Concerto

The term concerto (plural is concerti or concertos) usually refers to a musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. 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. While the concerto grosso is confined to the Baroque period, the solo concerto has continued as a vital musical force to this day. This article will concentrate on the development of the solo concerto.

The etymology of the word "concerto" is somewhat problematic, as the Italian ‘concertare’ can mean ‘to contend, dispute’ but it also has the contrary meaning of ‘to agree’. The idea of two opposing forces is inherent in the use of the term.

The Baroque concerto

In the late 16th century there is often no clear distinction made between a concerto and a sinfonia. Both of these terms were even used throughout the 17th century, in Italy, to describe vocal music with instrumental accompaniment; Giovanni Gabrieli published motets using either of these terms indiscriminately. Viadana’s Cento concerti ecclesiastici (1602) are examples of the early concerto for limited forces: he uses one to four voices with continuo, composed in such a way that the works can still be performed if one or more of the voices is absent.

From about 1675 composers started to write works for divided orchestra, the standard term for which is concerto grosso. The smaller division, which was effectively a group of soloists, was referred to in these works as the concertino, while the accompanying instruments were called the ripieno or the tutti. In the concerti grossi of Arcangelo Corelli and Giuseppe Torelli, the violin in the concertino is sometimes given extended solo passages. These are the beginnings of the solo concerto.

The first major innovations in the development of the solo concerto were made by Antonio Vivaldi, who established the ritornello form: solo passages alternate with orchestral tutti, which often repeat the same material, giving unity to the movement. He established the three-movement form (fast–slow–fast) which has been the norm for the solo concerto ever since. He wrote several hundred concertos, the most famous being the group of four for violin entitled The Four Seasons. His 12 Concerti, Op. 3 "L'estro armonico" are also arguably the most influential pieces of the first half of the Eigthteenth Century.

By Johann Sebastian Bach's time the concerto as a polyphonic instrumental form was thoroughly established. The term frequently appears in the autograph title-pages of his church cantatas, even when the cantata contains no instrumental prelude. Although his six Brandenburg concertos are often thought of as concerti grossi, the fourth has a very prominent violin part while the other two soloists are reduced to a much smaller role. The fifth is in effect a solo harpsichord concerto. The origins of the keyboard concerto are to be found in such concertos by Bach. He also wrote about six solo concertos for violin, only two of which are extant, and a concerto for two violins and orchestra. Bach’s concertos are modelled on those of Vivaldi, but they expand the form, giving a coherent motivic unity to the contrapuntal textures of each movement.

The Classical concerto

The concertos of Bach’s sons are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of Mozart. C.P.E. Bach’s keyboard concertos 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, he 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 two concertos for flute (as well as one for Flute and Harp), and one each for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, four for horn, and a Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. They all exploit the characteristics of the solo instrument brilliantly. His five violin concertos, 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-three original piano concertos that he excelled himself. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concertos from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form. Mozart, however, treats sonata form in his concerto movements with so much freedom that any broad classification becomes impossible. For example, some of the themes heard in the exposition may not be heard again in subsequent sections. The piano, at its entry, may introduce entirely new material. There may even be new material in the so-called recapitulation section, which in effect becomes a free fantasia. Towards the end of the first movement, and sometimes in other movements too, there is a traditional place for an improvised cadenza. The slow movements may be based on sonata form or abridged sonata form, but some of them are romances. The finale is sometimes a rondo, or even a theme with variations.

Further information: Mozart Piano Concertos

The Romantic concerto

Violin concertos

Main article: Violin concerto

In the 19th century the concerto as 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

Main article: Cello concerto

Following on from the Classical examples of Joseph Haydn and Luigi Boccherini, the concertos 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. Dvořák’s cello concerto ranks among the supreme examples from the Romantic era. The instrument was also popular with composers of the Franco-Belgian tradition: Saint-Saëns and Vieuxtemps wrote two cello concertos each and Lalo one.

