Where does the soloist stand (sit) in a concerto?
Is there a standard location?
In any piano concerto that I remember, the soloist was to the right of the conductor.
In a recent cello concerto, the soloist was also to the right of the conductor and hence near the other cellos.
I am trying to remember violin concertos. I am less sure but I think that the soloist was to the left of the conductor and hence near the other violins.
Next week, I will see Mozart's Clarinet Concerto live for the first time. I don't know where the soloist will be.
(Right and left here are from the audience's point of view.)
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Here's the first few pictures Google Images came up with for 'Piano Concerto'. The pianist must be facing (audience) right of course, because of the way the piano lid opens. The piano is typically centre, which puts the player slightly to the left of the conductor.
This is also the typical position for an instrumental soloist.
It took me quite a long time to find one where the soloist WASN'T to the conductor's left.
Here's a trombone soloist standing to the right of the conductor. Perhaps the violins insisted!
Standard practice is to have the soloist on the conductor's left (seen from the audience) and this is the arrangement you will see in the vast majority of concerts. If the solo instrument is a piano the player can see the conductor and the lid reflects the sound towards the audience
There may sometimes be reasons for having the soloist somewhere else:
logistical reasons. In some venues it might not be possible to put e.g. a piano where you want it. Organ soloists have to sit where the organ is (unless the console is moveable). Percussion soloists with a large set-up generally sit behind the orchestra on a raised podium.
acoustical reasons. Left of the conductor might be acoustically bad in a particular venue. One example of this is the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany. Some of the audience is seated behind the orchestra where they have problems hearing a singer positioned at the front of the stage.
artistic reasons. For example: in a church they might decide to position a singer in the pulpit
musical reasons. The composer might have stipulated a certain setup. I once saw a concert where the composer wanted the flute soloist facing away from the audience.
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