Music Sound

A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely of bowed string instruments. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the violoncello and the double bass. String orchestras can be of chamber orchestra size ranging from between 12 and 21 musicians (6,5,4,4,2 = 21) sometimes performing without a conductor, or consist of the entire string section of a large symphony orchestra which could have 60 musicians (16,14,12,10,8 = 60). String orchestras often play classical music, and important 20th century works have been written for string orchestra by Béla Bartók (Divertimento), Stravinsky (Apollon Musagète), and Benjamin Britten (Simple Symphony). Sir Michael Tippett has written a Concerto for Double String Orchestra. Composers that have written a "Serenade for Strings" for string orchestra include Tchaikovsky, Antonín Dvořák, and Elgar. Mendelssohn also wrote a number of symphonies for string orchestra. Sometimes works originally written for string quartet are arranged for string orchestra. Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is one such example.

External links

• Art of the States String orchestra works for string orchestra by American composers