Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vigran Dissertation 2020
Vigran Dissertation 2020
May 2020
APPROVED:
Performance: Why Today’s Piano Students should be Learning to Improvise. Doctor of Musical
Arts (Performance), May 2020, 39 pp., 4 figures, 3 musical examples, bibliography, 46 titles.
Improvisation is an art form which has arguably been present since the existence of music
itself. Inventing music on the spot, like spontaneous speech, is a common expression of artistry
throughout history and across musical boundaries. While improvisation has maintained its
importance in jazz, classical organ music and the music of many eastern cultures, this
within the tradition of western classical music. At several points in history, this musical tradition
was encouraged and even expected to be a regular part of a musician’s life, and yet in the
classical music tradition of the twenty-first century, improvisation is rarely, if ever, heard from
the concert stage, nor is it regularly included in the general education of the conservatory
student.
Copyright 2020
by
Joshua Vigran
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to especially thank my committee members who helped me in preparing for
this dissertation. Thank you Professor Paul Leenhouts for creating a “special problems course” in
dissertation topic. Thank you Dr. Steven Harlos for your continued dedication to this topic, for
creating your own course at the University of North Texas on improvisation, and for helping
provide me with sources for my studies. Thank you Professor Romero for your continued
support from the very early stages of planning this dissertation until its final completed form.
Thank you to my parents who have supported me in my musical endeavors since I began
I would especially like to thank God for giving me the resources, time, patience, and
opportunity to see this project through to its completion. My studies in this topic will not end
with the completion of this dissertation, but will continue as long as I am physically able to learn
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 34
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 36
iv
LIST OF FIGURES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Page
Figures
Figure 1: Difference between sources of alpha (left) and beta waves in prepared and improvised
modes. Warm yellow color signifies a significant difference and grey no significant difference.
....................................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 2: Left panel: Averaged across all improvisation the differences between musicians and
listeners are located in the right hemisphere, with the highest value in the right auditory cortex
indicating more activation in Brodmann Area 22 for musicians. Right panel: Averaged over
special moments only, the small ar3ea of the precuneus (Brodmann Area 7, related to
visuospatial information processing) shows significantly more activation in the musicians than
listeners. These results are true for all frequency bands. ............................................................ 30
Figure 3: Average differences of excitation in cortical areas of musicians (left) and listeners
(right) during special moments in non-improvised performances subtracted from improvised
performances. The yellow and red areas represent increased activation in Brodmann Area 6
comprising the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area, which is responsible for the
planning of movements. The blue shading represents decreased activation in Brodmann Area 19,
responsible for visual processing. ................................................................................................ 30
Musical Examples
Example 2: More advanced partimenti piece, simple in melody and rhythm .............................. 21
Example 3: Advanced partimenti piece with complex rhythms and sequences ........................... 22
v
CHAPTER 1
1.1 Introduction
Improvisation is an art form which has arguably been present since the existence of music
itself. Inventing music on the spot, like spontaneous speech, is a common expression of artistry
throughout history and across musical boundaries. While improvisation has maintained its
importance in jazz, classical organ music and the music of many eastern cultures, this
within the tradition of western classical music. At several points in history, this musical tradition
was encouraged and even expected to be a regular part of a musician’s life, and yet in the
classical music tradition of the twenty-first century, improvisation is rarely, if ever, heard from
the concert stage, nor is it regularly included in the general education of the conservatory
student.
1.2 Significance
Change, Robin Moore states that his paper “…confronts the puzzling fact that improvisatory
performance has ceased to interest a majority of conservatory-trained musicians, despite the fact
that performers of European art music in previous centuries exhibited considerable interest in
improvisation, and continued to consider it an important musical skill until at least 1840.”1 He
goes on to pose the question: if the great masters (J.S. Bach (1685-1750), Mozart, Beethoven,
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Franz Liszt (1811-1886), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Felix
1
Robin Dale Moore, “The Decline of Improvisation in Western Art Music: An Interpretation of Change,”
International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 23, No. 1 (June 1992): 61-84, accessed June 21,
2018, http://www.jstor.org/stable/836956.
1
Mendelssohn (1809-1847), and countless others) regularly improvised and trained their own
students to improvise, then why do so many modern performers completely neglect the art of
improvisation? This is an important question to ask, since the answer to this question yields
profound implications for an entire culture of musical education and performance. For over a
century, classical music improvisation has been the exception to the norm because this question
has not been asked enough, and has not been sufficiently answered. Many universities,
conservatories and music schools do not include improvisation as part of their required
curriculum, which is a deviation from what was historically seen as an essential part of public
performance.2
Furthermore, the lack of improvisational instruction among music schools violates the
music curricula across the board in the United States for institutions of higher education. NASM
is acknowledged by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the program supplier for
degree and non-degree programs in music or related musical disciplines. Section VIII.B.3. of
2
Moore, “The Decline of Improvisation in Western Art Music…”
3
National Association of Schools of Music, “An Advisory for Music Faculty and Administrators,” National
Association of Schools of Music Handbook 2018-19, accessed Jan 8, 2020, https://nasm.arts-accredit.org/wp-
content/uploads/sites/2/2016/02/Advisory-Composition_Improvisation.pdf.
2
The handbook clearly states that students pursuing a baccalaureate degree in music must
have a basic ability to improvise and/or compose, however the majority of American institutions
of higher music education do not required that these skills be prominently taught in courses for
music performance undergraduates, and some do not offer improvisation at all to classical
performance majors.4 This is perhaps because of the sentence in the above mentioned quote from
NASM stating that it is up to the institution to develop the specific requirements. Improvisation
requirements for classical performance majors are the exception to the norm, even among the
world’s top conservatories such as Juilliard, which is clearly at odds with the above statement
The College Music Society published a report entitled: “Transforming Music Study from
Its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music
Majors”6 in 2014, revised in 2016 that expresses concerns at the failure of colleges to amend
their curriculum and practices in order to comply with NASM’s criteria. This project took
eighteen months to complete and included faculty from the music schools of eight major US
There have been repeated calls for change to ensure that musical curricular content and
skill development remain relevant to music outside the academy. The academy, however,
has been resistant, remaining isolated and, too frequently, regressive rather than
progressive in its approach to undergraduate education. While surface change has
4
Patricia Shehan Campbell, David Myers, Ed Sarath, “Transforming Music Study from Its Foundations: A
Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors,” The College Music Society,
accessed March 24, 2020, https://www.music.org/pdf/pubs/tfumm/TFUMM.pdf, 4.
5
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, 4.
6
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”.
7
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, iii.
