About the Cadenza

Cadenzas are nowadays always played at the end of each movement of concertos for various instruments, as well as opera arias. One cadenza I’ve heard that remains deeply memorable is the cadenza for the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, performed by Toshiya Eto. Looking back, it may have been a cadenza composed by Kreisler. Cadenzas have been played since the Baroque period. Quantz’s “Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen (Essay on Flute Playing)” is a particularly detailed account. According to him, cadenzas began to be performed around the time Corelli published copperplate engravings of his violin sonatas with ornaments. Quantz also stated that even trio sonatas should include improvisational cadenzas. It contains hints for the flutists. The second flute player, who hears the first flute improvise a passage and then he must imitates it to create a sequenz. It is hard to imagine a performer today who can actually do this, but Quantz explains how to play the cadenza as if it were common sense. It goes without saying that this kind of technique would only be possible for a performer who can also compose. #baroque #quantz #cadenza #片山俊幸