cadenza Hear it!

cadenza Definition

ca·denza (kə den)

noun

  1. an elaborate, often improvised musical passage played unaccompanied by the solo instrument in a concerto, usually near the end of the first or the final movement
  2. any brilliant flourish in an aria or solo passage

Etymology: It: see cadence

cadenza Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • play: He's going to play the glockenspiel cadenza too!
  • include: In the old days, concertos included a cadenza which was to be improvised by the particular player.

Adjective modifier

  • own: Mark Knight has also published his own cadenzas for violin concertos by Mozart and viola concertos by Stamitz and Hoffmeister.
  • short: The two short cadenzas for organ in the opening two movements, wholly foreign to the sonata tradition, reinforce this impression.
  • lovely: Stephen Hopper was the soloist in a tightly controlled Haydn Trumpet Concerto, with a lovely cadenza at the end of the Allegro.

Noun used with modifier

  • solo: Well done to all players, especially Jenny, who continued to play her solo cadenza despite an off-putting phone ringing!

Browse dictionary entries near cadenza

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