Like many other French Romantic composers, including Édouard Lalo and Georges Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns had a great interest in Spanish music. This interest is reflected in his work for violin, Havanaise, op. 83, but also in the Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in A Minor. This composition responded to a request from child prodigy Pablo de Sarasate, only 15 years old at the time, to write and dedicate a piece to him: thus the Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Major and, four years later, the Introduction and Rondo capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra were born. Since its premiere on the 4th April 1867, the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso has become one of the most appreciated and well-known works of Camille de Saint-Saëns.
