The Development of the Concerto

    During this period the concerto adopted the new forms used in the sonata and the symphony, and the new style of orchestral writing, though it also developed some characteristics of its own, largely through the influence of Mozart.  It became much more of a vehicle for the display of virtuosity on the part of the solo performer than the earlier concertos had been, and works for more than one solo instrument became more rare. (For details of this form see pp. 88-90.)

    Haydn wrote a number of concertos for the Clavier, the violin and the 'cello, but, apart from the 'cello concerto in D major, they are rarely performed.  There is also a very popular trumpet concerto.  He contributed much less to the development of the concerto than to the quartet and the symphony.

    Mozart wrote many concertos, for many different instruments.  His violin concertos were mostly written before he was 21, though they are still frequently played.  He wrote 25 piano concertos, at different periods of his life, many of which are very fine works and still regularly played today.  He was the first great writer of piano concertos, and laid the foundation for the style.  He also wrote a number of concertos for wind instruments, including two for flute, one each for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, four for hom and one for flute and harp.  Although they are not often heard at concerts they are mostly obtainable on records, and provide one of the best means of becoming familiar with the sound of each instrument and of its capabilities in solo work.  

    Beethoven wrote fewer concertos, but all are important works.  There are five for piano, including the 'Emperor': one for violin; and a triple concerto for piano, violin and 'cello, which is rarely performed.  He gave the orchestra a more interesting part than Mozart had done; in the piano concertos in G and Eь (the 'Emperor'), he connected the second and third movements; and in his last concerto, the Emperor, he wrote out a cadenza, instead of leaving the soloist to make up his own.  From then onwards, composers almost invariably wrote their own cadenzas, though some of the more recent concertos, such as the piano concertos of Brahms, do not contain a cadenza at all.  

    Schubert wrote no concertos, but passing reference should be made to Paganini and Spohr, who wrote virtuoso concertos for the violin which are still used by students as practice works.