concerto
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected 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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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.
In a Thursday night marathon, he paid tribute to the orchestra members, giving 17 players solos in various concerto movements.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
This is meant not as a concerto in which the soloist stands as an individual against the masses but, rather, as a partner.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
The opening night concert will see Korean piano sensation Yunchan Lim playing Ravel's piano concerto in G Major, and star tenor Thomas Atkins transporting the audience to France, via George Gershwin's An American In Paris.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Suddenly, as the orchestra rehearsed the Saint-Saëns second piano concerto, the maestro walked angrily off the stage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
It was one Sunday afternoon when Nollie and her family were visiting that Peter suddenly spoke up in the middle of a Brahms concerto.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
