Why is a student's musical performance called a "recital"?

As a lifelong musician, I’ve wondered why it’s called a “recital” when a music teacher gets all the students together to perform and show what they’ve learned.

I can understand, say, a poetry or prose reading being called a “recital”, but why music? When I was sitting there at the piano in front of my and my fellow students’ parents, I wasn’t reciting anything — I was performing.

So why “recital”?

You were repeating from memory, weren’t you? (Or at least pretending to, we’ll ignore any music left lying on the piano :wink: ) That’s all ‘recite’ really means, not ‘speak’.

And what does ‘perform’ mean? The last thing I expect from a recital of Bach or Beethoven is a performance. Leave that to the luvvies.

And why is a comedian’s solo performance called a “concert?”

This must be some Brit-speak that doesn’t translate into American. When will you learn to speak the language? :slight_smile: