What is the history of the orchestra?

This is a very complicated question. Basically, there was not really a definitive ensemble through the Renaissance until the advent of opera. Until then music was performed by vocalists and whatever instrument would happen to be around; instruments were categorized by their volume.

1600: Opera started to employ a basic stock of strings and would have some brass and woodwinds in the group. There may have been harpsichord.

There was the St. Marks Cathedral led by the Corelli's that would have organized antiphonal instrumental organization using strings and brass.

French composer Luly would have been the first to have the strings all bow in the same direction. He would conduct with a large staff-which ultimately killed him when he stabbed his own foot and acquired blood poisoning.

A lot of lesser known composers including Stamitz filled in the Manheim school where the symphony was developed. Instrumental music really took off in the Baroque and the transitional period leading to Haydn.

Haydn is truly the father of the symphony. He solidly established a tradition of symphonic form and standardized the instrumentation to include the family of winds, brass, perc., and strings that we see today.

Mozart was not necessarily a developer of the orchestra, but he did write for the newly invented clarinet and forte-piano.

Beethoven used trombones and began to utilize Turkish military topics.

Shortly after Beethoven's death Berlioz in his Symphonie Fantastique employed the greatly expanded Romantic orchestra which set the tone for the large complex orchestrations of the 19th century.

Wagner would later expand the orchestra even further.

Mahler would possibly be the composer who wrote for the largest orchestra. (If we don't count Stockhausen whose large orchestral work is seldom if ever played.) See symphony of a thousand. Number 8.

First answer by Funkymama. Last edit by Funkymama. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question]