3
occurred to some extent through additive means (that is, simply providing more courses,
more requirements, and more elective opportunities), fundamental change (that is, in
priorities, values, perspectives, and implementation) has not occurred.8
In the 28-page long manifesto, improvisation is mentioned over fifty times, with repeated
emphasis on the lack of education and instruction specifically in the area of classical
performance. “One of the most startling shortcomings in all of arts education is that too many
music students graduate with little to no experience in the essential creative processes of
improvisation and composition.”9 The manifesto clearly states that the goal of the task force is
not to put improvisation and/or composition above the role of musical performance or analysis,
but rather to level the two disciplines, since improvisation allows for a level of “…intimacy,
meaning, and understanding… that are not possible when interpretive performance is the lone
mode of engagement.”10 Although schools have been slow to adopt these changes, hopefully
these issues will receive greater attention in the coming years. If universities do not change, the
College Music Society task force states they run the risk of increasingly lower enrollment, as
graduating high schoolers will look elsewhere to receive instruction that provides current and
relevant skills that may be applied in the twenty-first century music industry.11
begin with the history of European instrumental music. The Renaissance and especially the
Baroque period saw a rise in the commonality of instrumental performance in addition to vocal
8
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, iii.
9
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, 4.
10
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, 6.
11
Campbell, Myers, Sarath, “Transforming Music Study…”, iii.
4
performance which had dominated most music of the middle ages.12 This rise in the innovation
and development of instruments and instrumental performance directly coincided with the
prevalence of improvisation. It is during these time periods that basso continuo and the use of
figured bass rose to great prominence.13 In this compositional method, the bass line is written
with no other notes provided. Instead, numbers or “figures” beneath the notes give the performer
enough information to realize the intended harmony. How these other harmonies were played
during the Baroque era and which melodic patterns, or ornaments/embellishments were used is
(1618) and J.A. Herbst’s Musica moderna prattica (1653).14 Many modern performance editions
of Baroque works do not show the original figured bass at all, but rather provide a full, realized
score. These are often blandly written, and blindly played verbatim by music students who do
not understand the historical context of the original works. It is important to note that modern
piano renditions of early music works are written down by editors, and not all editions are
created equal. Often the pieces are reduced from their original music scores, and this means that
the editors had to make several decisions on what to include and what to leave out. In the case of
basso continuo, the editors decide to set in stone one specific way to play these figures. In a
musical culture which teaches musicians the importance of fidelity to the printed score, it is
understandable why most musicians will never question what is on the page in front them, but a
12
Rudolf Frisius and Alexander Schwan, “Improvisation,” MGG Online, accessed June 27, 2018,
https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:4318/article?id=mgg15495&v=1.0&q=improvisation&rs=id-66f4bc07-3c13-99b2-
1fea-3c1cef7f357b.
13
Frisius and Schwan, “Improvisation.”
14
Lewis Crutchfield and John Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music: 19th Century Instrumental Music,” The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Volume 12, ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan Publishers
Limited, 2001), 114.
5
score meticulously crafted by Beethoven versus a score downloaded off the internet from some
unknown editor are two items not worthy of comparison, and it is important to know when it is
Although basso continuo was not employed as prominently in the Classical Period as it
was in the Baroque, the Classical Period still maintained strong ties to the art of improvisation.15
However, the practice was so common, the word improvisation did not exist; instead the word
fantasien was used, which indicated that something was performed on a whim or a “flight of
fancy,” and it was assumed that a performer would add their own musical ideas throughout the
composition.16 The Fantasia, based on the word fantasien, was a freely-formed composition that
often contrasted virtuosic or rhapsodic elements with more fugal elements.17 The word
“improvisation” did not exist until the end of the 18th century. Therefore the fantasias which
have become part of the standard repertoire were originally improvisations which were later
written down on paper.18 In regards to the fantasia, English composer and theorist Thomas
Morley writes:
The most principal and chiefest kind of music which is made without a ditty (without
lyrics) is the Fancy [fantasia], that is when a musician taketh a point at his pleasure and
wresteth and turneth it as he list, making either much or little of it according as shall seem
best in his own conceit. In this may more art be shewn than in any other music because
the composer is tied to nothing, but that he may add, diminish, and alter at his pleasure.
And this kind may bear any allowances whatsoever tolerable in other music except
changing the air and leaving the key, which in Fancy may never be suffered. Other things
you may use at your pleasure, as bindings with discords, quick motions, slow motions,
proportions, and what you list. Likewise this kind of music is, with them who practise
instruments of parts, in greatest use . . .19
15
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music,” 115.
16
Robert Levin, “Concert Lecture Robert Levin, Bern 2017,” YouTube video, 38:25-39:15, October 2, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhllEwvtV6I&t=3015s.
17
“Fantasia,” Encyclopaedia Brittanica Online, accessed January 11, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/fantasia-
music.
18
Levin, “Concert Lecture…” YouTube video, 38:25-39:15.
19
Thomas Morley, A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music, s.n. London, 1597.
6
In the Classical Era, it was customary for performers to embellish melodies as well as
improvise cadenzas during concerti. Two of the towering compositional figures in classical
music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) were
both highly respected for their improvisational skills. Many Mozart cadenzas were not written
down, although Beethoven became inclined to write down his own cadenzas over time. For
example, the first movement of his first piano concerto has three optional cadenzas to pick from,
all written by Beethoven. It has become common musicological practice to divide the
compositions of Beethoven into early, middle and late works. The later works continued to push
the boundaries of known harmonic and structural elements, and most theorists consider
Beethoven’s late works to have laid the foundation for what would become the Romantic Era of
music. This rise in complexity and movement away from a solid and predictable structure is one
part of why the Romantic Era began to move further away from the previous roots of
improvisation.20
Although the Romantic Era experienced an evolution in the length, precision and
specificity of musical direction found within the musical scores, the great composers of this era
did not neglect improvisation at first. Chopin, for instance was widely known for his
improvisations, which he based on a wide variety of thematic material, including Polish airs, folk
songs, themes from earlier composers or from divine mass music when he was employed at the
Wizytek Church.21 Much has been written on the improvisations of Chopin, but it is interesting
to note that even non-musicians were particularly drawn to his improvisations as a key element
of his playing. The following quote from the poet Heinrich Heine describes not only the quality
20
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music.”, 114.
21
Frederick Niecks, Frederick Chopin: as a Man and Musician. London: Novello and Company, Limited, 1902,
accessed March 4, 2020, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4973/4973-h/4973-h.htm.
7
of his improvisation, but the fact that this was one of the primary aspects of his individuality as a
musician:
Yes, one can admit that Chopin has a genius in the full sense of the word; he is not only a
virtuoso, he is also a poet; he can embody for us the poesy which lives within his soul, he
is a tone poet, and nothing can be compared to the pleasure which he gives us when he
sits at the piano and improvises.22
Chopin was far from the only Romantic Era pianist/composer who would improvise in public.
