Capriccio
An instrumental piece written on a whim, its sections abrupt and its technique on show
Related
A capriccio means "a whim", and so it refuses a fixed form: sections may turn abruptly and materials may be freely juxtaposed. Baroque keyboard capriccios often include fugal imitation; Frescobaldi and Bach both wrote them.
In the nineteenth century the genre leaned toward virtuosity: Paganini's twenty-four Caprices set technical trials for solo violin, while Brahms's piano capriccios place impulse and lyricism side by side in a small space.
Listen for how it jumps between characters rather than for sonata-style thematic development. A whim is not carelessness: every turn has a clear landing, and the technique serves that improvisatory tone.
Sources
- 随想曲从巴洛克键盘曲到帕格尼尼、勃拉姆斯的演变，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Capriccio"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.