Virtuoso

A virtuoso (from the Latin virtus meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding mechanical ability at operating a musical instrument. The plural form is virtuosi. Virtuosi are often musical composers as well. During the age of Baroque music many, if not most, composers were also virtuosi on their respective instruments.

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An inevitable discussion surrounding virtuosi is whether the mere skillful operation of an instrument constitutes art. For most people, this is a matter of taste and will likely remain a point of contention in the future.

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Whether an individual's musical skills constitute virtuosity is a matter of opinion, however individuals who have been generally recognized as virtuosi are listed.

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Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Musical instrument: A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument; but the expression is reserved generally to items that have that specif...

Composers: REDIRECT Lists of composers...