What does concerto mean?
A concerto is a substantial musical work composed for one or more solo instruments — most often piano, violin, or cello — performed with orchestral accompaniment. Emerging in late Renaissance Italy from the idea of musical contrast between voices or groups, it developed into the familiar three-movement structure of fast–slow–fast during the Baroque era through composers like Vivaldi and Bach, and reached its classical height in the concertos of Mozart and Beethoven. The essence of the genre lies in the dramatic interplay between a virtuoso soloist and the larger forces of the orchestra: moments of dialogue, competition, and collaboration. Today the word appears chiefly in classical music programmes, criticism, and scholarship. Its plural may be given either as 'concertos' or, following Italian convention, 'concerti', both widely accepted. For anyone engaging with Western art music, concerto is an essential term denoting one of its most enduring and celebrated forms.
nounA musical composition for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra, typically in three movements and structured as a dialogue between soloist and orchestra.
- A composition for one or more solo instruments with orchestral accompaniment, usually in three movements (fast–slow–fast).
- (Historical, 17th century) A vocal or instrumental work with contrasting groups of performers, such as the concerto grosso.
"The pianist gave a dazzling performance of Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto."
"Mozart wrote twenty-seven piano concertos over the course of his career."
"The cellist rehearsed the Elgar Concerto intensively before her debut with the London Symphony Orchestra."
'Concertos' is the standard English plural; the Italian plural 'concerti' is common among musicians and in formal programme notes.
"The orchestra programmed two Beethoven concertos for the season's opening night."
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos were once considered so unremarkable that they sat forgotten in a drawer for over a century before being rediscovered.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of concerto
The word concerto comes directly from Italian, where it originally meant agreement or conjunction — from Latin 'concertare', meaning to contend or dispute, itself possibly derived from 'con-' (together) plus a root related to striving. The sense evolved to describe music in which different parts contend yet harmonise, first applied to vocal works in the early 17th century and later to instrumental pieces featuring a soloist against an ensemble. English adopted the term in the 17th century alongside cognates like 'concert' and 'concertante', all tracing back to this Latin root.
How concerto is actually used
Concerto is a formal term used almost exclusively in classical music contexts. Plurals vary: 'concertos' is standard in English, though the Italian plural 'concerti' is still preferred by many musicians and programme writers. The plural is pronounced /kənˈtʃɜrti/ when Italian form is used.
Easily confused with concerto
A concert is a live musical performance event, while a concerto is a specific type of composition written for a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment.