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concertante

American  
[kon-ser-tahn-tee, kawn-cher-tahn-te] / ˌkɒn sərˈtɑn ti, ˌkɔn tʃɛrˈtɑn tɛ /

adjective

  1. brilliantly virtuosic.

    a concertante part for solo violin.

  2. solo rather than accompanying.

    a sonata for recorder and harpsichord concertante.


noun

  • concertanti
    plural
  1. an 18th-century symphonic work with sections for solo instruments.

concertante British  
/ ˌkɒntʃəˈtæntɪ /

adjective

  1. characterized by contrasting alternating tutti and solo passages

"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

noun

  1. a composition characterized by such contrasts

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of concertante

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


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.

See Examples For:

It being a concertante, the Sinfonia was also an opportunity for the NSO to showcase a quartet of principal players — violinist Marissa Regni, cellist David Hardy, oboist Nicholas Stovall and bassoonist Sue Heineman.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022

A hybrid of the Baroque concerto grosso and the Classical concerto, a symphonie concertante usually featured two or more soloists in a virtuosic dialogue that emulated a musical duel.

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2020

The program here was almost an insult to the players: a transcription of four popular Granados piano pieces, and three concertante works.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 1, 2015

Kurtág's music for orchestra has embraced a larger scale in pieces such as Stele, composed for the Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado, and … concertante … for violin, viola, and orchestra.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 12, 2013

We each played a concerto of our own composition, after which we played together a duo concertante by Kreutzer.

From Great Violinists And Pianists by George T. (George Titus) Ferris

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