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An extended solo passage, usually near the end of a concerto movement, where the soloist plays alone in a virtuosic, often improvised or quasi-improvised style.
The cadenza is the soloist's moment of virtuosic freedom. Traditionally it is based on themes from the movement, displaying the soloist's technique and musical personality. In Classical concertos, cadenzas were improvised; from Beethoven onward, they were increasingly written out.
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor") — Beethoven writes out the cadenza, beginning with dramatic octave scales that signal a new era of composed cadenzas.
Cadenza is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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