''Romanza'' is an instrumental composition for guitar recorded by Andres Segovia in 1944, and again in 1967. The piece was credited to

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

, but based on themes from Paganini's Grand Sonata in A Major Op.39:II, arranged by

Manuel Ponce Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten traditi ...

.''The Segovia-Ponce Letters'' ed. Alcazar 1989 p.105 "since you are going to occupy yourself with Paganini, wouldn't you like to do me the favor of writing a cadenza for the Romanza?" The piece was also recorded by

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

. The piece is distinct from Segovia's own arrangement of two

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

songs also titled "Romanza", recorded 1952 for Decca on DL 9647.

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

recorded a piece called "Romanza" in 1982 credited as "traditional".

References

Compositions for guitar {{classical-composition-stub