# The Symphony vs The Concerto For Orchestra



## Xenakiboy

The Concerto for Orchestra format has popped up quite a bit in the 20th century, and certainly contains a lot of great masterpieces the Bartok, the Carter and the Lutoslawski ones instantly spring to mind.
The symphony is obviously far more recognised but how do you compare the two and would you like to see Concerto for Orchestra cycles? (eg. Concerto for Orchestra #8) :tiphat:


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## Casebearer

I don't think it matters a lot to me. I like most Concertos for Orchestra I know and I don't like as many symphonies in (relative) comparison but that's probably because the Concerto for Orchestra is a form of a later date. Are there enough Concerto's for Orchestra for cycles?


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## Xenakiboy

Casebearer said:


> I don't think it matters a lot to me. I like most Concertos for Orchestra I know and I don't like as many symphonies in (relative) comparison but that's probably because the Concerto for Orchestra is a form of a later date. Are there enough Concerto's for Orchestra for cycles?


I mean for composers to compose Concerto for Orchestra cycles :tiphat:

I think the format offered in the humble Concerto for Orchestra, may offer some future possibilities that the symphony may not. But it could just be a thought!


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## Casebearer

It might and I wouldn't mind but symphony cycles could still be interesting as well.

For instance Hans Werner Henze's symphonies.


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## Xenakiboy

Casebearer said:


> It might and I wouldn't mind but symphony cycles could still be interesting as well.
> 
> For instance Hans Werner Henze's symphonies.


I love Henze's symphonies (5th is my favourite), and many modern symphonies,, so I'm not ruling them out or making a statement against them but it is something I've been thinking about lately!


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## Manxfeeder

I hadn't noticed before that numbered concertos for orchestra are starting to spring up. I guess that brings a curiosity factor into the listening or concert-going experience. If I saw a new composer, I'd probably clink a link for their "Concerto for Orchestra No. 1" over "Symphony No. 1."


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## GioCar

A really amazing Concerto for Orchestra cycle was composed by Goffredo Petrassi, a 20th-Century Italian composer who absolutely deserves to be better known and performed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goffredo_Petrassi

The amazing fact about his 8 Concerti for orchestra is that they span his whole artistic life, reflecting his early experiences as a neoclassicist till his late post-Webernian works.

A fine recording of the whole cicle is the following










Netherlands RSO - Arturo Tamayo conductor


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## Xenakiboy

GioCar said:


> A really amazing Concerto for Orchestra cycle was composed by Goffredo Petrassi, a 20th-Century Italian composer who absolutely deserves to be better known and performed.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goffredo_Petrassi
> 
> The amazing fact about his 8 Concerti for orchestra is that they span his whole artistic life, reflecting his early experiences as a neoclassicist till his late post-Webernian works.
> 
> A fine recording of the whole cicle is the following
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Netherlands RSO - Arturo Tamayo conductor


Never heard of this guy but it's exactly the kind of thing I mean!


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## techniquest

As far as I know, Alan Hovhaness composed 8 Concertos for Orchestra; I'd like to see these released as a cycle.
One Concerto for Orchestra that I have always enjoyed and rarely gets a mention is that composed by Roberto Gerhard.


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## maestro267

I believe that Rodion Shchedrin and Robin Holloway have both written five concerti for orchestra each. So far.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

I just recently started searching and listening to concertos for orchestra. Didn't know there were so many. Amongst my "discoveries" were Tan Dun & Magnus Lindberg.


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## SixFootScowl

I confess to having focused almost entirely on symphonic works to the neglect of concertos. Also piano concertos can irritate me, but I do like violin concertos.


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## EdwardBast

Is there any substantive difference? If so, what is it? If Bartok or Lutoslawski had used the term symphony would anyone have complained that these works were too concerto-like to qualify for the genre?


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## Merl

Concerto for Orchestra / Symphony - Doesn't matter to me. If I like the piece that's all I need to know.


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