Saint-Saëns Havanaise for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

Saint-Saëns: Havanaise Op. 83 (Arr. Solo Violin and String Orchestra)

The Havanaise takes its name and its pulse from the habanera, the slow Cuban dance that Saint-Saëns brought back from Havana and set down on paper in 1887. He wrote it for Pablo de Sarasate, and it has stayed in the concert repertoire ever since: a piece that manages to sound both effortless and demanding, its long violin melody floating over a bass line that never quite lets you stop swaying.

Most performances use the original full orchestra, which works beautifully but rules the piece out for most occasions. This arrangement gives it a string orchestra accompaniment. The habanera bass sits naturally in cellos and basses, and the upper strings supply the harmonic filling Saint-Saëns wrote; the result is close enough to the original that nothing feels thin or compromised.

The solo part is unchanged. The Havanaise is genuinely difficult: long cantabile phrases at a slow pulse, left-hand stretches, passage work that has to feel easy and spontaneous, and the stamina to sustain a singing tone across eight minutes. It sits at Diploma or Professional standard, and it asks for a player who has both the technique and the musical maturity to make it look untroubled.

At around eight minutes, it's a proper showpiece with a clear arc: a languid opening, an animated central section, and a return that lands with a sense of inevitability. It holds an audience the way a concerto movement does.

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

Key features

• Instrumentation: Solo Violin + String Orchestra (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass)
• Difficulty: Diploma / Professional
• Duration: approximately 8 minutes
• Format: PDF download, full score and all parts
• Orchestration: string orchestra throughout; no winds or brass required

Who it's for

This suits professional and conservatoire recitals where a recognisable, large-scale showpiece is needed, and it works well for amateur and community orchestras with a strong guest soloist. The string-only accompaniment makes it a practical option for concerts where a full symphony orchestra isn't available — the character of the piece is preserved without the logistical overhead.