Description
For centuries, composers have written for solo instruments both to show off the technique and artistic dexterity of a given performer, but also to highlight the sound and range of a given instrument, an effect especially striking in the case of instruments that at the time of composition were either newly invented or refined, such as the wide range of harpsichord music written in the early and mid-17th century, around the time that the instrument's construction was being refined first in Flanders and then in France.
In other instances, solo instrumental works have been written to make a musical case for a giving a certain instrument increased prominence and prestige; for example, the virtuoso double-bassist and composer Domenico Dragonetti wrote many works for bass as a way of promoting it as a viable solo instrument as well as encouraging his friends Haydn and Beethoven to take up the challenge and write more challenging music for the solo bass.
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