User:DanCherek/La ronde des lutins

La ronde des lutins (The Dance of the Goblins), Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25

Background
Antonio Bazzini (1818–1897) was an Italian violinist and composer from Brescia. He began performing at a young age, and in the 1840s he embarked on several concert tours, living in Germany, Denmark, and Spain. In 1852, he moved to Paris and lived there for the next 12 years. La ronde des lutins, a scherzo for violin with piano accompaniment, was published by S. Richault in 1852, shortly after Bazzini's move to Paris. A virtuosic character piece, it is typical of Bazzini's compositional style during the first half of his life; after returning to Brescia in 1864, he focused primarily on composing chamber and orchestral works.

La ronde des lutins is one of several compositions around that time that were labeled scherzo fantastique. Stephen Heller and Joachim Raff published similarly-titled works for solo piano in 1845 and 1847, respectively. Perhaps influenced by La reine Mab (Queen Mab), a scherzo from Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette, these pieces were written for salons or concert settings and are evocative of supernatural beings such as elves, fairies, or gnomes. Francesca Brittan, a musicologist, described La ronde des lutins as "by far the best known of these early examples" of the new style of fantastique scherzi.

Bazzini dedicated the composition to his peer, the Moravian violinist and composer Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst; the two of them, along with Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand David, had previously performed Maurer's concerto for four violins together in 1844.

Music
The composition is in the form of a rondo with an "ABACA" pattern. According to Brittan, the rondo form contributes to the supernatural imagery by creating "a familiar sense of stasis" and causing the listener to "literally go around in circles, mesmerized by the whirling fairy ring".