenberg’s new system; Anton Webern’s Concerto for nine instruments (1931–34), originally intended as a piano
concerto; Berg’s important Violin Concerto (1935); and Schoenberg’s own Violin Concerto (1935–36) and Piano Concerto (1942).
The neoclassical movement of the period following World War I produced a long series of works that returned to pre-Romantic conceptions of the concerto. Igor Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Winds (1923–24) is in this idiom, but his subsequent concertos are more specifically neo-Baroque in character. His Violin Concerto (1931), for example, comprises a Toccata, two Arias, and a Capriccio, and the soloist is treated more as a member of the ensemble than as a virtuoso protagonist. The solo concertos of Paul Hindemith (8 for various instruments, 1939–62) are more traditional than Stravinsky's in their treatment of the relationship between soloist and orchestra. Though hardly neoclassical in the usual sense, Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto no. 2 (1942, written some 60 years after his first) and Oboe Concerto (1945) also reach back to an earlier era, finding nostalgic inspiration in the wind concertos of Mozart.
A tendency related to the neoclassical rejection of Romantic and traditional features is the use of jazz elements in many 20th century concertos. George Gershwin was a pioneer for such works, in for example his Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and Concerto in F for piano (1925) . Jazz is a source of inspiration for Aaron Copland’s Piano Concerto in G (1929–31), Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto for clarinet and jazz band (1945).
References
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music
Student concerto
A student concerto is a concerto for any instrument written for musicians who have not yet reached the virtuosity that a more advanced musician may have. One example of a student concerto is Friedrich Seitz's Student Concerti for violin.
Concertos by instrument
Bass oboe concerto
The bass oboe, a relative of the oboe having the same note compass as the latter, is able to play any work written for oboe - it will, however, sound an octave lower. In addition a very small number of concertos have been written for the bass oboe and for a related instrument with the same range, the Heckelphone. These include the following:
20th century
• Concerto for Bass Oboe, The East Coast, by Gavin Bryars
• Concerto for Heckelphone and Orchestra (1979), opus 60 by Hans Mielenz • Concertino for Heckelphone and String Orchestra by Henri Wolking
Bassoon concerto
A bassoon concerto is a concerto for bassoon accompanied by a musical ensemble, typically orchestra. Like bassoon sonatas, bassoon concerti were relatively uncommon until the twentieth century, although there are quite a few bassoon concerti from the Classical period. Some contemporary bassoon concerti are scored for solo bassoon and wind or string orchestras.
Baroque
• Michel Corrette, Concerto in D Major Le Phénix for four bassoons and continuo • Caspar Förster, Concerto
• Johann Gottlieb Graun, Concerto in C Major [1]
• Christoph Graupner, Four Bassoon Concerti in C Major, GWV 301 [2], C Minor, GWV 307 [3], G Major, GWV 328 [4] and B flat Major, GWV 340 [5] • Franz Horneck, Concerto in E flat Major [6]
• František Jiránek, Bassoon Concerti in G Minor and F Major
• Antonín Jiránek, Four Bassoon Concerti • Johann Melchior Molter, Concerto in B flat Major,
MWV 6.35 [7]
• Antonín Reichenauer, Three Bassoon Concerti in C Major, F Major, and G Minor[8]
