Over time the number of instruments in the orchestra have increased. What is included in the orchestra today may not be what was in the orchestra 100 years ago. The kind of music that is being played and how the conductor or composer wants it to sound determines which instruments will be used. Harpsichords and organs used to be in all orchestras but they are rarely used today.
Look at the charts below. They show what the orchestra was like when Beethoven conducted the performance of his Symphony No.1 in 1800 and when Richard Strauss conducted his Ein Heldenleben in 1898.
Composer |
violins |
violas |
cellos |
basses |
piccolo |
flutes |
oboes |
clarinets |
Beethoven |
12 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
Strauss |
40 |
12 |
12 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
bassoons |
French horns |
trumpets |
trombones |
tubas |
kettle drums |
percussion |
harps |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
