Impromptus (Schubert)
Encyclopedia
Franz Schubert
's Impromptu
s are a series of eight pieces for solo piano composed in 1827. They were published in two sets of four impromptus each: the first set was published in the composer's lifetime as Op. 90, and the second set was published posthumously as Op. posth. 142. They are now catalogued as D. 899 and D. 935 respectively.
Three other unnamed piano compositions (D. 946), written in May 1828, a few months before the composer's death, are alternatively indicated as Impromptus or Klavierstücke ("piano pieces").
The Impromptus are often considered companion pieces to the Six moments musicaux
, and they are often recorded and published together.
It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7 (1822) of Jan Václav Voříšek
and by the music of Voříšek's teacher Václav Tomášek
.
, is a set of variations on two themes. It commences with two widely spaced G octaves, leaving the key of the piece ambiguous. The piece continues into a march-like melody played first without accompaniment. The melody is repeated with a chordal accompaniment. (At the end of this statement the key is revealed: after a rising bass, the C minor chord is played in root position.) The march theme is embellished, then leads slowly into the key of A-flat major, where an apparently new melody is introduced. This melody is actually based on the opening melody: the first three notes are spread out more in their intervals but the following three repeated notes remain. Its songlike quality, accompanied by triplets in the bass, contrasts with the march quality of the opening. An extension of this melody takes the final turn and repeats it several times in different registers. When the main theme returns for the first time, it has combined with the triplet pattern of the previous section. Later a new pattern with straight (non-triplet) semiquavers
is used as accompaniment, and then an off-beat version asserts itself in quavers. This eventually leads into the extension of the second theme again, this time in G major, using the end of the theme's tonic chord as an effective dominant chord transition into the main theme. The theme gradually dies away and leads to C major, resolving the piece's tension into tranquility. This is the longest impromptu in this set.
". This section is darker than the opening though still very lyrical. The section ends with two oscillating figures which act as an important bridge both here and later. The first subsection repeats but moves quickly into a codetta which reasserts E-flat minor and the darker feeling of the middle subsection. A quick ascending scale leads to the B section in B minor (which however contrasting, is based rhythmically on the implied accents in the structure of the A section (123123123123).). This section is based on a figure alternating a widely spaced bare octave and an offbeat accented triplet. The alternation of octave and triplet becomes closer towards the end and the oscilating figures played at the end of the E-flat minor section return to lead back into the opening A section of the work. The Coda is a modified version of the B section, starting in B minor but alternating that key with E-flat minor, in which key the work ends. It is one of few pieces that begin in a major key and end in the parallel minor.
's Songs Without Words
. Without repeats, the melody develops into a shadowy and frequently modulating middle section before returning to its relaxed flow. Though written in G-flat major and 4/2 meter, the work was printed by the first publisher, almost 30 years later, in G major and 4/4 meter. The original version is now generally preferred.
, these Impromptus have been accused of being a sonata in disguise, notably by Robert Schumann
and Alfred Einstein, who claim that Schubert called them Impromptus, and allowed them to be individually published to enhance their sales potential. However, this claim has been refuted by contemporary musicologists such as Charles Fisk, who established important differences between the set of Impromptus and Schubert's acknowledged multi-movement works. It is also believed that the set was originally intended to be a continuation of the previous set, as Schubert originally numbered them as Nos. 5–8.
form, A1–B1–A2–B2–A3. The returning A section appears always in the tonic, F minor; the first B section, B1 is in A-flat major, the relative major, whereas B2 is in the tonic. This structure can also be interpreted as a sonata form
without a development section, supporting the view of the four Impromptus as movements of a single sonata. The B episodes contain a passage invoking a unique pianistic effect: the left hand presents short melodic fragments in form of antecedent
and consequent
, steadily alternating between the upper (antecedent, creating a crossing of the hands) and lower (consequent) registers of the instrument; the right hand accompanies with an even flow of semiquaver
arpeggio
s in the middle register; the sustain pedal
further enriches the sonority, and the dynamics
are mostly pianissimo, as often in Schubert's music.
form. Its main section features a melody with chordal accompaniment. The opening bars of the melody are highly reminiscent of a similar theme from the opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A-flat, Opus 26
. Alfred Einstein has mentioned another similar theme by Beethoven – in the third movement of the Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 2. The middle section of the Impromptu, marked Trio
as standard in minuets, is contrasted in character with the main section. It is written in D-flat major, and features continuous triplet motion. The second part of the Trio moves to D-flat minor (written in the same key signature but with accidentals added), then climaxes on A major (written without a key signature), fortissimo, and finally calms down and repeats the major-mode first phrase.