Franz Liszt was also renowned for his virtuosic episodes at the keyboard, and many of his works
also originated from improvisations. “No less than his contemporaries, Liszt would
extemporaneously ‘prelude’ before pieces, modulating to a new key, setting a new mood. And
his recitals might climax with improvisations on themes supplied by the audience.”23
A major shift in the general sentiment towards improvisation began to arise during the
last half of the nineteenth century, however. New Grove Dictionary says: “The early 19th century
witnessed a meteoric rise in the popularity of improvisation and then its near-extinction post-
1840…”24 Critics began to criticize the sensationalism, triviality and superficial nature of the
improvisations of many performers. They argued that musical depth was being sacrificed in
order to show off technical prowess. The following quote, also from New Grove further explains
the shift in public perception towards improvisation, and in many ways, this is the view that is
Other factors leading to the eradication of public improvisation included the rise of the
performer as interpreter and the divorcing of composition from performance; the
concomitant ascendancy of the ‘work concept’, itself inimical to the notion of music in
flux so vital to improvisation; and an evolution in musical technique away from bass-
22
Niecks, Frederick Chopin.
23
Horowitz, Joseph. “Liszt and Improvisation.” ArtsJournal Blog. Accessed January 11, 2019.
https://www.artsjournal.com/uq/2010/02/liszt_and_improvisation.html.
24
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music.”, 114.
8
oriented, syntactical structural outlines towards more melodically, generically or
programmatically conceived frameworks which loosened the ‘inner thread’ that
previously had held much extemporized music together.25
This quote describes the changing role of composition towards the later half of the nineteenth
century. There was an increasing desire for originality of expression, harmony, structure and
melody. Romantic composers such as Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Gustav Mahler (1860-
1911), and Richard Strauss (1864-1949) dedicated much of their compositional output to long-
form epic works that are well over an hour in length with complex musical themes interwoven
throughout the work from start to finish. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is a famous example of a
composer whose operas span several hours in length. Performances of his “Ring Cycle” can last
over 17 hours in length. In such contexts of total artistic ownership by the composer, or what
Wagner himself labeled as Gesamtkunstwerk (or “total art work”), it is understandable why there
was little or no room left for improvisation. Wagner went so far as to design the costumes, sets
and even the very theater in which his works were to be performed. There was to be no margin of
error.26
Many of these sentiments which arose during the Romantic Era have continued to be
espoused in university education to this day. The role of interpretive playing is taught as the
foremost skill of a classical performer, and there is consequently a great fear of playing the
“wrong” notes and of “messing up.” It should be noted, however, that the viewpoint of absolute
fidelity to the score is still relatively new in the broad span of musical history. Given that
improvisation has played such an important role throughout the centuries, the question remains
25
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music,” 115.
26
Brown, Hilda Meldrum, “The Quest for the Gesamtkunstwerk and Richard Wagner,” Oxford Scholarship Online,
2016, accessed March 25, 2020,
https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199325436.001.0001/acprof-9780199325436.
9
as to whether or not classical performers should still improvise during concerts, and whether or
10
CHAPTER 2
2.1 An Exception
in classical organ music, which has maintained a rich tradition of improvisation. The strong ties
that the organ has with church music, specifically liturgical settings makes it crucial for organists
to understand how to improvise.27 Improvisations in church settings are contingent upon the
liturgy as a functional aspect of the church service. Communion, for instance, can vary in length
depending on the number of people served, so organists must be aware of how long they must
play, and sometimes must improvise endings and transitions in the middle of a movement.28
However, although ties to improvisation among organists may be fundamentally rooted in the
functionality of church music, this has not stopped organists from improvising on the concert
stage.
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971), the famed French organist, covered the topic of organ
which are still widely studied. There are numerous recordings of Dupré improvising in a variety
of styles. In the 1920s, Dupré would improvise entire concerts of themes supplied to him by the
audience on the spot, a feat that particularly impressed audiences outside of his native France,
where the tradition of improvised performance remained far more common.30 This tradition has
27
Dupré, Marcel, “Cours Complet Dimprovisation à Lorgue = Complete Course in Organ Improvisation,” Paris: A.
Leduc, 1974, 14.
28
Hamilton, Thomas Keith, “The liturgical organist: the creative use of solo organ music in the Lutheran liturgy,”
D.M.A. Dissertation, University of Iowa, 2014, ProQuest (AAT 3680079).
29
Dupré, “Cours Complet Dimprovisation…”.
30
Craig R. Whitney, “Organ Improvisation as an Art Form,” The New York Times, May 29, 1996, accessed March 2,
2020, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/arts/organ-improvisation-as-an-art-form.html.
11
been continued by other virtuoso organists such as Pierre Cochereau (1924-1984), Jean Langlais
Thankfully there is a recorded legacy of these and other great organists improvising from
the stage and studio, but one must rely on writings in order to understand how improvisation
worked in pre-audio recorded history. Writings on western musical improvisation can be found
dating back as far as the ninth century. Among these are the Musica enchiriadis and Scolica
enchiriadis, which explained how to create a double organum melody for a chant at perfect
intervals, even though this melody was not written down.31 By the 11th century, theorist Guido
of Arezzo (b. 992 CE-?) described the use of vocal improvisation using techniques such as
contrary motion, or cadence formulae. As the history of musical notation progressed through the
Middle Ages and into the Renaissance era, vocal improvisation was a common practice, notably
in the fauxbourdon style of the Burgundian composers. Mainly these vocal improvisations took
the form of parallel thirds and sixths, usually based on a cantus firmus chant.32
One of the earliest examples of instrumental improvisation instruction comes from the
Venetian composer and theorist, Sylvestro Ganassi (1492-1550). In his Opera Intitulata
rhythm and proportion. These elements may be either simple or compound in nature, and can
focus on either one element, two elements or a combination of all three. These embellishments
31
Frisius and Schwan, “Improvisation.”
32
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music,” 113.
12
can be used for something as basic as a major second interval for example, or can be used when
According to Crutchfield and Rink, Vincente Lusitano (1520-1561) wrote the Trattato
grande di musica. pratica in 1553, which is the first known treatise that outlines the methods for
improvising on a cantus firmus.34 It simply explains the theories for dealing with intervallic
relationships in harmony, and outlines the appropriate opportunities to use various embellishing
patterns. The authors go on to explain that his publication inspired a reaction by Gioseffo Zarlino
(1517-1590), who wrote his third edition of Istitutioni harmoniche only two years later in 1573.
In it, he suggests more complex methods, such as improvising strict two voice canons on a
cantus firmus, or two and three-part canons without a cantus firmus. In being more complex,
using such devices required greater technical strength of the performers, and successive theorists
and musicians continued to develop the art of vocal improvisation, eventually becoming known
These practices continued developing in the Baroque era, where Johann Sebastian Bach,
the undisputed king of counterpoint was not only a prolific composer, but an accomplished
improviser. There is perhaps no greater example of his improvisational genius than the famous
incident on May 7, 1747 when Bach performed for the Prussian King, Frederick the Great. King
Frederick was an avid musician and went out of his way to find the most talented individuals to
serve in his court; among his subjects were the philosopher Voltaire and none other than Bach’s
own son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel. King Frederick greatly desired to meet Johann Sebastian after
33
Silvestro Ganassi, Opera Intitulata Fontegara, edited by Hildemarie Peter Venice 1535, Berlin-Lichterfelde: R.
