Havanaise (Saint-Saëns)
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The Havanaise in E major (French: Havanaise en mi majeur), Op. 83, is a composition for violin and orchestra based on the habanera rhythm, written in 1887 by French composer, Camille Saint-Saëns for Cuban violinist Rafael Díaz Albertini.[1][2][3] At the January 7, 1894 orchestral premiere in Paris, the violin was played instead by Martin Pierre Marsick.[4] It is one of the standards of the classical concertante repertoire.
Structure
The composition consists of a single multi-tempo movement marked Allegretto lusinghiero – Allegro – Tempo primo – Allegretto – Allegro non troppo – Più Allegro – Allegretto – Lento and lasts around ten minutes in performance.
In popular culture
A minor variation on "Havanaise", as well as the original piece, make up the main theme of the film The Ninth Gate.[5] A brief segment is played many times on the soundtrack of Rainer Fassbinder's film Effi Briest.[citation needed] The initial phrase also supplies the melody to the popular song Sugartime by Charles Phillips and Odis Echols.[citation needed]