• Antonio Vivaldi, 37 Bassoon Concerti, RV 466-504 (RV 468 and 482 incomplete)[9]
• Johann Christian Bach, Two Bassoon Concerti in E flat Major (W C82) and B flat Major (W C83)[10]
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bassoon Concerto (1774)
• Capel Bond, Bassoon Concerto No. 6 in B flat Major (1766) • Johann Baptist Georg Neruda, Concerto in C Major • Bernhard Henrik Crusell, Bassoon Concertino in B flat Major • Johann Heinrich Christian Rinck, Concerto[11] • Franz Danzi, Three Bassoon Concerti in F Major, C Major and G
Minor
• Antonio Rosetti, Bassoon Concerti (C69, C73-C75) • François Devienne, Five Bassoon Concerti • Carl Stamitz, Bassoon Concerto in F Major
• Luigi Gatti, Bassoon Concerto in F Major, L7:e4 • Johann Baptist Vanhal, Bassoon Concerto in C Major, Concerto for Two Bassoons and Orchestra
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Bassoon Concerto in F Major, S. 63/WoO 23
• Anselm Viola, Concerto in F Major (1791) • Leopold Kozeluch, Two Bassoon Concerti in B flat Major, P V:B1
and C Major, P V:C1
• Johann Christoph Vogel, Concerto in C Major
• Gustav Heinrich Kummer, Concerto in F Major [12]
Romantic
• Ferdinand David, Concertino, Op. 12 (1838) • Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, Concerto in B flat
Major
• Ludwig Milde, Concerto in A Minor
• Giachino Rossini, Bassoon Concerto (attributed to Rossini, authenticity questionable)[13]
• Carl Maria von Weber, Bassoon Concerto in F Major, Op. 75 (1811) • Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Suite-concertino in F Major, Op. 16 (1932)
20th/21st century
• Dieter Acker, Concerto (1979, rev. 1980)[14] • John Joubert, Concerto, Op. 77 (1973) • Murray Adaskin, Concerto (1960) • Ernest Kanitz, Concerto (1962) • Raffaele d'Alessandro, Concerto, Op. 75 (1956) • Jouni Kaipainen, Concerto (2005) • David Amram, Concerto (1970) • Yuri Kasparov, Concerto (1996)
• Allyson Applebaum, Concerto (1995) • Manfred Kelkel, Concerto, Op. 13 (1965)[15]
• Tony Aubin, Concerto della Brughiera (1965) • Carson Kievman, Concerto for Bassoon (and Fire Alarm System) for bassoon and percussion ensemble (1973)[16]
• Tzvi Avni, Concerto (2002) • Lev Knipper, Concerto for Bassoon and Strings (1969)[17] • Conrad Baden, Concerto, Op. 126 (1980) • Rudolf Komorous, Concerto
• Henk Badings, Concerto for Bassoon, Contrabassoon and Wind Orchestra (1964)
• Ezra Laderman, Concerto (1954)
• Larry Bell, Concerto, Op. 45 The Sentimental Muse (1997) • Lars-Erik Larsson, Concertino, Op. 45, No. 4 (1955) • Alain Bernaud, Concertino (1962) • Ray Luke, Concerto (1965)
• Umberto Bertoni, Concerto • Mathieu Lussier, Double Concerto for Trumpet (or Flute) and Bassoon[18]
• Bernard van Beurden, Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble • Ernst Mahle, Concertino (1980) • Judith Bingham, Concerto (1998) • Jeff Manookian, Concerto [19] (2008) • Marcel Bitsch, Concertino for Bassoon and Orchestra (1948)[20] • Per Mårtensson, Concerto (2002)
• Alexander Blechinger, Concerto, Op. 111 • Peter Maxwell Davies, Strathclyde Concerto No. 8 (1993) • Daniel Börtz, Concerto for Bassoon and Band (1978-79)[21] • Chiel Meijering, "Neo-Geo" Concerto
• Eugène Bozza, Concertino for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 49 (1946)
• Francisco Mignone, Concertino (1957) • Colin Brumby, Concerto • Oskar Morawetz, Concerto (1995)
• Victor Bruns, Four Bassoon Concerti, Op. 5 (1933), Op. 15 (1946), Op. 41 (1966) and Op. 83 (1986), and Contrabassoon Concerto, Op. 98 (1992)
• Marjan Mozetich, Concerto for Bassoon and Strings with Marimba (2003)[22]
