Henri Wieniawski was a child prodigy and virtuoso violinist who entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of eight. He was actually better known in his day for his performances than for his compositions. This Scherzo is frenetic from the start, as a Tarantelle should be. In the Romantic period, it was a name used to describe a short instrumental piece of playful nature. Tarantelle, or Tarantella, is a lively dance from the area around Taranto, Italy. Tarantella simply means anything feminine, but coincidentally, there is a spider from that area known as a tarantula. This Tarantelle has all the characteristics of the dance: non-stop bowing from the start, and wild speed except for a couple of short, lyrical interludes for contrast. Rebecca Benjamin
Classical Music | Violin Music
Henryk Wieniawski
Scherzo-Tarantella Play
Recorded on 06/12/2013, uploaded on 01/20/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Henri Wieniawski was a child prodigy and virtuoso violinist who entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of eight. He was actually better known in his day for his performances than for his compositions. This Scherzo is frenetic from the start, as a Tarantelle should be. In the Romantic period, it was a name used to describe a short instrumental piece of playful nature. Tarantelle, or Tarantella, is a lively dance from the area around Taranto, Italy. Tarantella simply means anything feminine, but coincidentally, there is a spider from that area known as a tarantula. This Tarantelle has all the characteristics of the dance: non-stop bowing from the start, and wild speed except for a couple of short, lyrical interludes for contrast. Rebecca Benjamin
More music by Henryk Wieniawski
Mazurka
Scherzo-Tarantella
Polonaise de Concert in D Major, Op. 4
Etude No. 1, Op. 18
Polonaise de Concert in D Major, Op. 4
Polonaise Brillante in A Major, Op. 21
Legende
Variations on an Original Theme in A Major, Op. 15
Scherzo-Tarantella
Polonaise Brillante in A Major, Op. 21
Performances by same musician(s)
Mélodie, from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42
Scherzo, from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
Courtesy of International Music Foundation.