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cadenza

ca·den·za [ kə-ˈden-zə]

cadenza

noun

[kə-ˈden-zə]

Definition of cadenza

1 : a parenthetical flourish in an aria or other solo piece commonly just before a final or other important cadence

2 : a technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto

3 : an exceptionally brilliant part of an artistic and especially a literary work

Did You Know

A concerto is a large piece for an instrumental soloist (usually playing piano or violin) and orchestra. Concertos are often extremely demanding for the soloist, but the most difficult part of all may be the cadenza, when the orchestra drops out completely, leaving the soloist to dazzle the audience with a set of flourishes, often completely original, right before a movement ends. Cadenzas are also heard in many vocal arias, especially those of the 18th century. The word, borrowed from Italian, originally meant "cadence;" thus, the cadenza, even if it lasts for a couple of minutes, is essentially a decoration of the final important harmonic cadence of the piece.

Recent Examples on the Web

//More intriguing was the composer’s Andante in C for Flute and Orchestra, which sounds very much like the slow movement of a flute concerto (which music historians suspect it was intended to be), complete with cadenza.
— Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, "Review: SPCO celebrates 60 with warm winds and a Beethoven jam," 8 Nov. 2019
//Orliński’s cadenza began on an A, his voice rising like a peal of bells up to a high F and then descending, with a trill, to the F an octave lower.
— Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, "A Millennial Countertenor’s Pop-Star Appeal," 15 July 2019
//But Davis’ cadenza was not so much a jazz statement as a linkage between jazz and its antecedents in ancient Africa.
— Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Jazz Philharmonic delivers urgent message with 'Chicago Immigrant Stories'," 15 June 2018
//That barnstorm preceded another, the festival-closer and one of her specialties: Ligeti’s dazzling concerto, a party that ended — in this version of the final cadenza — with the whole orchestra joining Ms. Kopatchinskaja in song.
— Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, "A Quirky Violinist and a Festival to Match," 11 June 2018
//The first movement cadenza, which Kopatchinsakaja patterned after one Beethoven wrote for a piano transcription of the concerto, had her in riotous dialogue with the timpanist and other members of the ensemble.
— Mark Swed, latimes.com, "Beethoven rolls over at the Ojai Music Festival," 8 June 2018
//The first-movement cadenza continued in that vein (along with unexpected flashes of humor) but with more richness to come.
— David Patrick Stearns, Philly.com, "Yannick and Grimaud connect like soul mates in Beethoven's 'Piano Concerto No. 4'," 18 May 2018
//Alexandra Nowakowski more than filled out the demands of this exhilarating stretch — trills, runs, its own cadenza, and a spectacular high D near the end.
— Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, "A mixed 'Ariadne auf Naxos' at the Academy of Vocal Arts," 2 Mar. 2018
//The composition breaks from the three-movement concerto model by expanding the traditional cadenza into its own movement.
— Jessica Rudman, courant.com, "HSO Plays A Superb Shostakovich Program To Two Standing Ovations," 5 May 2018

First Known Use of cadenza

1783, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for cadenza

Italian, cadence, cadenza

Dictionary Entries near cadenza