IMSLP Forums

I'm a member of a community orchestra where there is a wide difference in the abilities of the players. So I was looking for suggestions of orchestral pieces where one or more different solo parts emerge so we can feature players who don't want to go as far as a full solo such as a concerto. I have tried the category walker but this just seems to be concertos. I won't specify any instruments as our membership changes regularly.

The pieces we have used recently are:
Russian Easter Overture - Rimsky-Korsakov
Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld - Offenbach
Invitation to the Dance - Weber
Danse Macabre - Saint-Saens

Rimsky's Capriccio espagnol (perversely listed as Spanish capriccio at IMSLP) has a great, and difficult, solo violin part, as does his Scheherazade, of course. Any violinist who can tackle these solos is qualified to take on a full concerto, however, even if it is "only" by Mozart or Vivaldi. The Baroque is filled with concertos for multiple diverse instruments, of which the Bach Brandenburg Concertos are merely the tip of the iceberg. Even the most timid members of the orchestra should be able to handle these, given the works it has already performed. Unfortunately most of the diverse-instrument concerti by the likes of Telemann or Vivaldi are unavailable here since their modern editions are mostly under copyright.

--Sixtux