IMPROMPTU: FROM PUBLISHER'S IMPULSE TO AN ESTABLISHED SMALL­ SCALE GENRE IN PIANO LITERATURE

Glebov, Margarita

IMPROMPTU: FROM PUBLISHER'S IMPULSE TO AN ESTABLISHED SMALL SCALE GENRE IN PIANO LITERATURE

dc.contributor.advisor	Dedova, Larissa
dc.contributor.author	Glebov, Margarita
dc.contributor.department	Music
dc.contributor.publisher	Digital Repository at the University of Maryland
dc.contributor.publisher	University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
dc.date.accessioned	2012-09-04T20:03:30Z
dc.date.available	2012-09-04T20:03:30Z
dc.date.issued	2009
dc.description.abstract	The word 'impromptu' began to appear in music literature in the early 19th century, specifically as title for a relatively short composition written for solo piano. The first impromptus appear to have been named so by the publishers. However, the composers themselves soon embraced the title to indicate, for the most part, fairly short character pieces. Impromptus do not follow any specific structural pattern, although many are cast in ternary form. The formal design ranges from strict compound ternary in the early impromptus to through-composed and variation forms. The peak of impromptu's popularity undoubtedly came during the middle and late19th century. However, they are still being composed today, albeit much less frequently. Although there have been many variants of impromptus in relation to formal design and harmonic language over the years, the essence of impromptu remains the same: it is still a short character piece with a general feeling of spontaneity. Overall, impromptus may be categorized into several different groups: some appear as part of a larger cycle, such as Dvorak's G minor Impromptu from his Piano Pieces, B. 110; many others use an element of an additional genre that enhances the character ofthe impromptu, such as Liszt's Valse-Impromptu and Antonio Bibalo's Tango Impromptu; yet another group consists of works based on opera themes, such as Liszt's Impromptu Brillant sur des themes de Rossini et Spontini and Czerny's Impromptus et variations sur Oberon, Op. 134. My recording project includes well-known impromptus, such as Schubert's Op. 142 and the four by Chopin, as well as lesser known works that have not been performed or recorded often. There are four impromptus that have been recorded here for the first time, including those written by Leopold Godowsky, Antonio Bibalo, Altin Volaj, and Nikolay Mazhara. I personally requested the two last named composers to contribute impromptus to this project. My selection represents works by twenty composers and reflects the different types of impromptus that have been encountered through almost three hundred years of the genre's existence, from approximately 1817 (VoriSek) to 2008 (Volaj and Mazhara).	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1903/12902
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	NOTICE: Recordings accompanying this record are available only to University of Maryland College Park faculty, staff, and students and cannot be reproduced, copied, distributed or performed publicly by any means without prior permission of the copyright holder.
dc.title	IMPROMPTU: FROM PUBLISHER'S IMPULSE TO AN ESTABLISHED SMALL SCALE GENRE IN PIANO LITERATURE	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US