• Glen Buhr, Concerto (1996) • Ray Næssén, Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Band • Henri Büsser, Concertino, Op. 80 • Andrzej Panufnik, Concerto (1984) (in memory of Jerzy
Popiełuszko) • Frits Celis, Concertino, Op. 38 for bassoon, violin, viola and cello
(1992)
• Boris Papandopulo, Concerto • André Chini, Goëlette de jade Concerto for Bassoon and Strings
(1999-2000)
• Jiří Pauer, Concerto (1949)
• Wilson Coker, Concertino for Bassoon and String Trio (1959) • Jean-Louis Petit, Les Paradis Se Rencontrent, Ils Ne Se Fabriquent Pas Concertino for Bassoon and Mandolin Orchestra with Contrabass (2002), Concertino for Bassoon and Orchestra[23] • Dinos Constantinides, Concerto, LRC 154a • Craig Phillips, Concerto (2002)[24]
• Andrzej Dobrowolski, Concerto (1953) • Johnterryl Plumeri, Concerto[25] • Franco Donatoni, Concerto (1952) • Arthur Polson, Concerto
• Pierre Max Dubois, Concerto Ironico (1968) • Amando Blanquer Ponsoda, Concerto (1977) • Jack Curtis Dubowsky, Concerto (2005)[26] • Augusto Rattembach, Concierto con algo de Tango • Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté, Triple-Concerto for Trumpet,
Clarinet, Bassoon, Strings and Timpani, E. 123 (1949);[27] Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, E. 124/125 (1950)[28]
• Alan Ridout, Concertino
• Helmut Eder, Concerto, Op. 49 • Jean Rivier, Concerto (1964)[29] • Anders Eliasson, Concerto (1982) • Nino Rota, Concerto (1974-77)
• John Fairlie, Concerto • Marcel Rubin, Concerto
• Jindřich Feld, Concerto (1953) • Harald Sæverud, Concerto, Op. 44 (1964)
• John Fernström, Concerto, Op. 80 (1945) • Stellan Sagvik, Svensk (ängermanlänsk) Concertino, Op. 114e (1982)
• Eric Fogg, Concerto (1931) • Friedrich Schenker, Concerto (1970) • Bjørn Fongaard, Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, Op. 120, No.
12; Concerto for Bassoon and Tape, Op. 131, No. 10
• Gunther Schuller, Concerto "Eine Kleine Fagottmusik" (1985) • Jean Françaix, Divertissement for Bassoon and String Orchestra
(1942), Concerto for Bassoon and 11 String Instruments (1979)
• Maurice Shoemaker, Concerto (1947)
• Stephen Frost, Concerto (1999, rev. 2004)[30] • Thomas Sleeper, Concerto (1993)[31] • Anis Fuleihan, Concertino (1965) • Gunnar Sønstevold, Concertino (1973) • Launy Grøndahl, Concerto (1942)[32] • Michał Spisak, Concerto (1944)[33]
• Sofia Gubaidulina, Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975) • Allan Stephenson, Concerto (1990),[34] Concertino for Two Bassoons and Orchestra (1999)
• Aharon Harlap, Concerto (2004)[35] • Franklin Stover, Double Concerto for Bassoon, Contrabassoon and Orchestra (2010)
• Bernard Heiden, Concerto (1990) • Stjepan Šulek, Concerto (1958)
• Jacques Hétu, Concerto (1979) • Christopher Theofanidis, Concerto (1997-2002)[36] • Frigyes Hidas, Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble (1999) • Henri Tomasi, Concerto (1961)
• Paul Hindemith, Concerto for Bassoon and Trumpet (1949) • Marc Vaubourgoin, Concerto (1963)[37] • Peter Hope, Concertino • Stanley Weiner, Concerto, Op. 21 (1969) • Caleb Hugo, Concerto[38] • John Williams, The Five Sacred Trees (1995) • Bertold Hummel, Concerto, Op. 27b • Guy Woolfenden, Concerto (1999)[39] • Gordon Jacob, Concerto (1947) • Gerhard Wuensch, Concerto (1976) • André Jolivet, Concerto (1951) • León Zuckert, Concerto (1976)
Other famous pieces for bassoon and orchestra include Berwald's Konzertstück [41], Elgar's Romance, Villa-Lobos's
Ciranda Das Sete Notas, and Weber's Andante e Rondo Ongarese (sometimes considered a concerto).
