intermezzo

An intermezzo originally served as a short musical entertainment performed between the acts of an opera or play. Over time, the term expanded to include standalone instrumental pieces — typically lyrical, intimate character pieces for solo piano. Brahms wrote some of the finest intermezzi in the piano literature, particularly in his late collections (Op. 116–119), where they became vehicles for profound emotional expression despite their modest scale. In opera, the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana is one of the most frequently performed orchestral excerpts, a moment of calm beauty between scenes of passion.