recital

[ri-sahyt-l]

noun

1. a musical entertainment given usually by a single performer or by a performer and one or more accompanists.

2. a similar entertainment in a field other than music.

   a dance recital.

3. a program or concert by dance or music students to demonstrate their achievements or progress.

4. an act or instance of reciting.

5. a formal or public delivery of something memorized.

6. a detailed statement.

7. an account, narrative, or description.

   He gave a recital of the things he'd been doing since we'd last seen him.

recital

/ rɪˈsaɪtəl /

noun

1. a musical performance by a soloist or soloists Compare concert

2. the act of reciting or repeating something learned or prepared

3. an account, narration, or description

4. a detailed statement of facts, figures, etc

5. (often plural) law the preliminary statement in a deed showing the reason for its existence and leading up to and explaining the operative part

Other Word Forms

• recitalist noun
• nonrecital noun
• prerecital noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of recital¹

First recorded in 1505–15; recite + -al ²

Synonym Study

See narrative.

Example Sentences

Friday night's recital had just begun when the orchestra was forced to stop playing for more than 10 minutes due to the demonstration.

From BBC

That said, by the age of 5, Ron was taking piano lessons and giving a recital at the Women’s Club of Venice, near where the Mael family then resided.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s been a while since he’s been back to L.A., but the Los Angeles Philharmonic presents his first recital in more than a decade for a program of Bach, Chopin and Shostakovich.

From Los Angeles Times

Demand for the superstar pianists’ recital was such that Wednesday’s sold-out performance led the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which presented the concert, to add a second date.

From Los Angeles Times

He turned his recital hall into a lecture hall, as he describes it, and started offering travel courses and self-publishing his first book, "Europe Through the Back Door."

From Salon

Related Words

• concert 
• musical 
• presentation 
• reading 
• recitation 
• rehearsal