Dictionary of Music - Birding America

86 concertanteconcertante (kôn′′cher tän′te) Italian. 1 Anotherterm for CONCERTINO, def. 2. 2 Short for SINFONIACONCERTANTE.concert ariaSee under ARIA.concertato (kôn′′cher tä′ tô) Italian. A compositionfor an instrumental ensemble featuring one ormore soloists (see CONCERTINO, def. 2).concert band See BAND, def. 5.concert étudeSee under ÉTUDE.concert grand The largest size of grand piano(see under PIANO), usually about nine feet long.concertina (kôn′′ser tē′nə).See under ACCORDION.concertino (kôn′′cher tē′nô) Italian. 1 A shortconcerto. 2 Also, concertato, concertante. The smallgroup of soloists that alternate with the full orchestrain a CONCERTO GROSSO.concertmaster Also, concertmistress; British,leader. In an orchestra, the leader of the first violinsection. The concertmaster usually assists the conductorat rehearsals, directs the orchestra’s tuning,and plays solo violin passages when they occur if noguest soloist is performing.concerto (kôn cher′tô) pl. concerti Italian, concertosEnglish. 1 A composition for one or moresolo instruments and orchestra, in which the parts ofthe soloist and of the orchestra are about equal inimportance. Occasionally composers have written aconcerto for orchestra alone, in which they contrastdifferent instruments much as soloist and orchestraare contrasted in the solo concerto. Examplesinclude Carter’s Concerto for Orchestra (1970), Sessions’sConcerto for Orchestra (1981), William Bolcom’sSeventh Symphony: A Symphonic Concerto(2002), and Goffredo Petrassi’s eight concertos fororchestra (1933–1972).Most concertos are made up of three movements.The first movement is usually in fast tempo and inSONATA FORM and often includes a CADENZA nearthe end. The second movement is generally in slowtempo, and the third is most often a lively RONDO,although it may be in the form of a THEME ANDVARIATIONS or even in sonata form. (This, in general,is the structure of the classical concerto, datingfrom the late eighteenth century.) 2 solo concerto.The most common type of concerto, scored for asingle soloist and orchestra. Solo concertos are classifiedaccording to the solo instrument: piano concerto,cello concerto, violin concerto, oboe concerto,etc. The solo concerto was developed in the earlyeighteenth century by such composers as Torelli andVivaldi. Until 1750 the most important kind of soloconcerto was the violin concerto. However, Vivaldiwrote concertos for oboe and for bassoon, Bachwrote concertos for harpsichord (most of whichappear to have been transcriptions of earlier violinconcertos), and Handel wrote concertos for organ. Inthe classical period (1785–1820) the piano concertobecame the most important type, and remained sofor the next 150 years. The accompanying chartslist some of the more famous piano, violin, and celloconcertos. Outstanding solo concertos for otherinstruments are cited in the articles on the respectiveinstruments. 3 double concerto A concerto scoredfor two solo instruments and orchestra. The instrumentsmay be different, as in Brahms’s Concerto inA minor for violin and cello, op. 102, and Mozart’sConcerto in C major for flute and harp, K. 299, orthe same, as in Bach’s Concerto in D minor for twoviolins or Mozart’s Concerto in E-flat major for twopianos, K. 365. More recent examples are HansWerner Henze’s Concerto for oboe, harp, and stringorchestra (1966); Poulenc’s Concerto for two pianosand orchestra (1932); Elliott Carter’s Concerto forpiano, harpsichord, and two chamber orchestras(1961); Roger Sessions’s Concerto for violin, cello,and orchestra (1971); Ligeti’s Double Concerto forflute and oboe (1972); Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa fortwo violins, prepared piano, and strings (1977); andIvan Tcherepnin’s Concerto for violin, cello, andorchestra (1996). See also SINFONIA CONCERTANTE.4 triple concerto A concerto scored for threesolo instruments and orchestra, such as Bach’sConcerto in A minor for violin, flute, and harpsichord;Beethoven’s Concerto in C major for piano,violin, and cello, op. 56; Mozart’s Concerto in F