Zapateado, Op.23/2 (from Spanish Dances) for violin and piano by Pablo de Sarasate
Edited by Zino Francescatti. Published by International.
Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) was a legendary Spanish virtuoso violinist. A child prodigy, he studied with Jean-Jacques Alard at the Paris Conservatory. His peerless technical prowess and purity of tone gained him widespread acclaim in Europe and the Americas, and several leading composers of the day wrote substantial pieces for him, including Wieniawski, Lalo, Saint-Saens, and Bruch. He himself wrote many virtuosic show pieces for himself to perform, many of which have become repertory standards.
Sarasate wrote his “Spanish Dances” on a commission by publisher Fritz Simrock. He wrote eight virtuosic pieces in all, published between 1878 and 1882 in four books, each pairing two contrasting dances. The dances proved immensely popular with the music going public and they soon became standard encore recital pieces in the violin repertory. Zapateado, Op.23/2 comes from the third book of dances and is written in the style of the lively, Andalusian dance of the same name. Advanced level, Grade 5.
