Little improvisation

When I was a teenager I quite often sat down at the piano just playing, what came into my mind. And I composed, being student of Jürg Baur and Krysztof Meyer. Later I didn´t do it so often and during the last years nearly not at all.
When I commented on the jazz-improvisation by Francois, he encouraged me to do also one. Here is a first result. Please, notice, that it is just meant as a little experiment, just sitting at the piano and let the ideas come into mind and fingers.
It´s not meant to be put up to the main-site. Just feel free to listen, if you think, that could be something interesting for you, and if not, feel free not to listen.
This improvisation is about a theme of a quite classical character, I feel it to be quite periodical, probably it would be four or eight messures, if one would write it into notes, though I haven´t planed it in any way, just sitting at the piano and listening to what the angel of music sung silently into my ears. :wink: But the whole manner of my improvisation I would more describe as a romantic than a classical one. And it´s not as far virtuoso as the jazz-improvisation by Francois!
I´m curious, what´s your opinion. Comments are appreciated.

Here is the link to the mp3-file. I have not made a video of this and it´s recorded with my Zoom H4, not with my usual equipment.

 

It's very presentable. Slightly "controlled" for my taste, but nicely done within those confines. It's curious that you find it romantic, whereas I think it's basically a chorale re-expressed through a number of different methods and I find it primarily classical. Not that classification is especially important, the main thing is that it works.

 

Thank you for your comment and praise, Andrew! I have to admit, it´s not a wild and virtuoso improvisation, but I´m also able to do such, I promise! For my feeling it´s a quite classical periodical theme, which is done in several methods, as you say, too, but only a few of them are in the manner of a chorale. Most of them have a romantic expression, also the manner of my playing, with quite a lot of rubato and dynamic differences, is more romantic than classical from my view. But as you say, classification is not so important, but more, that it works from the musical feeling. May be we can make terms to say it´s a bit in the style of Schubert :?: :!: (Who has also quite a lot of classical and periodical structure and who can be considered more as an "early romantic" composer. But I don´t want to acclaim with this, that I´m as ingenious as him, of course!)
I´m glad, that actually someone is here, who has interest in commenting, though it already has been downloaded seventimes until now. So thank you very much again!

 

Andreas,
I am so happy to hear another improviser on this site ! Many thanks for this submission. Listening it just after your Winterreise makes me think we are in the same world. Definitely, Franz inspired you during your improvisation, and I won't complain about that, since he is one of my very favourite composers. Although I don't remember to have read anything about his talents as an improviser, he couldn't be other than a great one, given his incredible melodic invention together with his mastery of harmony and rythm. To come back to your improvisation (that I have listened twice):
- you have a very good control of what you play. I think it's a strength: for me a good improvisation is a kind of instantaneous composition, which deserves to be well executed;
- you try to organise your music story which is another good point;
- and your music sounds like a voice (sometimes a choir): great again !
So I am really encouraging you to practice improvisation and to submit other pieces. This one can be uploaded in my opinion. Enjoy improvisation !

 

That makes three of us.. maybe there are more!

(I actually have a few improvisations lurking in the composing forum.)

 

Thank you very much, Francois. That's really a big praise and coming from an excellent pianist like you it means a lot to me! Great to hear, that Schubert is also one of your favorite composers.

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I'm sure he was. In former times improvising was much more usual than nowadays, alas! And very often it was a part in public concerts, too, among the compositions.

I agree to that, though there ofte are not so well reflected respective elaborated parts in it, but that's making the special trigger from my view.

Many thanks for your encouraging words. I will do that and post another one as soon as I will have one, which is worthy to be posted here. If you think, it's worthy to be uploaded, I will do that.

 

Andrew wrote:

That really would be great!

I will switch over and listen to them as soon as possible.

 

Sorry, I am not frequently looking to this forum, so until now I missed your proposals of that kind. I've just listened your Carmen transcription on YouTube. Well done, even if I am not very fond of this type of paraphrases. But I'm sure many people will like it. A good Encore for your concerts ?

 

I have uploaded my improvisation to the main-page.
I also have created a table, because I plan to do more improvisations in the future.

 

Thank you very much, Kaila, for your detailed and positive feedback! I haven't tried consciously to imitate other composers, but I feel honoured to read your comparation here with so many great names, though it's too much honour for a simple pianist like me, of course. ;D
I justed have tried to play from heart and that's the result.