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

There is a spot in the “All’Italiana,” right after the cadenza, where the piano has these huge chords in left and right and they run toward each other.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2023

But it wasn’t a one-to-one transfer; many sections were heavily changed, and she also added a cadenza.

From New York Times • May 24, 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

We now deliberated amid a thousand jokes whether the small last solo should remain in its place, since, of course, the people would applaud the cadenza.

From Fragments of an Autobiography by Moscheles, Felix