What is Concerto?
A '''concerto''' is a piece of [[music]] made for a solo [[musical instrument|instrument]] and an [[orchestra]]. When an orchestra plays at a [[concert]] they might play a [[symphony]] (a piece for orchestra) and they might play a concerto (with a soloist). If the solo instrument is a [[violin]] the piece is called a “violin concerto”, if it is a [[piano]] it is called a “piano concerto”, etc. The orchestra [[accompaniment (music)|accompanies]] the soloist. This means that it is the soloist who decides how fast or slow to play. The [[Conductor (music)|conductor]] should listen to the way the soloist wants to play and make the orchestra accompany sensitively. The word “concerto” is an [[Italian language|Italian]] word (the second “c” is pronounced like an English “sh”). It means “agreeing” or “playing together”. The English plural is “concertos”. The concerto became popular during the [[17th century]] in [[Italy]]. Some concertos had several soloists instead of just one. This kind of concerto was called a [[concerto grosso]]. ==The Concerto in the Baroque Period== The solo concerto became popular with composers like [[Antonio Vivaldi]] ([[1678]]-[[1741]]) who wrote over 400 concertos for various instruments. His most famous concertos are a group of four known as ''The Four Seasons''. These are violin concertos, and each concerto deals in turn with one of the [[season]]s: [[Spring (season)|spring]], [[summer]], [[autumn]] and [[winter]]. Many other [[Baroque music|Baroque]] composers wrote concertos: [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] ([[1685]]-[[1750]]) wrote several concertos for violin although only two have survived, the others have been lost. He also wrote solo concertos for the [[harpsichord]]. [[George Frideric Handel]] ([[1685]]-[[1759]]) wrote concertos for the [[Organ (music)|organ]]. Organs in [[England]] were very small in those days and balanced well with an orchestra. Handel sometimes put pauses in his concertos where the soloist could [[improvization|improvise]] (make up) some music. The