Notes
[1] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_C_major_(Graun,_Johann_Gottlieb) [2] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_C_major,_GWV_301_(Graupner,_Christoph) [3] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_C_minor,_GWV_307_(Graupner,_Christoph) [4] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_G_major,_GWV_328_(Graupner,_Christoph) [5] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_B-flat_major,_GWV_340_(Graupner,_Christoph) [6] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_E-flat_major_(Horneck,_Franz)
[7] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_B-flat_major,_MWV_6.35_(Molter,_Johann_Melchior) [8] Reichenauer on IMSLP (http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Reichenauer,_AntonÃn)
[9] List of compositions by Antonio Vivaldi [10] List of compositions by Johann Christian Bach
[11] Rinck Concerto, ed. Lottridge (http://www.reallygoodmusic.com/rgm.jsp?page=itemDetail&iid=129247) [12] http://imslp.org/wiki/Bassoon_Concerto_in_F_major_(Kummer,_Gotthelf_Heinrich)
[13] Rossini Bassoon Concerto liner notes (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/dec02/Rossini_Bassoon.htm) [14] Acker Concerto (http://www.schott-music.com/shop/1/show,8804.html)
[15] Kelkel Concerto (http://www.worldcat.org/title/concerto-pour-basson-et-orchestre-op-13/oclc/02278172) [16] Kievman works list (http://silvertone.princeton.edu/~carson/comp98.html)
[17] Knipper Concerto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFiz-SmmgXg)
[18] Works by Mathieu Lussier (http://www.trevcomusic.com/onlinecatalog/compositions/?composerid=2262) [19] http://imslp.org/wiki/Concerto_for_Bassoon_and_Orchestra_(Manookian,_Jeff)
[20] Maurice Allard, Bitsch Concertino (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC7TkRgGNCg)
[21] Börtz Concerto (http://www.edition-peters.com:80/product/modern/bassoon-concerto-piano-reduction/ep66806a) [22] Marjan Mozetich Recordings (http://www.mozetich.com/Recordings.html)
[23] Petit bassoon works (http://jean_louis.petit.perso.sfr.fr/compositeur/catalogue/catalogue/basson.html) [24] Craig Phillips (http://craigphillipscomposer.com/Home.html)
[25] Terry Plumeri Conducting Repertoire (http://terryplumeri.com/page.php?sec=4)
[26] Dubowsky Bassoon Concerto No. 1 (http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Bassoon-Concerto-No-1-Bassoon-Piano/19251105) [27] Eckhardt-Gramatté Triple-Concerto (http://www.musiccentre.ca/apps/index.cfm?fuseaction=score.FA_dsp_details&
bibliographyid=7197&dsp_page=13)
[28] Eckhardt-Gramatté Bassoon Concerto (http://www.musiccentre.ca/apps/index.cfm?fuseaction=score.FA_dsp_details& bibliographyid=7189&dsp_page=1)
[29] Rivier Bassoon Concerto (http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b2296147a) [30] Frost Bassoon Concerto (http://www.frostmusic.co.uk/page6.html)
[31] Thomas Sleeper Bassoon Concerto (http://www.sleepermusic.com/BassoonConcerto.html) [32] Grøndahl Concerto (http://www.edition-peters.com:80/product/bassoon-concerto/ed13) [33] Michał Spisak (http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/spisak.html)
[34] Allan Stephenson Horn Concerto, Piccolo Concerto, Bassoon Concerto, Brass Quintet (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/ 2000/july00/stephenson2.htm)
[35] Aharon Harlap (http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/harlap)
[36] Theofanidis Concerto program notes & audio samples (http://www.theofanidismusic.com/programnotes_Bassoon_Concerto.html) [37] Maurice Allard, Vaubourgoin Concerto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHBR5hfa8m0)
[38] Hugo Bassoon Concerto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AFzDI2L62w) [39] Woolfenden Bassoon Concerto (http://www.arielmusic.co.uk/bassoon_concerto.html)
[40] Ellen Taafe Zwilich Work List (http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=ELLENTAAFFEZWILICH#Works) [41] http://imslp.org/wiki/Konzertstück_for_Bassoon_and_Orchestra_(Berwald,_Franz)
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 the violin, the cello had to face harsh competition from the older, well-established viola da gamba. As a result, few important cello concertos were written before the 19th century – with the notable exceptions of those by Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Haydn and Boccherini. Its full recognition as a solo instrument came during the Romantic era (Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák). From then on, cello concertos have become more and more frequent. Twentieth century composers have made the cello a standard concerto instrument, along with the already-rooted piano and violin concertos; among the most notable concertos are those of Elgar, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Barber and Hindemith. Most post-World War II composers (Ligeti, Britten, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski and Penderecki among others) have written at least one.
