Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21

Composer: LALO, Édouard
  • Lalo wrote Symphonie espagnole for violin and orchestra in 1874. The composer dedicated the piece to Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate, who also premiered it in 1875.
  • Symphonie espagnole consists of five movements:
    1. Allegro non troppo
    2. Scherzando. Allegro molto
    3. Intermezzo. Allegro non troppo
    4. Andante
    5. Rondo1
  • Despite being called a “symphonie,” the work is much more akin to a concerto and features a virtuosic violin soloist throughout (though no cadenzas).
  • Symphonie espagnole contains Spanish musical idioms throughout, unsurprisingly given the work’s title — Lalo was of Spanish descent, and the work’s dedicatee (Sarasate) was Spanish as well.
  • Fun fact: Symphonie espagnole premiered the same year as Bizet’s Carmen.2

Sources

  1. “Symphonie espagnole, Op.21 (Lalo, Édouard),” IMSLP, accessed April 15, 2026, https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphonie_espagnole,_Op.21_(Lalo,_%C3%89douard).
  2. Steve Lacoste, “Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21,” LA Phil, accessed April 15, 2026, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/706/symphonie-espagnole-op-21.

Cut IDs

40433 19468 19469 49577