Classical Concerts - article by Good English Article Sites

The Development of Music Concertos

Classical music has been around roughly from the 9th century to present times. With it came classical concerts where performers entertained large audiences in operas, symphonies and in other ways. Musical pieces can be traced back to medieval Europe where classical concerts were performed in liturgy. Classical concerts can be traced back to around the 16th century when Venetian schools included orchestration development in addition to ornamented instrumentation. This is the period of the famous composers like Andrea, Giovanni and Gabriellis. Musical pieces continued to have religious significances until the development of the concerto, sonata and the concerto grosso opened up opportunities for secular music.

Classical concerts have evolved from their early chants that were dominant about 1100 to polyphonic music pieces that started from the late Middle Ages into the Renaissance. During the Renaissance period which ran from 1400 to 1600 saw a lot of instrumentation being put into greater use, multiple interweaved melodic lines and the use of bass instruments in classical concerts. Additionally, social dancing became widespread during this period and so did other musical forms that would accompany dancing. Eventually, these developments became the standard for centuries. During this period, separation of the composition and transmission began to appear. This is where the work of music could be performed without the composer’s presence.

The most distinct classical concerts however began during the Baroque era when the pipe organ and the keyboard music became popular. It was also during this period that the common violin as we see it today took its form in musical dramas. Opera classical concerts also began to curve their niche in their earlier forms and vocal forms like the oratorio and cantata became more common. As these developments continued, they gave rise to large ensembles that were early orchestras and also led to the rise of chamber music that used smaller instruments rather than the larger ones used in orchestras. The concerto where a solo performer was accompanied by an orchestra also became widespread. During the classical period (1750-1820), orchestras were often led by the lead violinist who today is referred to as the concertmaster. Wind instruments became more refined in their use in classical concerts as well. Modern pieces have seen the improvisation of certain classical works where performers exhibit their virtuoso skills on instruments by playing earlier works in their own ways. Today’s classical music and concerts thus have much in common to their classical predecessors.

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