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Bucharest Symphony Orchestra National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. An orchestra (/ ˈ ɔːr k ɪ s t r ə /; OR-ki-strə) [1] is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
Symphony – Large-scale composition, typically for an orchestra and often in four movements. Choral symphony – Symphony that incorporates a choir and vocal soloists along with the orchestra. Program symphony – Symphony with an extra-musical narrative guiding its structure and nature.
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements , often four, with ...
Sergei Prokofiev called his work for cello and orchestra Symphony-Concerto, stressing its serious symphonic character, in contrast to the light character of the Classical period sinfonia concertante. Benjamin Britten's Cello Symphony and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 2 also showcase a solo cello within the context of a full-scale symphony.
In the orchestra, the existing Classical instruments and sections were retained (string section, woodwinds, brass, and percussion), but these sections were typically expanded to make a fuller, bigger sound. For example, while a Baroque orchestra may have had two double bass players, a Romantic orchestra could have as many as ten.
Classical and Romantic schools. Mannheim School – Known for innovations in orchestral music, influencing the Classical style, with composers like Johann Stamitz. First Viennese School – Developed and refined forms such as the symphony, sonata, string quartet and expanded the harmonic language of the time. The main composers were Joseph ...
Symphony Hall, Boston, the main base of the orchestra since 1900. The earliest American classical music consists of part-songs used in religious services during Colonial times. The first music of this type in America were the psalm books, such as the Ainsworth Psalter, brought over from Europe by the settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. [1]
A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first and second violin players (each usually playing different parts), the viola, the cello, and usually, but not always, the double bass.