Subscribe RSSWhat do these classical music terms mean?
Q: Concerto, Sonata, Overture among others? I've always enjoyed the music but don't really know anything about it. I hear these terms and others all the time but don't know what they mean. Could someone give me an outline of what some of these mean and how they are different?
A: Kemjris didn't quite "nail" it...
A concerto is not just an orchestra accompaniment... A concerto is a piece for solo, or sometimes more than one instrument (Beethoven's triple concerto, Poulnec's concerto for 2 pianos... etc...) and orchestra. The orchestra sometimes plays more of an accompaniment role, for example the 2 Chopin concertos, but more often, it plays a similarly equal role, weaving, twisting, and complimenting the solo instrument. In some cases, the solo accompanies the orchestra. But commonly at the end of a concerto, there is a cadenza, the time for the solo instrument(s) to shine, a usually technically difficult and "flashy" passage. The orchestra doesn't have cadenzas... So the solo is still the most important part, but the orchestra can have varying importance depending on the composer and particular concerto. The 3 most common instruments for concerto are piano, violin, and cello.
A sonata is rather complicated... There's sonatas and sonata form. Literally sonata means a piece played... But a sonata is generally accepted as a piece that has 3 or 4 movements, the first in sonata form, the second a slower movement, and the 3 a swift scherzo, and the 3/4 (sometimes the scherzo is left out...) a swift rondo. Of course MANY sonatas have strayed away from this form, composers who have had different sonatas not sticking to any form, or changing the form slightly. Baroque sonatas are also usually 1 movement, and not in sonata form... So sonatas can be quite varied...
Now, sonata form is a little easier in the fact that it is less varied, but perhaps it are more complicated... Very simply, and quickly wikipedia states "The standard definition focuses on the thematic and harmonic organization of tonal materials, which are presented in an exposition, elaborated and contrasted in a development and then resolved harmonically and thematically in a recapitulation." -- much better job than what I would try to do... This emerged in the classical period...
Now or an overture... Much simpler... It is an introduction to a choral work, opera, or a musical. You must have heard one before at a musical, the pit orchestra plays at the very beginning, the overture... As with everything, various composers have changed and varied this, so it is sometimes placed before instrumental compositions, or just about anything...
Any others, just ask. I hope I clarified these for you... Good luck!
Cheerio!
Edit: Another thought... Concerto's don't usually have as extensive amount of instruments as a symphony or something. In a symphony, there are often doubling piccolos, contrabassoons, A flat clarinets, E flat clarinets, Bass clarinets, cor anglaises, trumpets in f, various trombones, tubas, euphoniums, and many different arrays of percussion. Concertos never have that many instruments, and sometimes don't even have the "basic" instrumentation of flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone, strings, piano and timpani (did I get the order right?).
In all generality, the instrumentation for a concerto increased over time. Compare the Prokofiev piano concerto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._3_(Prokofiev)#Instrumentation with the Mozarts 9th piano concerto for 2 oboes, 2 horns and strings...
Sonatas are written for solo instruments, such as piano.
An overture is usually an introduction to an opera or musical that is played by the orchestra only. It will often introduce some of the melodies and themes you will hear during the show. There are also concert overtures which are written to be played in a concert setting (not as an introduction to a show).
Hope this helps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_form
The first movements of concerti are often in sonata-allegro form.