A concerto for orchestra is a piece of music in which different instruments or groups of instruments perform passages in conversation with the entire orchestra. Different instruments may perform in different parts of the work, and different instruments may take over in different parts of the work. The concerto for orchestra differs from the traditional concept of a concerto, in which one instrument — such as an oboe or clarinet — interacts with the orchestra throughout the piece. Composers haven’t used this musical form very often, but there have been some notable examples written in the twentieth century.
Composers such as Paul Hindemith and Leonard Bernstein wrote concertos for orchestra in the twentieth century. Bela Bartok wrote the most well-known example of this form in 1943. The concerto is written in the composer’s favorite arch form, in which opposite movements are symmetrical; for example, the first and last movements share some characteristics. The concerto form is evident throughout the work, and instruments such as the bassoons are given solo passages in the second movement. In other parts of the work, small groups of instruments, such as woodwinds or strings, join the orchestra in conversation.
The format of an orchestral concerto varies significantly from one work to the next. Bartok composed his work in a five-movement arch form, whereas Bernstein composed his work in two movements. Thea Musgrave’s work is divided into five movements that build up to a confrontation between solo instruments and orchestra. Christopher Rouse composed a concerto for orchestra in two general sections in the first decade of the twenty-first century, each with its own movements and allowing each soloist to play a lyrical or virtuoso passage.
The orchestral concerto differs from the Baroque period’s sinfonia concertante. The concerto for orchestra does not use the same groups of concerto instruments throughout the work, despite the fact that that musical form also used a number of instruments to play in contrast to the entire ensemble. Solo instruments are used in some passages of Classical and later symphonies; however, solo instrument passages are used throughout the concerto for orchestra and are an integral part of the work.