noun
- an elaborate musical passage for a solo instrument or voice, typically improvised, that showcases the performer’s technical skill
Usage: music
Examples
- The pianist performed a brilliant cadenza in the middle of the concerto.
- Mozart’s piano concertos often feature extended cadenzas.
- The violinist’s cadenza brought the audience to their feet.
- She practiced the cadenza section repeatedly before the recital.
- The opera singer added her own ornamental cadenza to the aria.
- Beethoven wrote out specific cadenzas for some of his concertos.