Lienau, 1959.
34
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music,” 114.
35
Crutchfield and Rink, “Improvisation: Western Art Music,” 114.
13
hearing of his unparalleled contrapuntal skills and summoned the sixty-two year composer to his
court. Upon Johann’s arrival, the King subsequently demanded that he improvise a three voice
fugue on an exceedingly difficult fugal subject that was twenty-one notes long.36 As James R
Gaines explains:
So difficult was the figure Bach was given that the twentieth century’s foremost
composer of counterpoint, Arnold Schoenberg, marveled at the fact that it had been so
cleverly contrived that it “did not admit one single canonic imitation” — in other words,
that the Royal Theme, as it has come to be known, was constructed to be as resistant to
counterpoint as possible. Still, Bach managed, with almost unimaginable ingenuity, to do
it, even alluding to the king’s taste by setting off his intricate counterpoint with a few
galant flourishes.37
Ludwig van Beethoven is known for being a composer whose work changed immensely
over the course of his life. His output is traditionally divided into three categories: early, middle
and late compositions, and his later ones are so forward thinking musically speaking that he is
widely credited for moving musical history forward from the Classical era into the Romantic.
His increasingly ambitious works are marked with almost obsessive attention to detail, and he
labored more painstakingly than his predecessors on his musical manuscripts, making sure that
all his musical intentions were clear. Thus, Beethoven’s scores are filled with markings, and his
music is so fastidiously crafted down to the smallest markings, that to improvise over them
seems to be either an act of laziness or utter disregard. However, in spite of his devotion to the
score Beethoven himself was also a great improviser, and there are several incidents in which he
sought to establish his musical dominance through improvisation “battles” against other pianists
of the day.
36
Gaines, James R. Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment.
New York: Harper Perennial, 2006, 8.
37
Gaines, James R, Evening in the Palace of Reason…, 9.
14
Beethoven’s pianistic dueling rivals included pianists such as Johann Nepomuk Hummel,
Abbé Joseph Gelinek, and Daniel Steibelt. The latter challenged Beethoven to a piano duel
sponsored by the Bohemian Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.38 Per the rules of the day, as
challenger, Steibelt was to play first and supply the musical theme. After Steibelt played in his
typical “storm conjuring” fashion, Beethoven walked up to the piano, flipped the theme upside
down on the music rack, played the musical theme with one finger and then proceeded to out-
improvise Steibelt, all while mocking his interpretation and physical mannerisms. Steibelt was so
humiliated that he never set foot again in Vienna while Beethoven remained there.39
The advent of recorded music brought about an opportunity that the world had never
known before: a chance to capture live sound and preserve it for generations to come. All
musicological studies on performance practice of the past rely primarily on written word,
musical manuscripts and the historical instruments themselves. It is difficult to understand how
much, for example, the fantasias of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach were changed from their
improvisations are often overly poeticized. There is after all a very natural human desire to place
either oneself or a venerated hero in the best light possible. This trait can be traced all the way
through art history of enhanced portraiture into the modern age of social media selfie-filters.
Sound recording therefore, especially in its earlier days before the capabilities of editing,
changed musicology forever in that it allowed for a more objective and analytical understanding
38
Solomon, Maynard. Beethoven. Barcelona: Javier Vergara, 1985, 79.
39
Stidham, Lindsay, “This Man Challenged Beethoven to a Duel. One of Them Quite Halfway Through,” The
History Collection, Accessed Jan 15, 2020, https://historycollection.co/man-thought-beat-beethoven-musical-duel/.
15
of musical performance. For the purposes of this topic, it offers an insight into the way that
One of the eminent musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century was Josef Hofmann
(1876-1957). Highly esteemed by audience members and fellow musicians alike, Hofmann had a
technique, clarity of tone and musical depth which set him apart as one of the greatest pianists of
all time. By the age of five, Hofmann was already touring extensively as a concert pianist. His
skills in improvising themes given to him at concerts inspired critics to compare Hofmann’s
improvisation lessened considerably over the course of his performance career, reflecting the
recording of his 1937 Jubilee concert in New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House has several
examples of him improvising between pieces.41 These improvisations are not full-length concert
pieces however, and are mainly chordal modulations from one piece to another; these
modulations serve as simple preludes which establish a change in sentiment and set the tone for
the following work. When it came to pre-written works of other composers, however, Hofmann
took a much more modern view, which held the score as all-important, and refused to improvise
over the work. “Hofmann’s attitude was that the performer had enough to do to play the notes as
written without adding anything of his own. A lifetime, said Hofmann, would not suffice to bring
40
Mastrogiacomo, Joseph, “Josef Hofmann: An Analysis of Selected Solo Piano Works,” DMA diss., University of
South Carolina, 2013.
41
Hofmann, Josef, “Josef Hofmann 1937 Jubilee Concert - Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven (Columbia ML 4929;
Complete),” YouTube video, 44:18, May 10, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81p-uiJG-u0.
16
out the possibilities of a Beethoven sonata or any equivalent work. ‘…The true interpretation of a
piece of music results from a correct understanding of it, and this, in turn, depends solely upon
György Cziffra (1921-1994) was another prominent 20th century pianist of Gypsy-
Hungarian descent who was praised for his uniquely virtuosic improvisational skills. At the mere
age of five, Cziffra was improvising at the piano for audiences at a Budapest circus, and before
he emigrated to France and became a Parisian celebrity, he played as a jazz pianist in many
nightclubs and bars.43 Cziffra possessed an intimidating piano technique which allowed him to
play physically demanding works with speed and ease that rival any of the world’s greatest
pianists. Improvisation remained a key part of his musicality throughout his life. Cziffra himself
was a great fan of Marcel Dupré, and there are video recordings of him playing Dupré’s pieces
and improvising in the same manner44, although he was specifically renowned for his
interpretations of Liszt, which often include his own cadenzas and improvisations where he
would freely add octaves, flourishes and runs. It is perhaps due to the fact that Cziffra had such
diverse musical interests as jazz and classical organ that he kept improvisation at the forefront of
his musical arsenal, especially at a time when his contemporaries were improvising less and less.
In more recent years, several performers and musicologists have taken more
improvisation-friendly stances from the concert stage. Robert Levin (b. 1947) is a Harvard
42
Schonberg, Harold C. The Great Pianists. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963, 378.
43
Elizabeth Loparits, “Hungarian gypsy style in the Lisztian spirit: Georges Cziffra's two transcriptions of Brahms'
Fifth Hungarian Dance” (D.M.A. Diss, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008) ProQuest (AAT
3307209).
44
György Cziffra, “Cziffra plays Dupré Prelude No. 6 (1976),” YouTube video, 4:21, August 18, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnzxbuNUXlI.
