20 min listen
186. Hardly Impromptu
186. Hardly Impromptu
ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
Mar 15, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Work for solo piano by Schubert performed by Charlie Albright, piano.Schubert: Impromptus, D. 935, Op. 142No. 1 in F MinorNo. 2 in A-flat MajorNo. 3 in B-flat MajorNo. 4 in F MinorWith a title like “Impromptus,” one expects this set of four piano pieces by Schubert to be a bit spontaneous. But anyone expecting a Keith Jarret-like improvisation will be surprised to discover how structured and planned these “Impromptus” feel.Indeed, there was some disagreement, after the fact, about the justification for the title “Impromptus.” Robert Schumann – a friend of Schubert’s – apparently maintained that the piece was really a four-movement sonata in disguise, broken up and named by Schubert’s publisher in an effort to encourage more sales.The four Impromptus are varied in character and structure, but each does seem to create a particular mood or emotional landscape, and then explores that landscape, whether through the straightforward theme-and-variations structure of the third impromptu or the more structured, sonata-like form of the first impromptu. And in this way, at least, it’s perhaps not so far off from the idea of improvisation.We’ll hear these works performed by Charlie Albright, a talented young pianist who recently graduated from New England Conservatory and Harvard’s joint degree program and is now earning his Artist Diploma at Juilliard.
Released:
Mar 15, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
1. Beethoven: Before and After by The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum