cadenza

Definition

A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cadenza, from Latin cadentia. Doublet of cadence and chance.

Example Sentences

• "Yes, laugh, as I want to laugh for instance in the concert hall when the orchestra trundles to a stop and the virtuoso at his piano, hunched like a demented vet before the bared teeth of this enormous black beast of sound, lifts up deliquescent hands and prepares to plunge into the cadenza."