- Date: 1882
- Composer: Edouard Lalo
- Period: Post-Romantic (1870-1909)
Review
This is a charming little encore piece with a light Spanish flavor and an attractive theme. It justifies its name by its use of pizzicato textures in the orchestral strings.Lalo wrote it for the great Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. Lalo took an uncommonly long time to emerge as a composer of any importance. Born in Lille, France, in 1823, when initial hints of success did not pan out, he gave up composition and made his living teaching and playing violin and viola.
He did not return to writing music until he was in his mid-forties, and the opera he wrote to try to win a prize only took third place and was never produced. Still, a concert arrangement of its ballet music made in 1872 got him Sarasate's attention. The violinist, a master of a new style of legato (smooth, singing playing) then made hits of two large works Lalo wrote for him, a Violin Concerto and the Symphonie espagnole.
This piece, then, is an expression of friendship and gratitude. Over the quasi-guitar accompaniment the violin sings a sunny song. A few bright touches from woodwinds and Spanish flavor from tambourines make this a winning little piece, its three-and-a-half minutes just the right length for an encore. ~ Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
