concerto
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of concerto
1720–30; < Italian, derivative of concertare; see concert (v.)
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Explanation
A concerto is a classical music composition that highlights a solo instrument against the background of a full orchestra. Bach is one composer known for writing concertos. In a concerto, a piano, violin, flute, or other instrument plays solo parts that are backed up or highlighted by an orchestra. Most concertos have three sections or movements, and in the 19th century they were especially popular as a way to showcase virtuoso playing by the soloist. In Italian, concerto means "concert or harmony," from concertare, "to bring into agreement."
Vocabulary lists containing concerto
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Blended
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was suddenly the Wynton Marsalis of his medium: He could swing, and he could play the Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
A concert held at St Matthew's Church, Northampton, on Saturday will feature a performance of the Grand Concerto Gastronomique for Waiter, Eater and Food; a suite of six short orchestral pieces,
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025
She bowed out of her professional career with Hummel's Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, which she first heard at the Barbican as a young girl.
From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025
This summer he was a luminary of the prestigious Salzburg Festival and Saturday conducted the world premiere of his ravishing Horn Concerto at the Lucerne Festival that was broadcast on a Swiss radio station.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025
“That’s sounding quite beautiful,” Simon said toward the end of camp as he listened to me practice a movement from Haydn’s Cello Concerto no.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
