Pablo de Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Spain, on March 10, 1844. As a
child prodigy violinist he made his debut in Spain when he was six, and
soon thereafter toured the country. In 1859 he completed with honors a
three-year period of violin study at the Paris Conservatory. He was only
fifteen when he initiated a worldwide career as virtuoso which continued
until the end of his life and placed him with the foremost violinists of
his generation. In his concerts he featured prominently his own
arrangements and fantasias of opera arias as well as his original
compositions in all of which he could exhibit his phenomenal technique.
Some of his compositions are now staples in the violin repertory. They
include the _Gypsy Airs_ (_Zigeuenerweisen_), _Caprice Basque_, _Jota
aragonesa_, _Zapatadeo_, and the _Spanish Dances_.
The _Gypsy Airs_ is a fantasia made up of haunting gypsy tunes and dance
rhythms. The heart of the composition comes midway with a sad gypsy song
which finds contrast in the electrifying dance melodies and rhythms that
follow immediately.
Sarasate produced four sets of _Spanish Dances_, opp. 21, 22, 23, and
26, all for violin and piano. The identifiable Spanish melodies and
rhythms of folk dances are here exploited most effectively. The most
famous of these is the _Malagueña_, a broad and sensual gypsy melody
followed by a rhythmic section in which the clicking of castanets is
simulated.