concertante

[ kon-ser-tahn-tee; Italian kawn-cher-tahn-te ]

/ ˌkɒn sərˈtɑn ti; Italian ˌkɔn tʃɛrˈtɑn tɛ /

Music.

adjective

brilliantly virtuosic: a concertante part for solo violin.

solo rather than accompanying: a sonata for recorder and harpsichord concertante.

noun, plural con·cer·tan·ti [kon-ser-tahn-tee; Italian kawn-cher-tahn-tee] /ˌkɒn sərˈtɑn ti; Italian ˌkɔn tʃɛrˈtɑn ti/.

an 18th-century symphonic work with sections for solo instruments.

Nearby words

Also concertato.

Origin of concertante

1720–30; < Italian, present participle of concertare to give a concert; see -ant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for concertante

First attempts in the Recitative style, in the melodious song for a single voice (Monody) and in the Concertante style.
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume II (of 2)|Carl Engel
The other three have been already included under the concertante instruments.
Sebastian Bach|Reginald Lane Poole
The Andantino which follows offers a strong contrast to both movements of the concertante.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 2 (of 3)|Otto Jahn
Herr Wassermann, one of the cleverest of my former pupils, played my Concertante with me.
Louis Spohr's Autobiography|Louis Spohr

A concerto for several solo players is called a concertante.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for concertante

concertante

/ (ˌkɒntʃəˈtæntɪ) music /

adjective

characterized by contrasting alternating tutti and solo passages

noun plural -ti (-tɪ)

a composition characterized by such contrasts

Word Origin for concertante

C18: from Italian, from concertare to perform a concert, from concerto concert

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012