A concert piece (German: Konzertstück; French: pièce de concert, also morceau de concert) is a musical composition, in most cases in one movement, intended for performance in a concert. Usually it is written for one or more virtuoso instrumental soloists and orchestral or piano accompaniment.[1]
In some cases concert pieces start with a separate opening movement, or are otherwise in more than one movement or section. A piece that presents itself as a miniature concerto is rather called concertino than concert piece, although in German several such concertinos are known as Konzertstücke.[2] For instance Siegfried Wagner's Flute Concertino was published as Konzertstück for flute and small orchestra [scores].[3] Incomplete concerto movements by Beethoven and Schubert were retroactively designated as concert pieces. Schumann's 1841 Fantasia for piano and orchestra, in form similar to Weber's Konzertstück, was later rewritten and expanded with two further movements into his Piano Concerto Op. 54.[4] When the soloist is a vocalist, the piece rather belongs to the concert aria genre. Some concert pieces are written for instrumental soloists exclusively, while also concert pieces for orchestra without soloist exist. In this sense as well Chopin's Allegro de concert for solo piano as Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet for orchestra can be called concert pieces.[5][6] A concert overture is an overture which is conceived as a stand-alone concert piece.
