Pablo de Sarasate was a Spanish violin virtuoso and composer whose dazzling technique and elegant musical style made him one of the most celebrated performers of the 19th century. Born in Pamplona on March 10, 1844, he was a child prodigy who gave his first public concert at eight and later trained at the Paris Conservatoire, launching an international career that took him across Europe and the Americas. As a composer, he contributed a series of brilliant showpieces—most famously Zigeunerweisen, the Spanish Dances, and the Carmen Fantasy—that remain staples of the violin repertoire. Sarasate died in Biarritz on September 20, 1908, leaving a legacy that continues to shape violin performance today.
Good day to you all,
My name is Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués, though the world usually remembers only “Sarasate.” I was born in Pamplona in 1844, and from the moment a violin was placed in my hands as a child, the instrument became my constant companion, my passport, and my voice.
My early studies took me to the Paris Conservatoire, where I had the good fortune to work under masters who recognized a fire in me that I wasn’t yet old enough to understand. Very soon, that fire led me onto the great stages of Europe—London, Vienna, Saint Petersburg, Berlin—where audiences welcomed a young Spaniard determined to make the violin sing with elegance, clarity, and a certain Iberian light.
Throughout my travels, I encountered composers whose gifts far exceeded any one nation’s borders. Camille Saint-Saëns, dear friend that he was, wrote both his Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and his First Violin Concerto for me, capturing something of my style in every phrase. Édouard Lalo, too, seized the colors and rhythms of my heritage when he created his Symphonie Espagnole—a work that still delights violinists today. And Max Bruch, with whom I shared many musical conversations, crafted his Scottish Fantasy with my playing very much in mind.
These collaborations were not mere commissions; they were dialogues between equals—between bow and pen, between the composer’s imagination and the violinist’s breath. Together, we helped expand the repertoire of the instrument I adored, shaping new possibilities for virtuosity and character.
Of course, I was also drawn to my own pen. My Zigeunerweisen, Carmen Fantasy, and the sets of Spanish Dances were born of the music I carried from home—songs, rhythms, and the spirit of Navarra itself. I sought to give the violin a new accent, a new cadence, a new sparkle, rooted in the traditions I grew up with yet transformed for the concert hall. If those pieces continue to whirl through modern halls, then the echo of my homeland endures there as well.
By the end of my life, after decades of touring and more than six thousand concerts, I found a quiet corner of Biarritz, where the sea met the sky in gentle conversation. It was there, in 1908, that my earthly journey came to its close.
But while every performer must one day lay down his bow, the music continues on its own terms—traveling farther than any one man could walk, finding new voices to convey its warmth and fire.
Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my story.
A Selection of Works by Pablo de Sarasate Available for Listening on Classical Archives
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Works for Violin and Orchestra
- Concert Fantasy on themes from Bizet’s Carmen, Op.25
- Concert Fantasy on themes from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Op.54
- El Canto del ruiseñor, for violin and orchestra, Op.29
- Introduction and Tarantella, Op.43
- Navarra (‘Spanish Dance’), for 2 violins and orchestra, Op.33
- Nocturne-sérénade for Violin and Orchestra, Op.45
- Nouvelle fantaisie sur Faust de Gounod, Op.13
- Zigeunerweisen (‘Gypsy Air’), Op.20
Chamber Works for Violin and Piano
- Caprice basque, Op.24
- 8 Danzas españolas, Opp.21, 22, 23, and 26
- Introduction and Tarantella, Op.43
- Malagueña y Habanera, for violin and piano, Op.21
- Playera y zapateado, Op.23
- Romanza andaluza y jota navarra, for violin and piano, Op.22
- Sérénade Andalouse, Op.28
- Vito y habanera, for violin and piano, Op.26
- Zigeunerweisen (‘Gypsy Airs’), Op.20
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