The concerto: grosso, solo concerto and 19th-century evolution
MUSIC HISTORY
A genre that sets soloist(s) against orchestra: a map of phrasing, cadence and dialogue, akin to the opera aria for the concert singer.
Source Jean Mislin · Musicologist, organist and choral conductor · teacher of Adeline Toniutti As part of Adeline Toniutti's research
Concerto: definition and history in brief
The concerto is a musical genre that sets one or more soloists against an instrumental group of variable size. Before 1600, concertato and concerto named works with rival groups of voices and instruments, then vocal works with instrumental accompaniment as opposed to a cappella singing. Around 1650, concertato was reserved for instrumental pieces where contrast dominates. From about 1670, the Baroque concerto thrives in two forms: the concerto grosso and the solo concerto. For the singer, this solo-tutti dialogue clarifies phrasing and cadence, as in the opera aria.
The concerto grosso: concertino and ripieno
Taking over from vocal music, instrumental writing sought an equivalent of late-sixteenth-century alternating choirs. The concertino (small concert) usually comprises two solo violins, solo cello and harpsichord. The ripieno (full concert) gathers the whole string body. Together they form the large concert, or concerto grosso. The concertino matches the scoring of the trio sonata.
At first the concerto wavers between da chiesa form (adagio-allegro-adagio-allegro) and da camera form, from the dance suite (more than four movements, dance titles). Under Vivaldi's influence the plan settles on three movements: allegro-adagio-allegro. The second movement is generally reserved for the concertino. This frame structures European instrumental Baroque.
Italy, England, Germany: models of the grosso
Corelli (1653-1713): his twelve Concerti Opus 6 had huge influence (Marcello, Geminiani, Locatelli). Some date from as early as 1682; eight are da chiesa, four da camera, in four to six movements. Vivaldi (1678-1741) multiplies three-movement concertos. Torelli (1658-1709) is among the first to bring winds into the concertino.
In England, Handel (1685-1759), shaped by Corelli in Italy, issued in 1740 his twelve Concerti grossi Opus 6 (four to six movements, strings only). In Germany, Muffat wrote six Concerti grossi in 1701. J.S. Bach completed the six Brandenburg Concertos in 1721: scoring changes from one concerto to the next, between grosso and solo. Telemann left about 120 concertos in the Italian style. Handel's Opus 6 in A minor (four movements: Affetuoso, Allegro, Largo, Allegro) shows the Corelli model: brief solo entries, writing still close to the ripieno.
The solo concerto: lyricism, virtuosity, cadenza
Born of the grosso, the solo concerto puts one instrument in place of the concertino. Around 1700 the violin becomes the soloist of choice. Vivaldi, with more than five hundred concertos (over two thirds solo, mostly for violin), defines the genre: operatic lyricism, dramatic contrasts, allegro-adagio-allegro form, clear solo and tutti passages, drive for virtuosity.
That virtuosity peaks in the cadenza, usually at the end of the first movement. Originally improvised (the composer often performing), it was later written out for greater craft, to curb excess, or to help soloists less skilled at improvisation. Interest in the solo form soon overtakes the grosso and becomes central in the Classical and Romantic eras. In The Four Seasons, Vivaldi joins pure music and descriptive intent (sonnets): the solo violin stands clearly apart from the orchestra. For the concert singer, solo-tutti and cadenza map breathing, climax and orchestral return, close to the aria.
Classical and 19th century: from Mozart to the piano concerto
In the Classical period, Haydn and above all Mozart raise the solo concerto to refined dramaturgy. Mozart leaves 28 piano concertos, 5 for violin, 4 for horn, one for clarinet, one for flute and harp. The second movement of the Piano Concerto in A major K. 488 illustrates ternary song form (A B A'): piano-orchestra dialogue, modulations and cadences as analytical landmarks.
In the nineteenth century the piano concerto becomes a central genre: Beethoven (five concertos, 1797-1809), Weber, Mendelssohn, Chopin (F minor 1829, E minor 1830), Liszt, Schumann (A minor, 1845), Brahms, Saint-Saëns (five concertos), Grieg (A minor, 1868), Tchaikovsky (B-flat minor, 1874), Dvorak. The soloist dialogues with an ever larger orchestra; the cadenza remains a moment of virtuosity and relative freedom. Bach had already multiplied keyboard and violin; Handel, the organ; Leclair, the violin: Romanticism extends that instrumental diversity.
Timeline and key works
- before 1600-1650: vocal then contrast-driven instrumental concertato.
- c. 1670-1713: concerto grosso; Corelli Opus 6 (some as early as 1682).
- Vivaldi: 500+ concertos; Four Seasons; three-movement plan.
- 1721: Bach Brandenburg Concertos; 1740: Handel Opus 6.
- Mozart: 28 piano concertos; K. 488 (song form in the second movement).
- 1797-1809: Beethoven's five piano concertos; then Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns.
Frequently asked questions about the concerto
What is the difference between concerto grosso and solo concerto?
The grosso sets a small group (concertino) against the ripieno; the solo concerto places one instrument facing the orchestra in place of the concertino.
Who fixed the three-movement form?
Under Vivaldi's influence the allegro-adagio-allegro plan prevails and often replaces da chiesa or da camera plans with four or more movements.
What is a concerto cadenza?
A virtuoso passage, often at the end of the first movement, first improvised then written, where the soloist stands without the orchestra.
Why does the concerto matter to singers?
Solo-tutti dialogue and cadenza dramaturgy offer a model of phrasing, breathing and climax analogous to the opera aria.
Which 19th-century piano concertos to mark?
Beethoven's five, Schumann in A minor, Grieg in A minor, Tchaikovsky No. 1 in B-flat minor, plus Chopin, Liszt, Brahms and Saint-Saëns.
Sources and quotations
Landmarks and quotations for further reading.
- Jean Mislin: musicologist, organist and choral conductor, teacher of Adeline Toniutti. Notes used within Adeline Toniutti's research.
GO FURTHER
In the music history cluster
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Phrase the solo-orchestra dialogue
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