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Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) · sheet music

  • Key A minor
  • Time 6/8
  • Levels 8
  • Passages 1

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Camille Saint-Saëns, French romantic (1835–1921). The reading release has 1 passage from this piece at level 8; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 101–104 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 101–104 at level 8.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28.

  1. Hands together · bars 101–104 level 8

How to play Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

  1. Tempo:The introduction is slow and expressive, and the rondo is fast but not rushed. Learn the rondo at a speed you can control, and think in two big beats per bar.
  2. Right hand:The right hand plays quick figures that were written for a violin. Practice them slowly, in short groups, and let the first note of each group lead.
  3. Left hand:The left hand supplies chords and bass in a six-eight swing. Keep it light and rhythmic so the right hand stays free.
  4. Hands together:In the busiest passages, practice hands separately first, then together at half speed. The leaps need accurate hand positioning.
  5. Rhythm:Feel two beats per bar, with three eighth notes in each. Counting one-and-a, two-and-a helps you stay with the lilt.
  6. Dynamics:Use contrast between the whispered introduction, the bouncy main tune, and the loud flourish at the end.
  7. Practice:Mark each return of the rondo theme in your score. Knowing when the theme comes back makes the long piece easier to map.

Common mistakes

  • Starting the rondo too fast and tripping on the leaps. Fix: Slow down until the leaps feel secure, and raise the metronome gradually.
  • Counting six quick beats and sounding choppy. Fix: Count two beats per bar and let each group of three eighth notes feel like one swing.
  • Treating the introduction as a rhythmic exercise. Fix: Sing the melody aloud, then shape it on the piano with gentle rubato.
  • Letting the left hand pound. Fix: Practice the left hand alone with a soft, short touch, then add the right hand.

Structure: slow introduction and rondo

The piece opens with a slow, brooding introduction in A minor that gradually grows more animated and then turns to a quick rondo in a lilting compound meter. In a rondo, a main theme keeps coming back between contrasting episodes; here one of them is a tender, lyrical theme in the relative major, and a brilliant coda in A major closes the piece.

Intro · Andante malinconico (A minor)
A slow, melancholy melody that sets up the mood. At the piano, the challenge is the expressive line and the first signs of faster running notes.
A · Rondo theme (A minor)
The lively main tune in six-eight, playful and a little mischievous, that returns again and again.
B · Lyrical second theme (C major)
A tender contrasting theme marked con morbidezza in the relative major, where the soloist plays in two against the orchestra's six-eight. Reading it means holding two rhythmic feels at once.
Coda · Brilliant ending (A major)
An energetic coda that quickens to Più Allegro, built from fast arpeggios and scales.

About Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

Camille Saint-Saëns wrote the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in 1863 for violin and orchestra and dedicated it to the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate. It was first intended as the exciting finale of his Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 20, but its success as an independent piece led him to publish it separately.

Sarasate played the solo part at the premiere on 4 April 1867, with Saint-Saëns conducting. The piece begins with a slow, melancholy introduction marked Andante malinconico, and it then moves into a faster rondo with quick, flashy violin writing.

Because the piece was so popular, others arranged it for different instruments. Georges Bizet made a version for violin and piano, Jacques Durand arranged it for piano duet, and Claude Debussy arranged it for two pianos. Those arrangements brought the music to players who had no orchestra.

  • The piece was first meant as the finale of Saint-Saëns's Violin Concerto No. 1.
  • It is dedicated to Pablo de Sarasate, who played the first performance in 1867.
  • Georges Bizet arranged it for violin and piano, and Claude Debussy arranged it for two pianos.
  • The violinist Jascha Heifetz played it in the 1939 film They Shall Have Music, and it appears in the anime Your Lie in April.

Why the first passage is level 8

That passage is level 8 rather than 7 because a hand plays several notes at once, a hand plays full chords, it leaps a minor third plus an octave, its chords go beyond simple triads.

This is a piano reading of a violin showpiece, so expect fast figures, leaps, and chromatic notes in six-eight. Practice by looking for the repeating shapes inside each bar.

Questions about Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

How hard is Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 to play?
Its passages grade from level 8 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 101–104 at level 8.
Is there an easy part of Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 8, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 101–104 for both hands together, the level-8 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 8 because a hand plays several notes at once and a hand plays full chords.
What key and time signature is Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 in?
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 is in A minor, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.
Who composed Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28?
Camille Saint-Saëns, French romantic (1835–1921). Camille Saint-Saëns wrote the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in 1863 for violin and orchestra and dedicated it to the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate.
Can I practice Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Who was the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso written for?
It was written for the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate, who played the premiere in 1867.
Was the Rondo Capriccioso originally for piano?
No. It was written for violin and orchestra in 1863. Piano versions are arrangements, including Bizet's for violin and piano and Debussy's for two pianos.
How long does it take to learn this piano arrangement?
It depends on the arrangement, but the quick figures and leaps make it a project of weeks to months for most students.
Is Saint-Saëns's Rondo Capriccioso in the public domain?
Saint-Saëns died in 1921, so his music is in the public domain in many countries. Arrangements and editions may be protected separately.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades one passage of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 8
bars 101–104 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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