A showy, elaborate solo passage in a piece of music, typically inserted near the end of a movement to display a performer's technical skill.
From Italian 'cadenza,' derived from Latin 'cadentia' (falling). In opera and instrumental music, cadenzas were ornamental passages inserted at natural pausing points.
The cadenza is basically the musical equivalent of 'look what I can do'—composers wrote them to let soloists show off their virtuosity, and audiences would literally applaud before the orchestra resumed.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.