cadenza
A virtuosic solo passage near the end of a concerto movement, often improvised or written out.
In Depth
A cadenza is a moment in a concerto where the orchestra stops and the soloist plays alone, often with great virtuosity and freedom. In the Classical era, cadenzas were improvised by the performer. By the [Romantic period](/term/romantic%20period), composers began writing them out, though some performers still compose their own. The cadenza typically occurs near the end of a movement, signalled by the orchestra landing on a sustained chord. The soloist then elaborates on the movement's themes, demonstrating technical brilliance before a trill signals the orchestra to re-enter. Beethoven's written-out cadenzas for his piano concertos set the standard for the composed cadenza.
Mozart's father once wrote to him complaining that his concerto cadenzas were too long — the audience wanted to applaud but couldn't find the right moment.