. The main theme resembles a theme from the incidental music
that Schubert composed for the play Rosamunde
, which also appears in the second movement of his 13th string quartet
. The variations follow the classic pattern utilized especially by Beethoven
– elements include increasing subdivision and ornamentation, and a departure from the home key in the central variations, before returning to the tonic in the final full variation and the partially complete coda – see the Arietta of Beethoven's Op. 111
.
, although his name appears nowhere in the publication. In comparison with the D. 899 and D. 935 sets, these works are largely neglected and are not often heard in the concert hall or recorded. There is space for doubts, though, as to whether these pieces actually constitute a cycle or they were arbitrarily united by Brahms (the third piece was written on different paper sheets than the first two even though there were empty sheets after the second one). For the same reasons, the dating of the third piece is rather problematic.
Some musicologists refrain from naming these pieces Impromptus though, since whereas the Impromptus D. 899 and D. 935 tend to be closer to sonata allegro form, the construction of the pieces D. 946 is different and is rather closer to the Moments musicaux, both in how Schubert treats the inner sections of the pieces and how he introduces second themes.
Pianists who have recorded the pieces include Imogen Cooper
on Ottavo and Avie, András Schiff
on Decca
, Claudio Arrau
, Alfred Brendel
and Mitsuko Uchida
on Philips
, Wilhelm Kempff
, Maria João Pires
and Maurizio Pollini
on Deutsche Grammophon
, and Eliso Virsaladze
on Live Classics; the British pianist Peter Katin
has also recorded them on a period (early-nineteenth-century) instrument.
, the first in B major, andante in alla breve time, and the second in A-flat major, andantino in 2/4. Schubert crossed out the second, but it is not infrequently played also, as heard in the recordings by Arrau, Pires and Uchida.
. The trio is in two sections with repeats written out in a varied form. It is in D-flat major and 3/2 time with no change in tempo indication. There is a substantial coda, again with syncopation.
by progressive rock
group Manfred Mann's Earth Band
is based on the main theme of Schubert's Impromptu in G flat Major.
For the film Gattaca
, Michael Nyman
arranged a version of the Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90, No. 3, for a genetically modified pianist with twelve fingers. One character says, "Twelve fingers or one, it's how you play." Another responds, "That piece can only be played with twelve."
In the 2002 French film L'homme du train, the old Monsieur Manesquier (played by Jean Rochefort
) is more than once depicted playing a part of the Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 142, No. 2, on his grand piano.
In Howard Jacobson
's 2010 Man Booker Prize
winning novel The Finkler Question
, Impromptu Opus 90 No.3 is referred to as having played by the character Libor's dead wife Malkie.
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's Impromptu
Impromptu
An impromptu is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ex tempore improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano...
s are a series of eight pieces for solo piano composed in 1827. They were published in two sets of four impromptus each: the first set was published in the composer's lifetime as Op. 90, and the second set was published posthumously as Op. posth. 142. They are now catalogued as D. 899 and D. 935 respectively.
Three other unnamed piano compositions (D. 946), written in May 1828, a few months before the composer's death, are alternatively indicated as Impromptus or Klavierstücke ("piano pieces").
The Impromptus are often considered companion pieces to the Six moments musicaux
Six Moments Musicaux (Schubert)
Six moments musicaux, D 780 is a collection of six short pieces for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert. The movements are as follows:*1. Moderato in C major*2. Andantino in A-flat major*3. Allegro moderato in F minor...
, and they are often recorded and published together.
It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7 (1822) of Jan Václav Voříšek
Jan Václav Voríšek
Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek , was a Czech composer of classical music, pianist, and organist.-Life:...
and by the music of Voříšek's teacher Václav Tomášek
Václav Tomášek
Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek, was a Czech composer and music teacher.-Life:As a pianist, he was an autodidact, becoming one of the most important piano teachers of Prague for a century. Until 1824 he worked as a piano teacher in aristocratic families...
.
Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90)
The Opus 90 impromptus consist of 4 typical Romantic-era pieces, each with distinct elements. The name Impromptus was given by the publisher.No. 1 in C minor
The first Impromptu, written in C minorC minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
, is a set of variations on two themes. It commences with two widely spaced G octaves, leaving the key of the piece ambiguous. The piece continues into a march-like melody played first without accompaniment. The melody is repeated with a chordal accompaniment. (At the end of this statement the key is revealed: after a rising bass, the C minor chord is played in root position.) The march theme is embellished, then leads slowly into the key of A-flat major, where an apparently new melody is introduced. This melody is actually based on the opening melody: the first three notes are spread out more in their intervals but the following three repeated notes remain. Its songlike quality, accompanied by triplets in the bass, contrasts with the march quality of the opening. An extension of this melody takes the final turn and repeats it several times in different registers. When the main theme returns for the first time, it has combined with the triplet pattern of the previous section. Later a new pattern with straight (non-triplet) semiquavers
Sixteenth note
thumb|right|Figure 1. A sixteenth note with stem facing up, a sixteenth note with stem facing down, and a sixteenth rest.thumb|right|Figure 2. Four sixteenth notes beamed together....
is used as accompaniment, and then an off-beat version asserts itself in quavers. This eventually leads into the extension of the second theme again, this time in G major, using the end of the theme's tonic chord as an effective dominant chord transition into the main theme. The theme gradually dies away and leads to C major, resolving the piece's tension into tranquility. This is the longest impromptu in this set.
No. 2 in E-flat major
Set in E-flat major, the piece begins with a lively scale-based and often chromatic melody in triplets; it is in compound ternary form (the A section is in ternary form itself). The middle subsection of the A section is in E-flat minor and follows a set of chord changes later borrowed for "Fly Me to the MoonFly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was originally titled "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets...
". This section is darker than the opening though still very lyrical. The section ends with two oscillating figures which act as an important bridge both here and later. The first subsection repeats but moves quickly into a codetta which reasserts E-flat minor and the darker feeling of the middle subsection. A quick ascending scale leads to the B section in B minor (which however contrasting, is based rhythmically on the implied accents in the structure of the A section (123123123123).). This section is based on a figure alternating a widely spaced bare octave and an offbeat accented triplet. The alternation of octave and triplet becomes closer towards the end and the oscilating figures played at the end of the E-flat minor section return to lead back into the opening A section of the work. The Coda is a modified version of the B section, starting in B minor but alternating that key with E-flat minor, in which key the work ends. It is one of few pieces that begin in a major key and end in the parallel minor.
No. 3 in G-flat major
This serenade is a classic example of Schubert's outstanding lyrical facility, as well as his penchant for long melodic lines. There is little interruption in the fluttering harp-like broken triad accompaniment, creating a tense contrast with the spacious and languid melody—an anticipation of Felix MendelssohnFelix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's Songs Without Words
Songs without Words
Songs Without Words is a series of short, lyrical piano pieces by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn.-Composition and reception:...
. Without repeats, the melody develops into a shadowy and frequently modulating middle section before returning to its relaxed flow. Though written in G-flat major and 4/2 meter, the work was printed by the first publisher, almost 30 years later, in G major and 4/4 meter. The original version is now generally preferred.
No. 4 in A-flat major
The fourth Impromptu, in A-flat major, actually begins in A-flat minor, though this is written as A-flat major with accidentals. The opening theme consists of cascading arpeggios followed by murmuring chordal responses. These are repeated and developed, going through C-flat major and B minor before finally reaching A-flat major. There is a subordinate theme, accompanied by the arpeggio figure, varied with triplets. In the central section, in C-sharp minor, the arpeggios are replaced by a chordal accompaniment. This section ventures into the major mode towards its conclusion, but reverts to the minor. The opening section is repeated and the work ends in A-flat major. The tempo marking is Allegretto.Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142)
As the first and last pieces in this set are in the same key (F minor), and the set bears some resemblance to a 4-movement sonataSonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
, these Impromptus have been accused of being a sonata in disguise, notably by Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
and Alfred Einstein, who claim that Schubert called them Impromptus, and allowed them to be individually published to enhance their sales potential. However, this claim has been refuted by contemporary musicologists such as Charles Fisk, who established important differences between the set of Impromptus and Schubert's acknowledged multi-movement works. It is also believed that the set was originally intended to be a continuation of the previous set, as Schubert originally numbered them as Nos. 5–8.
