cadenza

American  

[kuh-den-zuh] / kəˈdɛn zə /

noun

Music.

1. an elaborate flourish or showy solo passage, sometimes improvised, introduced near the end of an aria or a movement of a concerto.

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cadenza British  

/ kəˈdɛnzə /

noun

1. a virtuoso solo passage occurring near the end of a piece of music, formerly improvised by the soloist but now usually specially composed

2. informal a fit or convulsion

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Etymology

Origin of cadenza

1745–55; < Italian < Vulgar Latin *cadentia a falling, equivalent to Latin cad ( ere ) to fall + -entia -ency; cf. chance

Explanation

A cadenza is a solo that’s part of a larger piece of music such as a concerto. It takes great skill to play a cadenza. Have you ever been to a rock concert and heard the guitarist or drummer do a solo? A cadenza is kind of like that, except it’s part of the classical-music tradition. Cadenzas are for virtuosos: extremely talented, expert players of their instruments. Often, a cadenza comes near the end of a piece, and the cadenza should be an exciting, powerful climax. Like many musical terms, it's on permanent loan from Italian; cadence is the closest word in modern English.

Example Sentences

In his hands, the great, pounding first-movement cadenza was granitic, though never sludgy.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

Schiff’s most characterful work, though, was in the Rondo finale, in which he rendered the cadenza as a grander conclusion, interjecting the “Don Giovanni” chords, then layering the overture and the concerto in clever counterpoint.

From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2023

The concerto is in four parts — five if you count the cadenza that bridges its final two movements.

From Washington Post • Jan. 20, 2023

And his cadenza teased time itself — he played it with a clawing wit — one could hear anew why it made so many monocles drop when Adolph Brodsky premiered it in 1881.

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2022

Between the verses it flutters up in a fanciful cadenza, but soon returns, and, alighting on the melody, it continues to sway as before.

From Stars of the Opera by Wagnalls, Mabel