The term Concerto (from the Italian: concerto, plural concerti or the anglicised form concertos) is usually a three-part musical work in which one solo instrument (for instance, a piano or violin) 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...
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The term Concerto (from the Italian: concerto, plural concerti or the anglicised form concertos) is usually a three-part musical work in which one solo instrument (for instance, a piano or violin) 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.
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...
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