Havanaise in E Major

A stand-alone piece for violin and orchestra or piano, around 10 minutes long, Saint-Saëns’ Havanaise is a lovable example of the way this polymath composer enjoyed collecting influences from elsewhere. He was on tour, as pianist, with the Cuban violinist Rafael Díaz Albertini in 1887 at the time he wrote it; Albertini was its dedicatee and duly gave the world premiere. All of this signals that the habanera rhythm that pulses through the piece like a heartbeat is not so much a nod to Bizet’s Carmen as a musical tribute to Cuba. Its predominantly relaxed, swaying pace and the almost bluesy melodic inflections of its songlike theme help to convey its gently exotic flavor. Nevertheless, it’s also a virtuoso showpiece, delivering contrasting episodes with bristling passagework alongside the returning habanera refrain. The piece culminates in a coda that allows the soloist to let rip before sinking to blissful rest in a Cuban sunset.