<P> In music, a cadenza (from Italian: cadenza (kaˈdɛntsa), meaning cadence; plural, cadenze (kaˈdɛntse)) is, generically, an improvised or written - out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display . During this time the accompaniment will rest, or sustain a note or chord . Thus an improvised cadenza is indicated in written notation by a fermata in all parts . A cadenza usually will occur over the final or penultimate note in a piece, or over the final or penultimate note in an important subsection of a piece . It can also be found before a final coda or ritornello . </P> <P> The term cadenza often refers to a portion of a concerto in which the orchestra stops playing, leaving the soloist to play alone in free time (without a strict, regular pulse) and can be written or improvised, depending on what the composer specifies . Sometimes, the cadenza will include small parts for other instruments besides the soloist; an example is in Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, where a solo flute, clarinet and horn are used over rippling arpeggios in the piano . The cadenza normally occurs near the end of the first movement, though it can be at any point in a concerto . An example is Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, where in the first five minutes a cadenza is used . The cadenza is usually the most elaborate and virtuosic part that the solo instrument plays during the whole piece . At the end of the cadenza, the orchestra re-enters, and generally finishes off the movement on their own, or, less often, with the solo instrument . </P> <P> The cadenza was originally, and remains, a vocal flourish improvised by a performer to elaborate a cadence in an aria . It was later used in instrumental music, and soon became a standard part of the concerto . Originally, it was improvised in this context as well, but during the 19th century, composers began to write cadenzas out in full . Third parties also wrote cadenzas for works in which it was intended by the composer to be improvised, so the soloist could have a well formed solo that they could practice in advance . Some of these have become so widely played and sung that they are effectively part of the standard repertoire, as is the case with Joseph Joachim's cadenza for Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto, Beethoven's set of cadenzas for Mozart's Piano Concerto no . 20, and Estelle Liebling's edition of cadenzas for operas such as Donizetti's 's La fille du Régiment and Lucia di Lammermoor . </P>

When do cadenzas usually occur in solo concertos