17
educated pianist and musicologist who frequently performs and primarily improvises classical
where he is able to communicate his ideas as a performer while still respecting the wishes and
desires of the composer. In order to do this, he explains that one must have considerable
familiarity with the stylistic language of the time: “Mr. Levin replied that one has to have a deep
understanding of the syntax and grammar of music. He linked classical improvisation to jazz in
the swing era. Improvisation is very different than an actor reading a prepared text. Stilted
pedagogy often distracts us from the mastery of syntax to the virtuosity of the surface.
Other currently active celebrated pianists such as the Venezuelan pianist, Gabriela
Montero take a different approach to improvisation at a classical concert. She is revered for
requesting a melody from a random audience member and improvising upon this melody as an
encore, following in the footsteps of her predecessors such as Franz Liszt. In addition, she will
juxtapose two different historical styles: i.e., improvising on Rachmaninoff’s third piano
concerto in the style of Bach46, or improvising upon Bach using jazz harmonies.47 According to
performer and audience. When asked in an interview why she includes improvisations based on
45
Robert Levin, “Improvising Mozart,” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 55, No. 2 (Winter
2013): 87-90, accessed June 21, 2018, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3824946?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
46
Montero, Gabriela, “Gabriela Montero improvises on Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto in the style of Bach,”
YouTube video, 5:23, Jan 17, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZSPBk_TGaI.
47
Montero, Gabriela, “Gabriela Montero - Improvisation on Bach's Goldberg Variations,” YouTube video, 6:31, Dec
4, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUfZeag_28g.
18
That’s not because I need to. I can just sit down and improvise and [those improvisations]
will be complex pieces, but obviously audiences need to see and understand for
themselves that they are improvised on the spot. It serves two purposes. One is to prove
that it is created in the moment, the other is to involve the audience, which is something
that I really like. You don’t usually see audiences talking back to the artist, and this is a
chance to give them a voice. It creates a unity. People smile, they suggest things, they
sing. It’s very much like it was in the 18th and 19th centuries.48
48
Robin Lynam, “How jazz borrowed improvisation from classical music, and pianist Gabriela Montero who’s on a
mission to take it back,” South China Morning Post, April 19, 2017, accessed March 2, 2020,
https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2088177/how-jazz-borrowed-improvisation-classical-music-and-
pianist-gabriela.
19
CHAPTER 3
PEDAGOGICAL METHODS
3.1 Partimenti
prominently used throughout the Baroque era, with some continued use in early classical
compositions. While the treatises of Praetorius and Herbst are helpful in deciphering the exact
methods employed in conjunction with the rules of figured bass, a method known as partimenti
was invented to help students work through the foundations of figured bass, beginning with
simple scales and progressing forward to full-length concert pieces. Originally developed in Italy
in order to spread the ideas of the Italian School, partimenti would have been studied and even
states:
The oldest Italian conservatories were not established to conserve music. They were
charitable religious institutions for the conservation of orphans and foundlings. Different
conservatories specialized in the teaching of different crafts or skills, one of which was
music. In a society where family connections and social rank were all-important, an
orphan needed a marketable skill in order to make his way in the world. It was not
enough to learn "about" music. The child needed to become fluent in the courtly style so
that he could eventually perform at church, in an aristocratic chamber, or at the opera
theater. Thus training in partimenti was practical, not theoretical.50
This focus on practicality was highly effective in spreading the fundamentals of Italian musical
knowledge throughout Europe, and was seen as essential by many great composers.
Unfortunately, this system has been largely forgotten in modern conservatories. Because of its
49
Gjerdingen, Robert O, “Partimenti in Their Historical Context,” Monuments of Partimenti with funding from the
National Endowment for the Humanities, accessed February 21, 2020,
https://web.archive.org/web/20160319181434/http://faculty-
web.at.northwestern.edu/music/gjerdingen/partimenti/aboutParti/histOverview.htm.
50
Gjerdingen, “Partimenti in Their Historical Context.”
20
linear nature in which exercises progress from simple to increasingly complex, it would be a
particularly since a great many of these partimenti are available for free online. Here are some
examples showing the progressive nature of some partimenti by composer Francesco Durante
21
Example 3: Advanced partimenti piece with complex rhythms and sequences
Whereas currently performing pianists Levin and Montero demonstrate the art of
improvisation on the stage, others such as University of Kansas Professor of Music Education,
Debra Hedden explores the pedagogical side of improvisation. Her article entitled, “Lessons
various musical conservatories and universities which all show the same trend in classical music
education: namely that improvisation is significantly neglected, if not entirely absent from the
teaching curriculum. She explains that the lack of improvisational instruction begins at the
faculty level, and that this issue must be directly addressed if any progress is to be made:
for all students, and in these generally being reserved only for jazz students. Thus, it seems the
lack of training appears to have perpetuated a cycle of preparing most musicians for the
51
Debra Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania: A Pedagogical Approach in Teaching Improvisation,” International
Journal of Music Education, Vol. 35 (2016): 289-301, accessed June 25, 2018,
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.
52
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 290.
22
One of the primary challenges facing classical musicians who are unfamiliar with
students to experiment with ideas, and not be disappointed when the resulting sound is less than
their ideal is imperative. In the above mentioned article, Hedden introduces Lukas (last name not
provided), a musician from Lithuania who began improvising at the age of six, went on to study
at a conservatory and became a teacher in his native country. He was mostly a self-taught
improviser, studying recordings of both American and European jazz on his own. During his
formative years as a musician, Lukas realized that although Lithuania had high musical
standards, it lacked courses in improvisation. In the early 1990s, many schools in the nation
began requiring teachers to be proficient improvisers, yet there was a lack of education which
would help them arrive at that point. This dilemma was the impetus for Lukas’s beginnings of
Lukas’s approach to pedagogy began with the notion that improvisation must have
freedom of creativity at its core.54 This freedom ultimately leads to greater student enjoyment,
and a feeling of individual accomplishment, since all creations are unique. Motivation for
improvise for a class of peers who act as an audience.55 Establishing rapport with students is the
first major hurdle before the process is accelerated. Next it is important to maintain motivation
through positive reinforcement, but not at the expense of constructive instruction and direction:
53
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 292.
54
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 294.
55
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 294.
23
“With all improvisation tasks, he was accepting, never criticizing. ‘I choose not to say “no” to
rather than on accuracy or content. Since he was dealing with musicians who already had prior
knowledge and experience of harmony and music theory, many began the course with
preconceived notions of what music “should” sound like, and therefore reacted negatively when
they played something which didn’t sound harmonically or melodically accurate. Lukas’s
philosophy was that sheer persistence was the most important launching point for those who
already knew music, and in doing so they would eventually discover their own improvisational
language.57
Rather than being pedantic and theoretical in his pedagogical approaches, Lukas sought
to create mental scenarios which could lead to different musical results. For instance, he would
have students check their pulse and then create a melody and rhythm surrounding their own
individual pulse. He would sometimes describe short scenarios, and have the students improvise
music which was emotionally fitting for that scene, in much the same way that a film composer
might work.58 For learning environments, Lukas varied the situations, sometimes having the
class meet in a concert hall, and arranging chairs in a circle on stage to make performers more
comfortable. He also invited dancers from the dance department to come dance along to the
improvisation, and even had the dancers and musicians switch places. Gradually the idea was to
56
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 295.
