The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' in A minor (french: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso), Op. 28, is a composition for

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

written in

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...

by Camille Saint-Saëns. It was dedicated to the virtuoso

ist Pablo de Sarasate, who performed the solo violin part at the premiere in April 1867.

History

The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' was originally intended to be the rousing finale to Saint-Saëns' first violin concerto, Op. 20, though its success as a solo composition at its first performance led Saint-Saëns to publish it separately. The premiere took place on 4 April 1867 at the Champs-Élysées, with Pablo de Sarasate playing the solo part and the composer conducting. Several arrangements of the score have been made, including for violin and piano by Georges Bizet, piano duet by Jacques Durand, and two pianos by Claude Debussy.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin, 2 flutes/piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets (or cornets), 3 timpani and strings.

Style and structure

The piece opens with a 36-bar theme in A minor, (although the initial tempo should be Andante malinconico) establishing key as well as rhythmic and harmonic themes. The orchestra supports the violin with block chord progressions while the soloist plays virtuosic arpeggios and chromatic scalar passages. Saint-Saëns destabilizes the rhythm of the soloist oscillating between syncopated rising arpeggios and falling eighth notes. In bar 18 the motion picks up when the tempo indication changes from Andante malinconico to animato and the soloist jumps into a rapid thirty-second note line.

In Popular Culture

The 1939 film

They Shall Have Music ''They Shall Have Music'' is a 1939 musical film directed by Archie Mayo and starring famed violinist Jascha Heifetz (as himself), Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, and Gene Reynolds. The screenplay concerns a young runaway finds his purpose in life aft ...

features a performance of the piece by the legendary violin virtuoso

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

. The work also features prominently in the manga and anime

Your Lie in April is a Japanese romantic drama manga series that was written and illustrated by Naoshi Arakawa, and has been adapted into an anime television series, a live-action movie, a light novel, and multiple stage productions. The manga was seri ...

. It is played in its violin and piano arrangement by the show’s two primary protagonists as part of a musical competition.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Concertos by Camille Saint-Saëns Saint-Saens 1863 compositions Compositions in A minor Music with dedications