The concerto

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the concerto as:

A composition for one, or sometimes more, solo instruments accompanied by orchestra; now almost always in three movements. (Formerly applied more widely to various compositions for a number of instruments.)

 This term we will journey from the concerto grosso (well, nearly) to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (Lutosławki’s Cello Concerto and John Adams’ Violin Concerto). Since these works are often designed to show off the strengths and idiosyncrasies of their solo instruments, it will also be a chance for us to examine some of the more arcane aspects of orchestration (artificial harmonics? throat notes?? bariolage???)

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