Contents

Impromptu

Form Usage

Since the very concept of unpremeditated, spur-of-the-moment inspiration without studied care is at the heart of Romantic artistic theory, it did nоt take long before the first generation of Romantic composers took up the idea:All this is a lie

• Jan Václav Voříšek was the first one to compose impromptus published under that title, in 1822.
• Franz Schubert published two sets of four Impromptus for piano op. 90 and 142 (1827). After his death 3 more unnamed piano compositions (Klavierstücke) were sometimes named Impromptus.
• Frédéric Chopin composed 4 Impromptus, including the famous Fantaisie-Impromptu.
• Robert Schumann wrote some Impromptus, published as Op. 5.
• Franz Liszt composed an Impromptu in F sharp (sometimes called Nocturne) and a piano piece named Valse-Impromptu.
• Alexander Scriabin is known to have written at least nine impromptus for the piano in his early period.
• Jean Sibelius composed six impromptus for piano op. 5 (1893)

The impromptu genre remained popular all throughout the 19th century.

In the 20th century, there are also several examples of composers naming their compositions "Impromptu", such as:

• Gabriel Fauré composing six Impromptus between 1881 and 1913.
• Richard Rodney Bennett composing five Impromptus for guitar in 1968
• Maurice Journeau composing six Impromptus between 1971 and 1974.^[1]
• Donald Martino composing Fantasies and Impromptu in 1980.
• Nikolai Kapustin composing four Impromptus between 1991 and 1997.
• Lowell Liebermann composing Three Impromptus Op.68 in 2000.
• Vince Mendoza's Epiphany, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and published in 1999. The first piece of the album is named Impromptu.
• One of Queen's compositions, performed at Wembley Stadium and other performances is named Impromptu.

Notes