57
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 295.
58
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 294.
24
take the musicians out of their comfort zone little by little, but in a judgment free environment so
Later on she found that classical music contained its own vocabulary for improvisation, separate
from that of jazz, and she began to gather a community of like-minded classical musicians who
Schuller, who was the New England Conservatory president from 1967-1977, helped to establish
the “Third Stream Department,” a term coined by Schuller to denote a synthesis between jazz
and western classical music. Originally intended to be a confluence of these two genres, Third
Stream eventually began to incorporate other musical practices from different cultures around the
59
Hedden, “Lessons from Lithuania…,” 296.
60
Tanya Kalmanovitch, “Contemporary Improvisation for Classical Musicians,” New Sound: International
Magazine for Music, 32 (November 2008):130-142, accessed June 27, 2008,
http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2089/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=68330f51-ce49-4eba-a471-
c20e23e10e5d%40sessionmgr4010.
61
Kalmanovitch, “Contemporary Improvisation for Classical Musicians.”
25
world. In 1992, the Conservatory changed the name of Third Stream to “Creative
Improvisation.”62
In addition to the above mentioned pedagogical methods, technology may be a useful tool
for the future of improvisational education. In “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation Using
Interactive Music Technology, ”63 a scientific study is described consisting of nineteen children,
ages six through ten, each having between one and four years of piano playing experience. These
children all had traditional classical piano lessons, but did not have improvisation included as
part of the lessons. Using a program called MIROR-Impro (MI)64, the children began
improvising. After playing a short improvised passage, the computer analyzes the algorithm, and
generates a short musical response in a similar style, thus creating a back-and-forth musical
dialogue with the musician. MI also can generate responses with different levels of variation,
including “echo”, “similar”, “different”, or “very different” settings.65 The computer then
displays the sheet music comparisons of the MI generated improvisations alongside the
performer’s recording. The program also digitizes the examples and creates graphic and colored
The “Young Pianists Exploring Improsation…” article presents a few in depth case-
studies to explain the function of the technology. One study follows an eight-year-old named
62
Kalmanovitch, “Contemporary Improvisation for Classical Musicians.”
63
Xristina Anagnostopoulou, Angeliki Triantafyllaki, and Victoria Rowe, “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation
Using Interactive Music Technology,” International Journal of Music Education. 33 (2015): 113-130, accessed June
27, 2018, http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2251/doi/pdf/10.1177/0255761414540137.
64
Anagnostopoulou, Triantafyllaki and Rowe, “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation…”
65
Anagnostopoulou, Triantafyllaki and Rowe, “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation…”
66
Anagnostopoulou, Triantafyllaki and Rowe, “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation…”
26
Kevin (last name not provided) who had four years of piano lessons. He was at first reluctant as
an improviser, only playing pieces he had memorized. After a couple days he began
experimenting with stepwise and skipping motion, a phenomenon common in many of the older
children in the experiment. His excitement began to grow, however, when he saw his playing
examples registered on the graphic notation. For example, his glissandi looked like waves on a
graph. MI would also offer certain rhythmic patterns and he enjoyed trying to repeat increasingly
complex rhythms. “Kevin becomes more confident and on one occasion sets up a game with MI
in which he tries to copy its responses. He deliberately limits his range of pitches in order to
facilitate the game, which he points out is rather like doing one of the aural tests (singing back a
tune) in his music exam. Playing back a tune by ear is more difficult for him than the exam test,
but he very much enjoys the challenge: he describes it as playing Follow the Leader: ‘I was
67
Anagnostopoulou, Triantafyllaki and Rowe, “Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation…”
27
CHAPTER 4
Pre-1840, it was assumed that as part of a well-rounded musician’s full education, one
would know not only how to read and play, but also how to compose and improvise
provide twenty-first century musical institutions with solid empirical evidence which can support
the views held by our artistic fore-bearers. This is particularly crucial if it involves making
Great advances have been made in neuroscience and psychology, and some fascinating
studies have been conducted which document the value of improvisation for the human brain.
What these studies show is that improvisation contains not only artistic value for performers, but
also yields cognitive benefits for both musicians and audience members alike. These findings
may help shed light on why many audience members and critics wrote that the improvisations of
great artists of the past were often some of the most highly favored moments of a concert. In
2012 a scientific study entitled: “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance:
An Empirical Investigation into its Characteristics and Impact”70 was conducted at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama, UK, in order to measure the difference in brain waves between
68
Moore, Robin, “The Decline of Improvisation in Western Art Music: An Interpretation of Change,” International
Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 23, No. 1 (June 1992): 61-84, accessed June 21, 2018,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/836956.
69
Moore, “The Decline of Improvisation…”.
70
Crüts, Bjorn, David Dolan, John A. Sloboda, Henrik J. Jensen, and Eugene Feygelson. “The Improvisatory
Approach to Classical Music Performance: An Empirical Investigation into its Characteristics and Impact.” Music
Performance Research, 6 (2013):1-38. Accessed June 21, 2018. http://mpr-
online.net/Issues/Volume%206%20[2013]/MPR0073.pdf.
28
prepared and improvised musical performances. Several musicians played a concert with five
pieces: three short movements of classical repertoire and two group improvisations.