No. 1 in F minor
This Impromptu is written in rondoRondo
Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
form, A1–B1–A2–B2–A3. The returning A section appears always in the tonic, F minor; the first B section, B1 is in A-flat major, the relative major, whereas B2 is in the tonic. This structure can also be interpreted as a sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
without a development section, supporting the view of the four Impromptus as movements of a single sonata. The B episodes contain a passage invoking a unique pianistic effect: the left hand presents short melodic fragments in form of antecedent
Phrase (music)
In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
and consequent
Phrase (music)
In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
, steadily alternating between the upper (antecedent, creating a crossing of the hands) and lower (consequent) registers of the instrument; the right hand accompanies with an even flow of semiquaver
Sixteenth note
thumb|right|Figure 1. A sixteenth note with stem facing up, a sixteenth note with stem facing down, and a sixteenth rest.thumb|right|Figure 2. Four sixteenth notes beamed together....
arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s in the middle register; the sustain pedal
Sustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate...
further enriches the sonority, and the dynamics
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
are mostly pianissimo, as often in Schubert's music.
No. 2 in A-flat major
This Impromptu is written in the standard minuetMinuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
form. Its main section features a melody with chordal accompaniment. The opening bars of the melody are highly reminiscent of a similar theme from the opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A-flat, Opus 26
Piano Sonata No. 12 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26 in 1800–1801, around the same time as he completed his First Symphony...
. Alfred Einstein has mentioned another similar theme by Beethoven – in the third movement of the Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 2. The middle section of the Impromptu, marked Trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
as standard in minuets, is contrasted in character with the main section. It is written in D-flat major, and features continuous triplet motion. The second part of the Trio moves to D-flat minor (written in the same key signature but with accidentals added), then climaxes on A major (written without a key signature), fortissimo, and finally calms down and repeats the major-mode first phrase.
No. 3 in B-flat major
This Impromptu in B-flat major is a theme with variationsVariation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
. The main theme resembles a theme from the incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
that Schubert composed for the play Rosamunde
Rosamunde
Rosamunde can refer to:* The German name for the Beer Barrel Polka* Music by Franz Schubert:**Rosamunde incidental music**Rosamunde String Quartet **Impromptu in B flat major, Op. 142 No. 3...
, which also appears in the second movement of his 13th string quartet
String Quartet No. 13 (Schubert)
The String Quartet No. 13 in A minor , D. 804, Op. 29, was written by Franz Schubert between February and March 1824...
. The variations follow the classic pattern utilized especially by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
– elements include increasing subdivision and ornamentation, and a departure from the home key in the central variations, before returning to the tonic in the final full variation and the partially complete coda – see the Arietta of Beethoven's Op. 111
Piano Sonata No. 32 (Beethoven)
The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 and Opus 126 —this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The...
.
No. 4 in F minor
This Impromptu contains interesting hemiola effects, brilliant passagework as well as cross modulations that take this piece to keys not traditionally associated with F minor, such as A-flat minor (for instance, in bar 111), C-flat major (as in bar 142), and A major (bar 165). It is written roughly in Rondo form and contains a coda that further heightens the drama in this already intense piece. The work is the most technically demanding of the Impromptus, employing a wide variety of keyboard writing, including scale runs (at times in unison), arpeggios, broken chords, quick passages in thirds, and trills. Extreme harmonic and rhythmic effects, combined with demonically charming melodies, make this a dazzling and fascinating display of keyboard facility. The piece can be played appropriately at extreme tempos.Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946
The Drei Klavierstücke D. 946, or "Three Piano Pieces", are solo pieces composed by Schubert in May 1828, just six months before his early death. They were conceived as a third set of four Impromptus, but only three were written. They were first published in 1868, edited by Johannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, although his name appears nowhere in the publication. In comparison with the D. 899 and D. 935 sets, these works are largely neglected and are not often heard in the concert hall or recorded. There is space for doubts, though, as to whether these pieces actually constitute a cycle or they were arbitrarily united by Brahms (the third piece was written on different paper sheets than the first two even though there were empty sheets after the second one). For the same reasons, the dating of the third piece is rather problematic.
Some musicologists refrain from naming these pieces Impromptus though, since whereas the Impromptus D. 899 and D. 935 tend to be closer to sonata allegro form, the construction of the pieces D. 946 is different and is rather closer to the Moments musicaux, both in how Schubert treats the inner sections of the pieces and how he introduces second themes.
