a capriccio

[ ah kuh-pree-chee-oh; Italian ah kah-preet-chaw ]

adverb

, Music.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of a capriccio¹

< 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