cadenza

[ kuh-den-zuh ]

/ kəˈdɛn zə /

noun Music.

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

Nearby words

Origin of cadenza

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cadenza

This volume also contains his own cadenza to the Beethoven violin concerto.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens
The modulation from C sharp minor to D major and back again (after the cadenza) is very striking and equally beautiful.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
When the cadenza was reached in the public concert Beethoven quietly sat down.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer
One of them he made improvise a cadenza, and a second sang the alto to it without accompaniment.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay

It is significant that he played the cadenza, the most difficult part, best of all.
Franz Liszt|James Huneker

British Dictionary definitions for cadenza

cadenza

/ (kəˈdɛnzə) /

noun

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

Southern African informal a fit or convulsion

Word Origin for cadenza

C19: from Italian; see cadence

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

Word Origin and History for cadenza

cadenza

"ornamental passage near the close of a song or solo," 1836, from Italian cadenza (see cadence).