This study was the first of its kind to have measured electroencephalogram (EEG)
characteristics of both performers and audience members alike. The EEG charts are divided into
five main categories: improvisatory, innovative, emotional, musical, and risk-taking. According
to the neuroscientists, all of these categories relate to specific areas of the brain. Based on the
data, all five areas lit up more during the improvisatory performances, with markedly higher data
points for the emotional and risk-taking categories.71 Given the uniformity of the data discovered
among performers and audience, the results seem quite promising in terms of reliability (see
figures 1, 2 and 3). The authors of this study believe that their findings provide sufficient
grounds for the reconsideration of the role of improvisation both in education and public
performance. 72
Figure 1: Difference between sources of alpha (left) and beta waves in prepared and improvised
modes. Warm yellow color signifies a significant difference and grey no significant difference. 73
71
Crüts, Dolan, Sloboda, Jensen, and Feygelson. “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance…”
72
Crüts, Dolan, Sloboda, Jensen, and Feygelson. “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance…”
73
Crüts, Dolan, Sloboda, Jensen, and Feygelson. “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance…”
29
Figure 2: Left panel: Averaged across all improvisation the differences between musicians and
listeners are located in the right hemisphere, with the highest value in the right auditory cortex
indicating more activation in Brodmann Area 22 for musicians. Right panel: Averaged over special
moments only, the small ar3ea of the precuneus (Brodmann Area 7, related to visuospatial
information processing) shows significantly more activation in the musicians than listeners. These
results are true for all frequency bands. 74
Figure 3: Average differences of excitation in cortical areas of musicians (left) and listeners (right)
during special moments in non-improvised performances subtracted from improvised
performances. The yellow and red areas represent increased activation in Brodmann Area 6
comprising the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area, which is responsible for the
planning of movements. The blue shading represents decreased activation in Brodmann Area 19,
responsible for visual processing. 75
74 74
Crüts, Dolan, Sloboda, Jensen, and Feygelson. “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music
Performance…”
75
Crüts, Dolan, Sloboda, Jensen, and Feygelson. “The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance…”
30
4.2 2017 Scientific Study on Improvisation and the Brain
Further investigation into the neural effects of improvisation was shown in a study
Repertoire Performance,”76 undertaken by a team of scientists and musicians on March 21, 2017
in the Data Observatory at the Data Science Institute, Imperial College London. The scientific
team included several of the same members from the previously mentioned 2012 study, as well
as a few additional scientists. The 2017 study also used EEG measurements, but in addition to
tracking various areas of brain activity, the new study added measurements of physical
movements in different body hemispheres and Lempel-Ziv (LZ) complexity: a preferred method
LZ levels are correlated with more vivid imagination and dissolution of ego which
happens when a stimulus is perceived to be more meaningful to the viewer. Higher LZ levels are
also a strong indicator of awareness and alertness, is higher in subjects during moments of
wakeful rest, and is also heightened under the effect of psychedelic substances. According to the
scientists, such states of mind tend to lead towards more memorable experiences and deeper
emotional connection.78 This follow-up study showed that LZ levels were higher in both
76
Dolan, David, Henrik J. Jensen, Pedro A.M. Mediano, Miguel Molina-Solana, Hardik Rajpal, Fernando Rosas,
John A. Sloboda, “The Improvisational State of Mind: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Classical Music Repertoire
Performance,” Frontiers in Psychology, 9 (2018). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01341.
77
Dolan, Jensen, Mediano, Molina-Solana, Rajpal, Rosas, Sloboda, “The Improvisational State of Mind…”
78
Dolan, Jensen, Mediano, Molina-Solana, Rajpal, Rosas, Sloboda, “The Improvisational State of Mind…”
79
Dolan, Jensen, Mediano, Molina-Solana, Rajpal, Rosas, Sloboda, “The Improvisational State of Mind…”
31
4.3 2018 Psychological Study on Improvisation and the Brain
research study entitled: “Improvisation experience predicts how musicians categorize musical
structures.”80 This study showed that musicians who are skilled improvisers were much better at
distinguishing which chords could be used interchangeably within a piece of music, and which
ones could not be used. Not only could the improvising musicians more readily recognize
interchangeable chords, but the electrical activity in the brain was shown to be distinct from
It turns out that the degree to which we can predict how musicians respond to different
types of musical substitution has nothing to do with how much they practice, but the way
they practice," said the study's senior author, Paul Sajda, a biomedical engineer at
Columbia Engineering and a member of Columbia's Data Science Institute.
"Improvisational practice seems to reinforce how the brain represents different types of
musical structures.81
In this study, forty different musicians were asked to listen to a series of chord progressions.
Inserted in the middle of these chord progressions were two kinds of “substitution” chords: either
functional (a chord in the same class, i.e. an inversion) or non-functional (i.e. a major chord
played against a minor chord) (see figure 4). Improvising musicians consistently scored higher in
These scientific studies demonstrate the importance of improvisation beyond the realm of
aesthetics, and argue additionally that improvisation has considerable cognitive benefits. In
dealing with systems of education, it is important to have measurable, statistical data which may
80
Goldman, Andrew, Tyreek Jackson, and Paul Sajda, “Improvisation Experience Predicts How Musicians
Categorize Musical Structures,” Psychology of Music 48, no. 1 (2018): 18–34.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735618779444.
81
Columbia University, "Training in musical improvisation may teach your brain to think differently: Skilled
improvisers detect easy-to-substitute chords faster than non-improvisers, says study,” ScienceDaily,
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705125726.htm (accessed January 12, 2020).
32
support changes within that system. The elements of historical significance, artistic expansion
and neurological improvement support one another in the assertion that neglecting the art of
33
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
Improvisation is a skill that is not limited to music. Throughout life all individuals are
faced with an onslaught of decisions. The words we choose, the actions we take or do not take,
the way we plan out our lives requires the skill of improvisation. Someone who spoke English,
for example, and could only recite pre-learned text without being able to take part in a
conversation would be considered an oddity, but it has sadly become the norm among classical
musicians. According to Andrew Goldman, the head of the Columbia University research
project:
Improvisation is hardly confined to music -- it underlies much of daily life. Faced with a
delayed train, you might decide to walk or take the bus; a missing ingredient, the closest
alternative. With a flexible mindset, a creative solution is often at hand. With music, as
with cooking, the trick is knowing the rules of substitution…82
performers should disregard the scores and improvise freely over passages in Beethoven sonatas.
The reason for the drastic reduction in stage improvisation during the 1840s was not unmerited.
There is certainly a danger that a superficial display of technique could rob a piece of its original
depth, and there is always the possibility that one may substitute the same dull arpeggiated
sequences or chord substitutions as a means to escape the difficulty and labor-intensive process
of learning a complex Chopin passage. I believe that the great composers of the past have
demonstrated a middle-ground is possible, and not only possible but eminently desirable for
musicians and audiences alike. Bach and Beethoven may be cited as the most meticulous
82
Columbia University, "Training in musical improvisation…” ScienceDaily.
34
composers who held to the highest standards of harmony, melody, and structure within their
In an era where more and more orchestras are going bankrupt and much has been written
on the future of classical music, it is paramount that modern classical musicians know how to
engage with their audience and bring the most exciting performances to the stage. Historical
accounts show time and time again that audiences greatly enjoyed the improvisations of the great
composers. As previously mentioned in the quote by Heine, this was often considered the
highlight of a concert.
Research clearly shows that not only can improvising musicians discern chord changes
more quickly, readily offer chordal and melodic substitutions, and connect to the audience on a
unique level but now we know with definitive measurable data that both performers and
audience members alike have cognitive benefits from improvisation. I would urge all musicians
who are interested to further their own knowledge and practice of improvisation, and I would
urge institutions to once again begin teaching this crucial part of music-making to classical
musicians. Much time, effort and money has gone into the business of “fixing” classical music
institutions and advocating funding for the arts. While doubtless these efforts are not fruitless in
their benefits, there has sadly been a lack of emphasis placed on musical creativity through the
today’s classical musicians address this problem from the fundamental birthplace of all their
creative output: the practice room. The great masters did. Are we really better off for not
35
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Hilda Meldrum. “The Quest for the Gesamtkunstwerk and Richard Wagner.” Oxford
Scholarship Online, 2016. Accessed March 25, 2020.
https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199325436.001.0001/
acprof-9780199325436.
