A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of
music or a movement from a larger piece such as a
symphony. The word means "
joke" in
Italian. Sometimes the word scherzando is used in
musical notation to indicate that a passage should be played in a playful manner.The scherzo developed from the
minuet, and gradually came to replace it as the third (or sometimes second) movement in
symphonies,
string quartets,
sonatas and similar works. It traditionally retains the 3/4
time signature and
ternary form of the minuet, but is considerably quicker. It is often, but not always, of a light-hearted nature. A few examples of scherzi exist which are not in the normal 3/4 time, such as in
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18. The scherzo itself is a rounded binary form (a first theme is established, sometimes modulates to a related key such as the dominant or the relative major/minor, a second theme follows in the new key, and the piece is closed by a thematic return to the first theme); but, like the minuet, is usually played with the accompanying Trio followed by a repeat of the Scherzo, creating the ABA or
ternary form. This is sometimes done twice or more (ABABA). The "B" theme is a
trio, a lighter passage for fewer instruments. It is not necessarily for only three instruments, as the name implies, except in early
Baroque music.
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