orchestrate

English

Etymology

From orchestra +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French orchestrer.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː(ɹ).kə.stɹeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹ.kəstˌɹeɪt/

Verb

orchestrate (third-person singular simple present orchestrates, present participle orchestrating, simple past and past participle orchestrated)

1. (transitive) To arrange or score music for performance by an orchestra.
2. (transitive) To compose or arrange orchestral music for a dramatic performance.

   Sergio Leone orchestrated "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".

3. (transitive) To arrange or direct diverse elements to achieve a desired effect

   Orchestrated histories are not fact-based.

   • 1980, Film/psychology Review, volume 4, page 80:

     Here is chromophonic montage at its most skillful, as Minnelli orchestrates camera movement, music, and lighting in a crescendo of sound and color which red comes to dominate in the climactic moment of violent explosion.

   • 1988 March 4, Justin Hayford, “Ambiguous Gestures”, in Chicago Reader‎^[1]:

     By orchestrating this work with such cool reserve, Doolas avoided the pitfall of turning her celebration of womanhood into a free-for-all hugfest.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 529:

     State ceremonies aimed to induce a sense of respectful awe and emotional surrender in participants by an increasingly orchestrated and theatrical ceremonialism.

   • 2007 January 26, Roberta Smith, “Outside In”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     He might orchestrate the curved lines into stepped, hivelike hills […] .

Related terms

• orchestration
• orchestrator

Translations

to arrange or score music for performance by an orchestra

• Bulgarian: оркестрирам (orkestriram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 编管弦乐曲

• Finnish: soitintaa
• Greek: ενορχηστρώνω (el) (enorchistróno)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: arrangere (no)

• Spanish: orquestar (es)
• Swedish: orkestrera (sv), arrangera (sv)

to compose or arrange orchestral music for a dramatic performance

• Finnish: säveltää (fi) (to compose), sovittaa (fi) (to arrange)
• French: orchestrer (fr)
• German: orchestrieren (de)
• Greek: ενορχηστρώνω (el) (enorchistróno)
• Hungarian: hangszerel (hu)
• Russian: оркестрова́ть (ru) impf (orkestrovátʹ), инструментова́ть (ru) impf (instrumentovátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: orkestrirati (sh)
• Spanish: orquestar (es)

to arrange or direct diverse elements to achieve a desired effect

• Bulgarian: аранжирам (bg) (aranžiram)
• Catalan: orquestrar (ca)
• Finnish: järjestää (fi), organisoida (fi)
• French: orchestrer (fr)
• German: orchestrieren (de)
• Greek: ενορχηστρώνω (el) (enorchistróno)
• Italian: orchestrare (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: iscenesette, arrangere (no)

• Polish: organizować (pl) impf, zorganizować (pl) pf
• Portuguese: orquestrar (pt)
• Russian: организо́вывать (ru) impf (organizóvyvatʹ), организова́ть (ru) pf (organizovátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: aranžirati (sh), orkestrirati (sh)
• Spanish: orquestar (es)
• Swedish: iscensätta (sv), orkestrera (sv)

Anagrams

• Sacher torte, Sachertorte, sacher torte

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

orchestrate

1. inflection of orchestrare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

orchestrate f pl

1. feminine plural of orchestrato

Anagrams

• Sachertorte