An orchestra is, basically, a group of musicians playing musical instruments which include a few sections such as strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Instruments commonly used in an orchestra are instruments such as violins, cellos, flutes, drums, cymbals. The word "orchestra" comes from Greek, originally meaning the section in ancient Greek theatres between the stage and the audience that was used by dancers and instrumentalists. Soon people talked about orchestra to describe the musicians, not the place where they were performed.
Great masters and composers have written various beautiful and melodious pieces for the orchestra, such as Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, Bradenburg Concerto No 3 by Bach.
The development and standardization of the modern orchestra took place in between about 1600 and about 1750. During the 1600s, the orchestra became common not only in opera performances but as ensembles maintained by noble families for private concerts. Felix Mendelssohn had a private orchestra, given to him by his parents as a birthday present. Until the late 18th century, orchestras usually had 20-30 members.
During the times of Ludwig van Beethoven the size increased to around thirty players. In 19th century orchestras became larger and by the early 20th century, a normal orchestra had around 100 players.
Famous orchestras of today include:
Christchurch Symphony Orchestra - NZ
London Philharmonic Orchestra - UK
London Symphony Orchestra - UK
Philharmonia Orchestra - London, UK
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - UK
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - London, UK
Nowadays, the orchestra is a very common performance, thanks mostly to the composer Haydn. He organized the musical instruments into four groups, namely strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion etc. Most orchestras have their conductor, who coordinates all of the musicians in the orchestra.
