Principal orchestral music of the Baroque era, characterized by contrast between a small group of soloists and a larger orchestra.
The small group (concertino) usually consisted of two violins and continuo , the instruments of the older trio sonata , though wind instruments were also used. The larger group (ripieno) generally consisted of strings with continuo. Alessandro Stradella (1642–82) wrote the first known concerto grosso с 1675. Johann Sebastian Bach 's Brandenburg Concertos (с 1720), and George Frideric Handel 's Opus 6 concertos (с 1740) are the most celebrated examples. From 1750 the concerto grosso was eclipsed by the solo {{link=concerto">concerto .