Letās talk about the similarities between Irene Adlerās theme (violin solo) and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.
If you havenāt heard Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, I reckon you do now. The patterns in both compositions are very similar, and it costs nothing more than a mindful pair of ears and some knowledge in classical music to see it.
Okay, I know that this isnāt a very important detail, and surely it could all just be a coincidence, but what do we say about coincidences again? āThe universe is rarely so lazyā, isnāt it? So, as you can see, Iām here. Have in mind that I donāt really know what Iām doing here, Iām not a classical musician, I have never written anything similar to this, or have ever even analyzed any medias from their music, and I donāt even have English as my mother tongue. However, it is quite an intriguing idea, so this is just me having a go at it.
Rolling back a few pages in history, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso was written in 1863 by Camille Saint-SaĆ«ns for the violinist and composer, Pablo de Sarasate, who was then only 15 years old and was recognized as a violin prodigy. The piece was originally intended to be the rousing finale to Saint-SaĆ«nsā first violin concerto, but succeeded as a solo composition, resulting in him publishing the piece individually.
There wasnāt much going on with these two musicians, as far as I can tell. Sarasate admired Saint-SaĆ«nsā skills and talents, asked him to write a piece that the young Sarasate could play, and there came Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (and his first violin concerto in A major as well but we donāt talk about that). Irene Adlerās theme, on the surface, is Sherlock Holmesā composition written for the supposedly late Irene Adler. Sarasate and Irene Adler were, in fact, very alike. They both had certain charms that made others go wild for them. They both had never gotten married and were flirting with many people (and having sex, too, but then again it was Ireneās literal profession, so it doesnāt really count.) Their works were rarely sentimental and they made them look effortless, however difficult. It might not be too bold to think that the similarity was meant to tell us that Sherlock did not decide to write this piece by himself: Irene had asked him to do that. Perhaps not exactly the piece itself, but the feeling it was supposed to carry: grief. She asks him to grieve for her. Why? Because she needs to play dead. She needs to disappear. And she knows that if Sherlock Holmes himself says that sheās dead, no one would doubt that. In context, this actually makes quite a lot of sense (seeing that there is no way Sherlock could be so certain that sheās dead if she was, in fact, not dead). It could also be a way to remind us that they are nothing more than acquaintances, that their feeling towards the other (at least, until the moment Sherlock composes the piece) is one of admiration and respect for the otherās intellect - similar to the ACD canon.
TL;DR: On the surface, the similarity between these two compositions is a foreshadow for us, telling us that Irene Adler has never been dead, and Sherlock knows that.
But letās dig a little bit deeper in Saint-SaĆ«ns and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, especially on Saint-SaĆ«ns, because he was an interesting bloke.
Camille Saint-SaĆ«ns was known to had been performing in drag and engaged in homosexual activities, yet kept on denying his homosexuality - āIām not a homosexual, Iām a pederast!ā (Hold on where did I hear this oh-)
Better yet - he had shown signs of liking both men and women. (Although I must admit, he had a very terrible love life. Bit like John in ASiB, actually, considering he had a string of girlfriends but they were never together for too long. He got dumped on Christmas, for Godās sake!) And he fell in love with one Augusta Holmes, an exotic and bizarre woman, a lady so brilliant and excellent that her wits and talents made many fall for her. āWe were all in love with her,ā remarked Saint-SaĆ«ns once. (Itās quite interesting because, well, this. No one will convince me that Irene didnāt mean they were both in love with Sherlock Holmes.)
Another comment he made about her was, āLike children, women know no obstacle. She is a woman, an extremist.ā And the comparison between Augusta and a child sort of parallels Johnās (and Lestradeās, and Sherlockās himself) comparison between Sherlock and a child in TSoT and HLV. Anyway, Saint-SaĆ«ns proposed to her and got rejected (āJohn, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while Iām flattered by your interest, Iām really not looking for any...ā - it was a downright rejection and I donāt think itās just coincidental), but she remained a big part of how he perceived life and love and, well, women. In all of his later works, women were mostly depicted as smart and dominant, using their wits and sexuality to ruin the main character/hero. A misogynistic mindset, honestly, but who am I to say? Worth to mention that he was also abused by his mother, who was at least partially responsible for Saint-SaĆ«nsā misogynistic mindset. (And didnāt we all agree that John and his dad had a difficult - abusive - relationship? If we didnāt, we did now.)
Overall, Saint-SaĆ«ns and John were quite similar. So if we put John in as Camille and Sherlock as Augusta, maybe his rejection from ASiP has affected Johnās perception of his attraction to men, more specifically his attraction to Sherlock. Which means, while he indulged in his sexual desires for men, John also sees it as dangerous and that it could ruin him, even if he doesnāt acknowledge that. Hence his āIām not gayā, āWeāre not a coupleā to Irene - who is a Sherlock mirror. His attraction towards Sherlock literally scares him.
TL; DR: Saint-SaĆ«ns could be seen as Johnās mirror, Augusta Holmes a mirror of Sherlock, and their relationship could reflect Johnās point of view (on his bisexuality).
So. A composition written by Sherlock for his mirror, taking inspiration from Camille Saint-SaĆ«ns - Johnās mirror. What could we deduce from that? John is what and who inspired Sherlock to do something for himself. John inspired Sherlock to acknowledge himself. John has taught Sherlock how to find out more about himself. And since the episode is literally about sex and love, Irene herself is also about sex and love, then that, that is what John has taught him.
Funnily enough, in the first premiere of Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Saint-Saƫns was the conductor, while Sarasate was the solo violinist. Pretty telling, I suppose. (Conductor of light - also a reason I believe Saint-Saƫns was John's mirror.)
TMI: ACD canon Holmes and Watson went to some of Sarasateās concerts in between cases, so this could also be an attribution to the original version.