Sinfonietta (symphony)

Last updated

A sinfonietta is a symphony that is smaller in scale (either in terms of length or the instrumental forces required), or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. Although of Italian form, the word is not genuine in that language and has seldom been used by Italian composers. It appears to have been coined in 1874 by Joachim Raff for his Op. 188, but became common usage only in the early 20th century ( Temperley 2001 ).

Contents

Just as the term symphony itself can refer to pieces of music of varied size and scope, it is difficult to identify common criteria which pieces called sinfonietta share. Many of the sinfoniettas listed on this page employ larger forces and/or are longer than pieces designated symphonies, sometimes even by the same composer.

Examples of sinfoniettas include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String orchestra</span> Musical ensemble

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, the viola, the cello, and usually, but not always, the double bass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Raff</span> German-Swiss composer and pianist (1822–1882)

Joseph Joachim Raff was a German-Swiss composer, pedagogue and pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Toch</span> Austrian composer (1887–1964)

Ernst Toch was an Austrian composer of European classical music and film scores, who from 1933 worked as an émigré in Paris, London and New York. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vagn Holmboe</span>

Vagn Gylding Holmboe was a Danish composer and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Tcherepnin</span> American composer (1899–1977)

Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin was a Russian-born composer and pianist.

Arnold Atkinson Cooke was a British composer, a pupil of Paul Hindemith. He wrote a considerable amount of chamber music, including five string quartets and many instrumental sonatas, much of which is only now becoming accessible through modern recordings. Cooke also composed two operas, six symphonies and several concertos.

Concertino is the diminutive of concerto, thus literally a small or short concerto.

Lev Konstantinovich Knipper was a Soviet and Russian composer and OGPU/NKVD agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasily Lobanov</span> Russian composer and pianist

Vasily Pavlovich Lobanov is a Russian composer and pianist. He has been a Duo-Partner of Sviatoslav Richter

Johannes Paul Thilman was a German composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaroslav Řídký</span> Czech composer (1897–1956)

Jaroslav Řídký was a Czech composer, conductor, harpist, and music teacher.

Werner Wolf Glaser was a German-born Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, professor, music critic, and poet.

Max Butting was a German composer.

Olli Mustonen is a Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer.

Karl Höller was a German composer of the late Romantic tradition.

Ivor McMahon (1924–1972) was an English violinist. He played with notable orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and is best known for playing second violin in the Melos Ensemble.

References

Further reading

See also