The Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso was originally intended to be the rousing finale to Saint-Saëns' first violin concerto, Op. 20, though its success as a solo composition at its first performance led Saint-Saëns to publish it separately.[2]
The premiere took place on 4 April 1867 at the Champs-Élysées, with Pablo de Sarasate playing the solo part and the composer conducting.[1]
The work is scored for solo violin, 2 flutes/piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets (or cornets), 3 timpani and strings.[1]
Style and structure
The piece opens with a 36-bar theme in A minor, (although the initial tempo should be Andante malinconico) establishing key as well as rhythmic and harmonic themes. The orchestra supports the violin with block chord progressions while the soloist plays virtuosic arpeggios and chromatic scalar passages. Saint-Saëns destabilizes the rhythm of the soloist oscillating between syncopated rising arpeggios and falling eighth notes.[clarification needed] In bar 18 the motion picks up when the tempo indication changes from Andante malinconico to animato and the soloist jumps into a rapid thirty-second note line.
The work also features prominently in the manga and anime Your Lie in April. It is played in its violin and piano arrangement by the show’s two primary protagonists as part of a musical competition.[4][5]
References
^ abcdRatner, Sabina Teller (2002). Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835–1922: A Thematic Catalogue of his Complete Works, Volume 1: The Instrumental Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 347–350. ISBN978-0-19-816320-6.
^Dandelot, Arthur (1930). La vie et l'oeuvre de Saint-Saëns. Paris. p. 49.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)