Knowra Cadenza Cadenza A cadenza is an extended solo passage, traditionally near a movement’s end, that showcases a performer’s virtuosity. It often suspends the ensemble’s regular accompaniment and may be improvised or written out.
Fermata : A musical symbol directing a performer to sustain a note or rest longer than its written duration. A fermata often marks the point where an orchestral accompaniment pauses for a cadenza.
Eighteenth-century music : Music composed and performed between 1701 and 1800, encompassing Baroque and Classical styles. The cadenza’s familiar concerto function took shape during this period.
Joseph Joachim : A Hungarian violinist, conductor, and composer of the nineteenth century, known for his collaboration with Brahms. Joachim composed cadenzas that became closely associated with major violin concertos.
Piano Concerto No. 20 (Mozart) : Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s concerto in D minor, K. 466, completed in 1785. Its first movement’s open cadenza tradition invites performers to contribute their own passage.
Solo : A musical passage or performance assigned to one performer or part. A cadenza is a specific, extended kind of solo passage rather than any unaccompanied moment.
Improvisation : The creation of music in performance rather than solely from a prior written score. Improvised cadenzas let performers shape the passage spontaneously within the work’s style.
Baroque music : European art music associated with roughly 1600–1750, characterized by styles including basso continuo and elaborate counterpoint. Baroque performers commonly added improvised ornaments and solo flourishes.
Fritz Kreisler : An Austrian-born violinist and composer, born in 1875 and died in 1962. Kreisler supplied cadenzas for concertos by earlier composers, extending the performer-composer tradition.
Violin Concerto (Beethoven) : Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, completed in 1806. Beethoven’s written cadenza for the concerto’s piano version complicates the usual separation of soloist and composer.
Recitative : A vocal style that follows speech-like rhythms and advances dramatic action, especially in opera and oratorio. Unlike a cadenza’s display function, recitative primarily carries text and dramatic narrative.
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