Tzigane

Tzigane unfolds as one continuous span, but it moves through clear stages that a first-time listener can track easily.

It opens with the violin completely alone, playing a long, brooding introduction full of slides, double stops, and dramatic pauses, evoking the free, improvisatory style of Roma (Romani) fiddlers. There is no steady beat yet, just the soloist's voice ranging over the instrument's full range, including very low, growling notes.

After this extended solo cadenza, the orchestra enters quietly, and the music settles into a slow, swaying dance built on a simple, haunting melody. The harp joins in with rippling arpeggios, adding a glittering backdrop.

From there the tempo begins to press forward, and the piece moves through a series of increasingly fast dance episodes. Listen for moments where the violin imitates guitar strumming, and passages of rapid left-hand pizzicato (plucking with the same hand that is fingering the notes) alongside the bow.

The final stretch is a headlong accelerating dash to the finish, with the soloist playing at the extreme top of the instrument's range while the orchestra drives the pulse harder and harder. The piece ends abruptly, in a sudden burst rather than a long wind-down, so listeners should expect the ovation to erupt right on the final chord.

Ravel composed Tzigane in 1924 for the Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arányi, a grandniece of Joseph Joachim, after hearing her play late into the night at a party. The word "tzigane" is a French term for Roma people, and the piece draws on the style of Hungarian gypsy violin playing without quoting actual folk tunes. It was first written for violin and piano, or violin with a keyboard imitation of a Hungarian folk instrument called the cimbalom, before Ravel orchestrated it. D'Arányi gave the premiere in London in 1924. The work quickly entered the repertoire of touring virtuosos and remains a favorite encore and concerto substitute because of its compressed, cadenza-like drama and its escalating technical demands.