a capriccio

American  

[ah kuh-pree-chee-oh, ah kah-preet-chaw] / ˌɑ kəˈpri tʃiˌoʊ, ˌɑ kɑˈprit tʃɔ /

adverb

Music.

1. at whatever tempo or with whatever expression the performer wishes.

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Etymology

Origin of a capriccio

< Italian: according to caprice

Example Sentences

A trill in Haydn's Variations in F Minor, a rush of a scale in Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, a delicately balanced viscous harmony in a ballade, a capriccio and three intermezzi from Brahms Opp.

From Los Angeles Times

He does it again with this recital: After opening with a capriccio by the Renaissance Dutch composer Sweelinck, he will play three works by Charles Wuorinen, all 92nd Street Y commissions.

From New York Times

Mr. Sheng, in introducing “The Singing Gobi Desert,” played down its programmatic title, calling the piece a capriccio or fantasia.

From New York Times

The music was good, very like something of Mozart's, but when subsequently interrogated, Juanito declared it to have been a Capriccio of his own.

From Project Gutenberg

I had in mind the definition of a capriccio given by Praetorius, the celebrated musical authority of the eighteenth century.

From Project Gutenberg