A perspective on the concerto genre in the 20th century

Abstract

The instrumental concerto remains one of the most appreciated genres – by the general audience as well as by virtuoso interpreters – throughout its existence, including the 20th century. However, the century of acute modernity afforded a reevaluation of all the musical forms and genres so that new unsuspected challenges emerged, which were solved in the most unexpected ways by the great composers of the time. This paper aims to offer a brief perspective on the evolution of the concerto genre in the music of the 20th century, highlighting several elements of originality, with a succinct analysis of more compositions in the general framework of articulating the formal discourse. The concerto has survived in the art of the 20th century, even in the creation of the most avant-garde composers, perhaps especially because of aspects concerning virtuosity and the competition between a soloist and an orchestra.