Advertisement

Advertisement

cadenza

[ kuh-den-zuh ]

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.


cadenza

/ 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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadenza1

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadenza1

C19: from Italian; see cadence
Discover More

Example Sentences

The last movement had the infectious gayety that Mozart's things often have, with a magnificent cadenza by himself.

When she got to the cadenza, he laid down his bton, and retired to lean against the door and enjoy it.

When the cadenza was reached in the public concert Beethoven quietly sat down.

I had asked Beethoven to write a cadenza for me, but he refused and told me to write one myself and he would correct it.

There is always a grand cadenza where you must play all alone and "make a splurge."

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


cadentialcadet