Campbell, Patricia Shehan, David Myers, Ed Sarath. “Transforming Music Study from Its
Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of
Music Majors.” The College Music Society. Accessed March 24, 2020.
https://www.music.org/pdf/pubs/tfumm/TFUMM.pdf.
Columbia University. "Training in musical improvisation may teach your brain to think
differently: Skilled improvisers detect easy-to-substitute chords faster than non-
improvisers, says study." ScienceDaily.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705125726.htm (accessed January 12,
2020).
Crutchfield, Lewis and John Rink. “Improvisation: Western Art Music: 19th Century
Instrumental Music.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Volume 12.
Edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2001.
Crüts, Bjorn, David Dolan, John A. Sloboda, Henrik J. Jensen, and Eugene Feygelson. “The
Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance: An Empirical Investigation
into its Characteristics and Impact.” Music Performance Research, 6 (2013):1-38.
Accessed June 21, 2018. http://mpr-
online.net/Issues/Volume%206%20[2013]/MPR0073.pdf.
Cziffra, György. “Cziffra plays Dupré Prelude No. 6 (1976).” YouTube video, 4:21. August 18,
2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnzxbuNUXlI
Dolan, David, Henrik J. Jensen, Pedro A.M. Mediano, Miguel Molina-Solana, Hardik Rajpal,
Fernando Rosas, John A. Sloboda. “The Improvisational State of Mind: A
Multidisciplinary Approach to Classical Music Repertoire Performance.”Frontiers in
Psychology, 9 (2018). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01341
Donlon, Mark T. “Towards New Forms of Pianistic Improvisation Across Musical Boundaries.”
PhD diss, Victoria University of Wellington, 2019. Research Archive of of VUW.
http://hdl.handle.net/10063/8078
36
Dubal, David. Reflections from the Keyboard: The World of the Concert Pianist. New York:
Summit Books, 1984.
Frisius, Rudolf and Alexander Schwan, “Improvisation.” MGG Online. Accessed June 27, 2018.
https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:4318/article?id=mgg15495&v=1.0&q=improvisation&rs=
id-66f4bc07-3c13-99b2-1fea-3c1cef7f357b.
Gaines, James R. Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age
of Enlightenment. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
Ganassi, Silvestro. Opera Intitulata Fontegara. Edited by Peter, Hildemarie. Venice 1535.
Berlin-Lichterfelde: R. Lienau, 1959.
Goldman, Andrew, Tyreek Jackson, and Paul Sajda. “Improvisation Experience Predicts How
Musicians Categorize Musical Structures.” Psychology of Music 48, no. 1 (2018): 18–34.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735618779444.
Hamilton, Thomas Keith. “The liturgical organist: the creative use of solo organ music in the
Lutheran liturgy.” D.M.A. Dissertation. University of Iowa, 2014. ProQuest (AAT
3680079).
Hofmann, Josef. “Josef Hofmann 1937 Jubilee Concert - Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven
(Columbia ML 4929; Complete).” YouTube video, 44:18. May 10, 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81p-uiJG-u0.
37
Horowitz, Joseph. “Liszt and Improvisation.” ArtsJournal Blog. Accessed January 11, 2019.
https://www.artsjournal.com/uq/2010/02/liszt_and_improvisation.html.
Kaiser, Joachim. Great Pianists of Our Time. London: George Allen & Unwin LTD, 1971.
Lahee, Henry Charles. Famous Pianists of Today and Yesterday. Boston: L.C. Page and
Company, 1900.
Lenz, W. Von. The Great Piano Virtuosos of Our Time: From Personal Acquaintance.
Translated by Madeleine Baker. New York: G. Schirmer, 1899.
Levin, Robert. “Concert Lecture Robert Levin, Bern 2017.” YouTube video, 1:18:45. October 2,
2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhllEwvtV6I&t=3015s.
Levin, Robert. “Improvising Mozart.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Vol. 55, No. 2 (Winter 2013): 87-90. Accessed June 21, 2018.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3824946?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
Loparits, Elizabeth. “Hungarian gypsy style in the Lisztian spirit: Georges Cziffra's two
transcriptions of Brahms' Fifth Hungarian Dance.” D.M.A. Dissertation. University of
North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. ProQuest (AAT 3307209).
Lynam, Robin. “How jazz borrowed improvisation from classical music, and pianist Gabriela
Montero who’s on a mission to take it back.” South China Morning Post. April 19, 2017.
Accessed March 2, 2020. https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2088177/how-
jazz-borrowed-improvisation-classical-music-and-pianist-gabriela.
Mastrogiacomo, Joseph. “Josef Hofmann: An Analysis of Selected Solo Piano Works.” DMA
diss., University of South Carolina, 2013.
Montero, Gabriela. “Gabriela Montero improvises on Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto in the
style of Bach.” YouTube video, 5:23. Jan 17, 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZSPBk_TGaI.
38
Moore, Robin. “The Decline of Improvisation in Western Art Music: An Interpretation of
Change.” International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 23, No. 1 (June
1992): 61-84. Accessed June 21, 2018. http://www.jstor.org/stable/836956.
Morley, Thomas. A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music. S.n. London, 1597.
National Association of Schools of Music. “An Advisory for Music Faculty and Administrators.”
National Association of Schools of Music Handbook 2018-19. Accessed Jan 8, 2020.
https://nasm.arts-accredit.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/02/Advisory-
Composition_Improvisation.pdf.
Niecks, Frederick. Frederick Chopin: as a Man and Musician. London: Novello and Company,
Limited, 1902. Accessed March 4, 2020. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4973/4973-
h/4973-h.htm.
Randall, Mayumi Ogura. “The History of Piano Improvisation in Western Concert Music.”
D.M.A. Dissertation. University of Cincinnati, 1993. ProQuest: 9424584.
Schonberg, Harold C. The Great Pianists. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963.
Stidham, Lindsay. “This Man Challenged Beethoven to a Duel. One of Them Quite Halfway
Through.” The History Collection. Accessed Jan 15, 2020.
https://historycollection.co/man-thought-beat-beethoven-musical-duel/.
Sturrock, Donald, dir. The Art of Piano. 1999; Hollywood: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc,
2002. DVD.
Whitney, Craig R. “Organ Improvisation as an Art Form.” The New York Times. May 29, 1996.
Accessed March 2, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/arts/organ-
improvisation-as-an-art-form.html.
Woosley, Kevin Daniel. “The Lost Art of Improvisation: Teaching Improvisation to Classical
Pianists.” D.M.A. Dissertation. University of Alabama, 2012. ProQuest (AAT 3550094).
39