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.
Back at the Royal Albert Hall, German musician Felix Klieser, who was born without arms, will play Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 using his feet.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
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
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
But here in New York, Dudamel paid tribute to a new city in his life with Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 2.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2025
In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozarts Piano Concerto no.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
