In 1898 and 1899, some 20 years after releasing the Spanish Dances that made his name as a composer, and after many years during which his production of showpiece creampuffs was sporadic at best, Pablo de Sarasate found time to put to paper about a half-dozen new salon-type pieces. One of these, the Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43, would prove to be his most enduringly popular non-Spanish Dance short work (it remains so today; only the Caprice basque can boast the same popularity). In addition to the original violin and piano version, Sarasate also fashioned a version of the Introduction and Tarantella for violin and orchestra, probably so that he might better incorporate it into his own busy concert schedule.
The Introduction and Tarantella is, to be fair, not a piece in the same class as Sarasate's best and most elegant salon truffles (like the Playera, Op. 23, No. 1, or Spanish Dance, Op. 26 No. 2), but Sarasate clearly intended it more as a flashy virtuoso display-piece than as an ingratiating charmer. The introduction is marked Moderato; the violinist sings a rolling melody over a simple chordal accompaniment that returns to an arch-shaped chromatic gesture which, ultimately, when taken over and elaborated by the violinist, serves as a bridge between the Introduction and the following Allegro vivo Tarantella, a wild and, in good hands, exhilarating 6/8 time ride up and down the violin fingerboard. ~ Blair Johnston, All Music Guide
