Sinfonia concertante is a musical form that originated in the classical music era, and is a mixture of the symphony and the concerto genres: The term musical form is used in two related ways: a generic type of composition such as the symphony or concerto the structure of a particular piece, how its parts are put together to make the whole; this too can be generic, such as binary form or sonata form Musical... The Classical period in Western music occurred from about 1730 and 1820, but there was considerable overlap at both ends with preceding and following periods, as is true for all musical eras. ... A symphony is an extended piece of music usually for orchestra and comprising several movements. ... In classical music, the word concerto (pl. ...

• It is a concerto, in that it has one or more soloists (in the classical music era usually more than one).
• It is a symphony in that it does not particularly put the soloist in the spotlight: the impression is rather symphonic as a whole, with some solistic interventions not outspokenly dominating the orchestra (in a concerto, which is the Italian word for battle, the role of the soloist is rather something like defying the orchestra, trying to prove he can do at least as well as a whole orchestra).

This article is about the musical term solo; for other uses, see solo. ...

Classical era

Until the baroque era, preceding the classical music era, the differences between concerto and sinfonia (or: symphony), had not been all that clear (sinfonia could also be used as the name for an ouverture to a stage work; for example, Vivaldi wrote concertos without discernible soloists, which stylistically have few differences compared to his sinfonias). The baroque genre that comes closest to the sinfonia concertante is the concerto grosso. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 to 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... In classical music, the word concerto (pl. ... In music, a sinfonia can be one of three things: 1) In the very late Renaissance and early Baroque, a sinfonia was an alternate name for a canzona, fantasia or ricercar. ... Overture (The Who) is also a song by the rock band The Who. ... Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice – July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, meaning The Red Priest, was an Italian priest and baroque music composer. ... The concerto grosso (plural concerti grossi) (Italian for big concert) was a popular form of baroque music using an ensemble and usually having four to six movements in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the concertino) and full orchestra (the ripieno). ...

By the classical era, both the symphony and the concerto had a more definite meaning (and the concerto grosso had disappeared altogether), which led in the last decades of the 18th century to composers, for example the Mannheim school, attempting to produce a cross-over between the two genres. Also Johann Christian Bach, the "London Bach", was publishing symphonies concertantes in Paris from the early 1770s on. Mozart, acquainted with the Mannheim school from 1777 and probably not unaware of J.C. Bach's publications, put considerable effort into attempts to produce convincing sinfonia concertantes. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century as well as the group of composers who wrote such music for the orchestra of Mannheim and others. ... Johann Christian Bach, painted in London by Thomas Gainsborough, 1776 ( Museo Civico, Bologna) Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a composer of the Classical era. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sucks (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in world history. ... 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

His most successful concertante symphonies are the following:

• Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (the only one Mozart is actually considered to have finished that exists in an authentic copy).
• Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra K. 297b (known from an arrangement, possibly inauthentic).

Joseph Haydn, despite producing a considerable number of symphonies (over 100) and concertos (for all kinds of instruments), produced only one sinfonia concertante, now sometimes numbered as his Symphony No. 105. Haydn's sinfonia concertante however draws still much more from the "Concerto Grosso" style (i.e. opposing a group of soloists to an orchestra) than Mozart's more symphonic treatment of the genre. In the 1770s Mozart had been experimenting with the Sinfonia concertante genre, leading in 1779 to the Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364, which can be considered his most successful realisation in this cross-over genre between Symphony and Concerto. ... (Franz) Joseph Haydn, (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. Although he is still often called Franz Joseph Haydn, Haydn himself actually never used Franz, signing letters and...

Beethoven seems to have avoided the risky sinfonia concertante genre, although some say his Triple concerto is his answer to that genre^[1]. Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ...

Romantic era

Few composers still called their compositions sinfonia concertante after the classical music era. However, some works such as Berlioz' Harold en Italie, for viola and orchestra approach the genre. Portrait of Berlioz by Signol, 1832 Louis Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer best known for the Symphonie Fantastique, first performed in 1830, and for his Requiem of 1837, with its tremendous resources that include four antiphonal brass choirs. ... Harold in Italy (Op. ...

Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 features an organ that is partially immersed in the orchestral sound, but also has several distinct solo passages. Also semi-solistically, in the second half of the work, this symphony features a part for piano four hands. Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (IPA: ) (9 October 1835–16 December 1921) was a French composer and performer. ... The Symphony No. ... The Casavant pipe organ at Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Montreal The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the western musical tradition, with a rich history connected with the Christian religion and civic ceremony. ...

By the end of the 19th century, several French composers had started using the sinfonia concertante technique in symphonic poems, for example, Saint-Saëns uses a violin in Danse macabre, and César Franck a piano in Les Djinns. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, in one movement in which some extra-musical programme provides a narrative or illustrative element. ... From The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein La Danse Macabre, also called Dance of death, La Danza Macabra, or Totentanz, is a late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter ones station in life, the dance of death united all. ... César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (December 10, 1822 – November 8, 1890) was a composer and organist. ...

Édouard Lalo's most known work, the Symphonie Espagnole is in fact a sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra. Édouard Victoire Antoine Lalo (January 27, 1823 - April 22, 1892) was a French composer of Spanish descent. ... The Symphonie Espagnole is a piece for violin and orchestra by Edouard Lalo. ...

A work in the same vein, but with the piano taking the "concertante" part is Vincent d'Indy's Symphonie Cévenole or Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français (Symphony on a French Mountain Air). Photograph of Vincent dIndy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent dIndy (March 27, 1851 – December 2, 1931) was a French composer and teacher. ...

Max Bruch explored the boundaries of the solistic and symphonic genres in the Scottish Fantasy (violin soloist), Kol Nidrei (cello soloist), and Serenade (violin soloist). Max Bruch (January 6, 1838 – October 20, 1920) was a German composer and conductor. ... The Scottish Fantasy in E-flat major, op. ...

Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade can be considered a sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra. Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Ри́мский-Ко́рсаков), also Nikolai, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (March 18, 1844 – June 21, 1908) was a Russian composer and teacher of classical music particularly noted for his fine orchestration, which may have been influenced by his synaesthesia. ... For the story teller in the Arabian Nights or the 1001 Nights see Shahrazad. ...

20th century

In the 20th century, some composers, such as Sergei Prokofiev and Frank Martin again use the name sinfonia concertante for their compositions. The Prokofiev work features a cello soloist, whereas Martin's work, more reminiscent of the classical works with multiple soloists, features a piano, a harpsichord, and a cembalo. Another example is Joseph Jongen's 1926 Symphonie Concertante Op. 81, with an organ soloist, and Peter Maxwell Davies's Sinfonia Concertante for wind quintet, timpani and string orchestra 1982. Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokofev, 15/April 271, 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Frank Martin (September 15, 1890 – November 21, 1974) was a Swiss composer. ... Joseph Jongen (December 14, 1873–July 12, 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Also P. D. Q. Bach produced a (spoofical) "Sinfonia Concertante". P.D.Q. Bach is the pseudonym under which Professor Peter Schickele has written a substantial body of satirical music, recorded on nearly twenty compact discs on the Vanguard and Telarc labels. ...

See also

• The concerto for orchestra differs from the sinfonia concertante in that concertos for orchestra have no soloist or group of soloists that remains the same throughout the composition.
• Concerto for Group and Orchestra, reviving some of the "Sinfonia concertante" characteristics.

Although a concerto is usually a piece of music for one or more solo instruments pitted against an orchestra, several composers have written works with the apparently contradictory title Concerto for Orchestra. ... The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969, composed by Jon Lord. ...

Notes

1. ^  For example, in the explanatory notes from the booklet to the CD "BEETHOVEN - Triple Concerto/Choral Fantasia" (Capriccio Classic Productions No. 180240, 1988).