Tchaikovsky’s contribution to the genre is not a concerto but a series of variations on a Rococo theme.

Piano concertos

Main article: Piano concerto

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 two concertos 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 Bb 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.

Less piano concertos were written in the late Romantic Period. But Grieg-inspired Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote 4 piano concertos from the 1890's into 1901. His 2nd and 3rd, being the most popular of the 4, went on to becoming among the most famous in piano repertoire, and have become shining examples of Russian musicianship.

Small-scaled 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. Schumann liked titles such as Concertstück and Phantasie. 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.

The concerto in the 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 (four piano concertos), Jean Sibelius (a violin concerto), Frederick Delius (for violin, for cello, for piano, 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, Schönberg, Berg, Stravinsky 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 an areas 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

The 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. Paul Hindemith’s concertos hark back to the forms of the 19th century, even if the harmonic which he used was different.

Three violin concertos from David Diamond show the form in neoclassical style.

More recently, Henri Dutilleux's L'Arbre des Songes has proved an important addition to the repertoire and a fine example of the composer' atonal yet melodic style.

Other composers of major violin concertos include Vaughan Williams, Walton, Britten, Nielsen and Ligeti.

Cello concertos

In the 20th century, particulary 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 oustanding 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 Prokofiev's Symphonia Concertante, Shostakovich's two cello concertos, Britten's Cello-Symphony (which emphasizes, as its title suggests, the equal importance of soloist and orchestra), Lutoslawski's cello concerto and Dutilleux' Tout un Monde Lointain... as well as remarkable works by Khatchaturian, Kabalevsky, Schnittke, Penderecki and Messiaen.

In addition, it must be noted that several composers who were not directly influenced by Rostropovich wrote important cello concertos: Hindemith, Barber, Walton, Ligeti and Rautavaara for instance. This shows that the cello had become a major concertante instrument like the violin and the piano.

Piano concertos

Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Concerto for the Left Hand are among the best examples of the form in the early 20th century.

Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto (1942) is unified into a single movement.

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. Both are superb works, amongst the finest that he wrote (the same can be said of his other four concertos - see above). Fellow soviet composer Khatchaturian 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.

Ligeti's concerto is a good example of a more recent piece (1985) that uses complex rhythms.

Concertos for other instruments

The 20th century also witnessed a growth of the concertante repertoire of instruments which had seldom or never been used in this capacity. Examples include:

• Flute Concerto: Nielsen, Jolivet, Penderecki, Rodrigo, Rautavaara.
• Oboe Concerto: Martinu, Vaughan Williams.
• Clarinet Concerto: Nielsen, Copland, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Takemitsu, Rautavaara.
• Bassoon Concerto: Peter Maxwell Davies.
• Horn Concerto: Hovhaness, Ligeti.
• Tuba Concerto: Vaughan Williams.
• Viola Concerto: Bartók, Walton (for the latter, see Walton's Viola Concerto).
• Double Bass Concerto: Peter Maxwell Davies, Rautavaara.
• Guitar Concerto: Rodrigo, Hovhaness.
• Harp Concerto: Rodrigo, Rautavaara.

Vaughan Williams's Romance for harmonica and orchestra is another example of a concertante work for an unusual instrument.

Amongst 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 Peter Maxwell Davies, whose series of Strathclyde Concertos exploit some of the instruments less familiar as soloists.

Concertos for two or more instruments

Several composers also wrote concertos for two or more soloists. Notable examples include Ligeti's Concerto for flute and oboe as well as Lutoslawski's Concerto for oboe and harp.

See also

• Clarinet concerto
• Flute concerto
• Harpsichord concerto
• Piano concerto
• Viola concerto
• Violin concerto

• Violoncello concerto
• Concerto for Orchestra
• Concertino
• Chorale concerto
• Concerto grosso
• Double Concerto for Violin and Cello

References

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians; ed. Stanley Sadie; 1980; ISBN 1-56159-174-2
• The concerto; ed. Ralph Hill, Pelican 1952