Sinfonietta

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sinfonietta is the diminutive of Sinfonia . The term has been used since the late 19th century as the title of instrumental works whose structure is based on the symphony , but which have a smaller scope (fewer movements ), were composed for smaller ensembles (often for chamber orchestras ) or with more modest demands.

In addition, some orchestras call themselves Sinfonietta , including the London Sinfonietta , the Oslo Sinfonietta , the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma, the Sinfonietta Munich, the Sinfonietta Dresden , the Tapiola Sinfonietta , the Basel Sinfonietta , the Sinfonietta Schaffhausen, the Sinfonietta Cracovia , the Sinfonietta Riga and the Holst-Sinfonietta ; these four ensembles feel particularly committed to contemporary music . Ensembles also bear this name to distinguish them from the size of a symphony orchestra ; a Sinfonietta usually has all orchestral instruments available, but these usually only have a single cast, so that especially large chamber music works and accompanying tasks (e.g. in oratorios and cantatas ) can be performed.

History and definition of the term

Among the first to use the term Sinfonietta were Joachim Raff ( Sinfonietta op.188 for ten wind instruments , 1873), Nikolai Andrejewitsch Rimski-Korsakow ( Sinfonietta on Russian themes in A minor op.31 , 1880-84), and Louis Théodore Gouvy ( Sinfonietta in D major op.80 , ca.1886 ).

Most of the symphoniets, however, date from the first half of the 20th century, including the Sinfonietta (1926) by Leoš Janáček , which is considered the best-known work of this genre. It emerged from a festival fanfare for a congress in Brno and is often interpreted as an expression of patriotic joy in the young Czechoslovak Republic .

Some of the symphonies are quite comparable in terms of size and instrumentation of the symphony. This includes the Sinfonietta in A major op.90 (1904/05) by Max Reger , whose light-hearted character and stylistic affinity to the orchestral serenade explain its title. The Sinfonietta in B major op.5 (1912) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold also achieved the format of a symphony.

On the other hand, short symphonies are not automatically referred to as sinfonietta. For example, the titles Kleine Sinfonie (1932) by Hanns Eisler or Short Symphony (1932/33) by Aaron Copland reflect the symphonic aspirations of the respective composers.

The chamber symphony from the beginning of the 20th century must still be distinguished from the Sinfonietta , which as a genre can also be placed between symphony and chamber music , but generally remains in one movement. Where the chamber symphony is made up of several movements, for example in Arnold Schönberg's 2nd Chamber Symphony (1909/39) , the boundary between the genres blurs.

Orchestral works with the title Sinfonietta

A selection in alphabetical order of the composers:

literature