Pianists who have recorded the pieces include Imogen Cooper
Imogen Cooper
Imogen Cooper, CBE is an English pianist.Born in London, she is the daughter of the musicologist Martin Cooper. She studied piano in London with Kathleen Long, in Paris with Jacques Février and Yvonne Lefébure, and in Vienna with Alfred Brendel, Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda...
on Ottavo and Avie, András Schiff
András Schiff
András Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
on Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning from the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms and Debussy...
, Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
and Mitsuko Uchida
Mitsuko Uchida
, born 20 December 1948, is a Japanese naturalized British classical pianist.-Career:Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria, with her diplomat parents when she was twelve years old, after her father was named the Japanese ambassador to Austria...
on Philips
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
, Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also...
, Maria João Pires
Maria João Pires
-Musical studies:Her first recital was at the age of five, and at the age of seven she was already playing Mozart Piano Concertos publicly. Two years later she received Portugal's top prize for young musicians. In the following years, she studied with Professor Campos Coelho at the Lisbon...
and Maurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini is an Italian classical pianist.- Biography and career :Pollini was born in Milan to the Italian rationalist architect Gino Pollini. Maurizio studied piano first with Carlo Lonati, until the age of 13, then with Carlo Vidusso, until he was 18...
on Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, and Eliso Virsaladze
Eliso Virsaladze
Eliso Virsaladze is a Georgian pianist.She was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Her father Constantine Virsaladze was a prominent physician, so was her grandfather Spiridon Virsaladze. She received her first piano lessons at the age of 8 from her grandmother, Anastasia Virsaladze, a well-known music...
on Live Classics; the British pianist Peter Katin
Peter Katin
Peter Roy Katin is a British pianist.-Biography:He attended Whitgift School in South Croydon and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 12, four years younger than the official entry age, where he studied under Harold Craxton...
has also recorded them on a period (early-nineteenth-century) instrument.
No. 1 in E-flat minor
The main section (allegro assai) is in 2/4 time, though, as it is largely in triplets, the effect is like 6/8 for much of the time. It soon moves to E-flat major. As originally written, the piece had two triosTernary form
Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
, the first in B major, andante in alla breve time, and the second in A-flat major, andantino in 2/4. Schubert crossed out the second, but it is not infrequently played also, as heard in the recordings by Arrau, Pires and Uchida.
No. 2 in E-flat major
This is the most commonly heard of the set and is a highly lyrical piece and very long if all repeats are observed. The first appearance of the main section and both trios are each in two sections, each repeated. The main section is an allegretto in 6/8 time. The first trio is in C minor and major (no change in meter or time signature) and the second in A-flat minor (l'istesso tempo in alla breve time).No. 3 in C major
By far the shortest of the three, as it only includes one trio instead of two, this is a lively piece (allegro) in 2/4. The main section exhibits a great deal of syncopationSyncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
. The trio is in two sections with repeats written out in a varied form. It is in D-flat major and 3/2 time with no change in tempo indication. There is a substantial coda, again with syncopation.
Cultural references
The song Questions on the 1976 album The Roaring SilenceThe Roaring Silence
The Roaring Silence is an album released in 1976 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Like other Earth Band albums, this includes material by other composers...
by progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...
is based on the main theme of Schubert's Impromptu in G flat Major.
For the film Gattaca
Gattaca
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin....
, Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
arranged a version of the Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90, No. 3, for a genetically modified pianist with twelve fingers. One character says, "Twelve fingers or one, it's how you play." Another responds, "That piece can only be played with twelve."
In the 2002 French film L'homme du train, the old Monsieur Manesquier (played by Jean Rochefort
Jean Rochefort
Jean Rochefort is a French actor, with a career that has spanned over five decades.Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National...
) is more than once depicted playing a part of the Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 142, No. 2, on his grand piano.
In Howard Jacobson
Howard Jacobson
Howard Jacobson is a Man Booker Prize-winning British Jewish author and journalist. He is best known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters.-Background:...
's 2010 Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
winning novel The Finkler Question
The Finkler Question
The Finkler Question is a 2010 novel written by British author Howard Jacobson. The novel won the Man Booker Prize in 2010 and was the first comic novel to win the prize since Kingsley Amis's The Old Devils in 1986....
, Impromptu Opus 90 No.3 is referred to as having played by the character Libor's dead wife Malkie.
External links
- Recordings D935 nr.2+3 by Serg van Gennip
- Performance of D. 899/3 and D. 935/4 by Seymour Lipkin from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format - watch a performance of the op.90 no.2