The leader of the first violin section вЂ“ commonly called the concertmaster вЂ“ also plays an important role in leading the musicians.

The conductor also prepares the orchestra by leading rehearsals before the public concert, in which the conductor provides instructions to the musicians on their interpretation of the music being performed. The conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo and shapes the sound of the ensemble. Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance with movements of the hands and arms, often made easier for the musicians to see by use of a conductor's baton. The typical orchestra grew in size throughout the 18th and 19thВ centuries, reaching a peak with the large orchestras (of as many as 120В players) called for in the works of Richard Wagner, and later, Gustav Mahler.

Orchestras that specialize in the Baroque music of, for example, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, or Classical repertoire, such as that of Haydn and Mozart, tend to be smaller than orchestras performing a Romantic music repertoire, such as the symphonies of Johannes Brahms. A chamber orchestra (sometimes concert orchestra) is a smaller ensemble of not more than about fifty musicians. The actual number of musicians employed in a given performance may vary from seventy to over one hundred musicians, depending on the work being played and the size of the venue. ДЄ full-size Western orchestra may sometimes be called a symphony orchestra or philharmonic orchestra (from Greek phil-, 'loving', and 'harmony'). Other instruments such as the piano, harpsichord, and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone as soloist instruments, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments and guitars. percussion instruments such as the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, and mallet percussion instruments.brass instruments such as the horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba.woodwinds such as the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.bowed string instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass.An orchestra ( / Л€ Й”Лђr k ЙЄ s t r Й™/ Italian: ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including

Symphonic orchestra instruments list