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Lauren Beikirch performing on violin, Dr. Kevin Nitsch on piano
Nazareth College, Spring 2012 Senior Honors Recital (4 of 5)

An extremely popular and difficult showpiece, virtuoso Spanish violinist Pablo Sarasate premiered "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" on April 4, 1867 in Paris, France. Though Saint Saens' primary instrument was organ, he had a great knowledge of the violin and at the age of only 19, wrote this piece to showcase the skills of both the instrument and performer. Featuring physically and technically demanding passages, acrobatic arpeggios and firework leaps around the violin, Saint Saens coupled beautiful long melodies with percussive, syncopated passages, adding drama and excitement to his work. Saint-Saens was considered a modern and progressive composer in his youth, though as he aged he became a harsh critic of composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Claude Debussy. "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" maintained its popularity and despite compositional disagreements, Debussy arranged the piece for two pianos in the earlier years of his career.