Caprice in B-flat major, Op. 1, No. 13, Devil's Laughter
(for solo violin)
Allegro
Duration: 3 minutes (approximately)
Composed:
c. 1805 (age 22-23)
Published:
1820 (age 37-38)
2 recordings,
2 videos
2:50
Michael Rabin
2:22
Nikolai Madoyev
glossary
allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
capriccio, caprice, capriccioso, capricieux, capricieuse—a short character piece, typically in a humorous, fanciful, or playful manner. The concept juxtaposes the improvisatory free-form fantasy against the more formal, "serious" and logically "worked-out" sonata forms.Within a caprice, the range of expression may well include the serious and dark as well as demanding extraordinary technical skills such as a prelude or etude.
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
opus [L], opera[pl], Op., Opp, WoO, Op. posth—work, as in a work of art. For unique identification, publishers/composers often assign an "opus number", abbreviated as "Op." (e.g. Op. 1). A range of works by opus number, uses the plural "opp." (e.g. "Opp. 1-3"). A single opus number may refer to a collection of works (e.g. a set of quartets) giving rise to designations like "Op. 1, No. 4". For misc. works without opus numbers, "WoO" is often used (e.g."Without Opus"). Posthumously assigned numbers may use "Op. posth". Opus numbers may not precisely reflect chronology (publication vs. composition), can be erroneous, sparse or duplicative. Thus, the works of some historically important composers may use separate catalog numbers (e.g. Bach, Haydn, Schubert). See wiki
solo—a piece or section of a piece featuring a single instrumental part. Often, this implies one instrument alone but may indicate a soloist with accompaniment (e.g. continuo) especially in a section within a larger work for ensemble