One special consideration composers must take with the cello (as well as all instruments with a low range) is with the issue of projection. Unlike instruments like the violin, whose high range projects fairly easily above the orchestra, the cello's lower notes can be easily lost when the cello is not playing a solo or near solo. Because of this, composers have had to deliberately pare down the orchestral component of cello concertos while the cello is playing in the lower registers.
Selected list of Cello Concertos
Cello concertos near the center of the "repertoire". The original list of cello concertos has been moved to List of compositions for cello and orchestra.
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach • Cello Concerto in A minor • Cello Concerto in B-flat major • Cello Concerto in A major • Samuel Barber
• Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 22 (1945) • Ernest Bloch
• Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hebraïque for violoncelle et grand orchestre • Luigi Boccherini
• Cello Concerto in D major, G. 479 • Cello Concerto in B-Flat major, G. 482 • Henri Dutilleux
• Tout un Monde Lointain... (1970) • Antonín Dvořák
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. posth
• Cello Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Opus. 104 (1894–1895) • Edward Elgar
• Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 (1918–1919) • George Enescu
• Concertante Symphony, Op. 8 • Gerald Finzi
• Cello Concerto, Op. 40 (1955) • Joseph Haydn
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major • Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major
• Several others although their authenticity is disputed • Paul Hindemith
• Cello Concerto in E-flat major, Op. 3 (1916)
• Kammermusik No. 3 for cello and 10 instruments, Op. 36/2 (1925) • Cello Concerto in G (1940)
• Arthur Honegger • Cello Concerto (1934) • Dmitri Kabalevsky
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 49 (1949) • Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 77 (1964) • Aram Khachaturian
• Cello Concerto in E minor (1946) • Concerto-Rhapsody in D minor (1963) • Édouard Lalo
• Cello Concerto in D minor (1876) • György Ligeti
• Cello Concerto (1966) • Witold Lutosławski
• Cello Concerto (1969–70) • Nikolai Myaskovsky
• Cello Concerto in C minor, Op. 66 (1944) • Krzysztof Penderecki
• Cello Concerto No. 1 (1972) • Cello Concerto No. 2 (1982) • Georg Matthias Monn (1717 - 1750)
• Cello Concerto in G minor • Sergei Prokofiev
• Cello Concerto, Op. 58
• Symphony-Concerto, Op. 125 (revision of Op. 58) • Cello Concertino in G minor, Op. 132 (incomplete) (1952) • Einojuhani Rautavaara
• Cello Concerto No. 1 (1968)
• Cello Concerto No. 2 Towards the Horizon (2010) • Camille Saint-Saëns
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 (1872) • Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 119 (1902) ([1]) • Robert Schumann
• Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 (1850) • Dmitri Shostakovich
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107 (1959) • Cello Concerto No. 2 in G major/minor, Op. 126 (1966) • Alfred Schnittke
• Cello Concerto No. 1 • Cello Concerto No. 2 • Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)
• Cello Concertos 1-3 • Giuseppe Tartini
• Cello Concerto in A major • Cello Concerto in D major • Henri Vieuxtemps
• Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 46 • Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 50 • Heitor Villa-Lobos
• Cello Concerto No. 1 • Cello Concerto No. 2 • Antonio Vivaldi
• Cello Concerto RV 398 in C major • Cello Concerto RV 400 in C major • Cello Concerto RV 401 in C major • Cello Concerto RV 402 in C minor • Cello Concerto RV 403 in D major • Cello Concerto RV 404 in D major • Cello Concerto RV 405 in D minor
• Cello Concerto RV 406 in D minor (related to RV 481) • Cello Concerto RV 407 in D minor
• Cello Concerto RV 408 in E-flat major • Cello Concerto RV 410 in F major • Cello Concerto RV 411 in F major • Cello Concerto RV 412 in F major • Cello Concerto RV 413 in G major • Cello Concerto RV 414 in G major • Cello Concerto RV 415 in G major • Cello Concerto RV 416 in G minor • Cello Concerto RV 417 in G minor • Cello Concerto RV 418 in A minor • Cello Concerto RV 419 in A minor • Cello Concerto RV 420 in A minor • Cello Concerto RV 421 in A minor • Cello Concerto RV 422 in A minor • Cello Concerto RV 423 in B-flat major • Cello Concerto RV 424 in B minor
