A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments.
These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instruments such as the violin, the cello had to face harsh competition from the older, well-established viola da gamba. As a result, few important cello concertos were written before the 19th century – with the notable exceptions of those by Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Haydn and Boccherini. Its full recognition as a solo instrument came during the Romantic era with the concertos of Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Lalo and Dvořák. From then on, cello concertos have become more and more frequent. Twentieth-century composers have made the cello a standard concerto instrument, along with the already-rooted piano and violin concertos; among the most notable concertos of the first half of the century are those of Elgar, Prokofiev, Barber and Hindemith. Many post-World War II composers (Shostakovich, Walton, Ligeti, Britten, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski and Penderecki among others) have written at least one.