Caprice Bohémien
Encyclopedia
Caprice Bohémien, Op
. 12 is a symphonic poem
for full orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
in 1892-1894. An earlier example of Rachmaninoff's compositions, the piece consists of many immense moments played in full a tutti, which was the same bombastic nature that critics would lambast with his next composition, Symphony No. 1 in D Minor
. Caprice Bohémian was better received than his first symphony, which gained respect only after the composer's death.
, which is around a total of 20 minutes, the orchestra rebuilds to several loud and powerful themes. The idea of a gypsy's pleasures in life is shown with the wondrous and lively ending sequence. After a short and powerful respite in B minor, the composition ends in a blaring E Major chord.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
. 12 is a symphonic poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
for full orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
in 1892-1894. An earlier example of Rachmaninoff's compositions, the piece consists of many immense moments played in full a tutti, which was the same bombastic nature that critics would lambast with his next composition, Symphony No. 1 in D Minor
Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13, is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, written at Ivanovka, an estate near Tambov, Russia, between January and October 1895...
. Caprice Bohémian was better received than his first symphony, which gained respect only after the composer's death.
Overview
The work is a "fantasy on Gypsy themes". After a short percussion entrance, the piece progresses with slow and dramatic chords voiced by the low woodwinds and mirrored by the low brass. A short interlude by high winds brings the piece to an outburst from the strings—a theme echoed various times throughout the piece. The middle of the piece is drawn-out, being orchestrated as "lugubrious". In the last several minutes of the capriccioA capriccio
A capriccio is a tempo marking indicating a free and capricious approach to the tempo of the piece. This marking will usually modify another, such as lento a capriccio, often used in the Hungarian rhapsodies of Franz Liszt...
, which is around a total of 20 minutes, the orchestra rebuilds to several loud and powerful themes. The idea of a gypsy's pleasures in life is shown with the wondrous and lively ending sequence. After a short and powerful respite in B minor, the composition ends in a blaring E Major chord.