{"id":59,"date":"2010-08-11T17:37:36","date_gmt":"2010-08-11T21:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/?p=59"},"modified":"2025-11-23T16:28:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T21:28:47","slug":"notes-and-music-from-playing-through-solo-piano-concert-from-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/notes-and-music-from-playing-through-solo-piano-concert-from-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes and Music from \u2018Playing Through\u2019, Solo Piano Concert from 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December of 2009, I presented a concert of solo improvised piano at the Bloomingdale School of Music. Here are the program notes from the event. I have posted a few mp3’s from the evening, as well.<\/p>\n

Program Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike the magician\u2019s art which is betrayed by divulging its secrets, the improviser thrives on listeners who are \u2018in\u2019 on the game. One of my main sources of musical pleasure is in experimenting with different ways of improvising. Here are the rules and parameters I\u2019ve set up for myself for this evening\u2019s concert.<\/p>\n

The Bach Partita that I am using (No. 1) has six separate movements or sections, and I will improvise my way through them in their original order. They are written using the form, style and rhythms of particular dances popular in the Baroque era. I will attempt to follow Bach\u2019s basic harmonic plan (with an occasional straying here or there), and hope to gather melody, motif and phrase along my walk. Though I do aim to retain the basic feeling of the original dances, I allow it to be filtered through my own rhythmic language and musical experiences. Sometimes as I move through the piece I feel as though I am wandering from room to room in a fantastic old house, and I occasionally find myself compelled to improvise a transition from one room to the next, perhaps reflecting on what I have seen. For those keeping track of my progress, I will attempt to make clear where I am in the house at any given moment!<\/p>\n

I have chosen five Debussy preludes, all from book II, for the next part of the program. These are highly evocative pieces which employ the full range of the piano\u2019s possible dynamics, timbres, and textures. I have abstracted certain rhythmic, register, and intervallic information (you will notice me reading music) which I will use to create my own narrative in the spirit of each prelude. Because the harmonic language will be my own, these improvisations will be more of a departure from the original than the Bach.<\/p>\n

The program will conclude with 4 original compositions. Though they do exist in written form, these short pieces have stubbornly refused to be played in any one particular way, and so it seemed appropriate to include them. Tempo, dynamics, meter, texture, orchestration are all up for grabs. Some days they seem to become a showcase for my left hand, all too busy with other chores to be allowed to make melody itself! These pieces share a certain harmonic elusiveness, influenced perhaps from contemporary jazz composition. Jazz tends to favor the \u2018theme and variation\u2019 form of improvisation, but I will play through the form of these pieces several times with melody largely intact. Sections may expand or contract, interludes may occur, but hopefully the theme itself will give the listener something to \u2018hold on to\u2019.<\/p>\n

11\/28\/09<\/p>\n

1. Improvisation based on the gigue from Bach’s Bb Partita for keyboard: Gigue<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Improvisation based on Feuilles mortes, the second prelude from book 2 of Debussy’s preludes for piano: Leaves<\/a><\/p>\n

3. An orginal composition: Four Square<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In December of 2009, I presented a concert of solo improvised piano at the Bloomingdale School of Music. Here are the program notes from the event. I have posted a few mp3’s from the evening, as well. Program Notes Unlike the magician\u2019s art which is betrayed by divulging its secrets, the improviser thrives on listeners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-projects","tag-projects"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ohMj-X","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/69\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":0},"title":"Improv Sonata, 2009","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"August 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In June of 2009, the Bloomingdale School of Music presented a composition of mine which I called 'Sonata for Improvised Piano'. An excerpt appears above. The piece exists in two versions, one completely written out, and the other written with a combination of graphic and conventional notation. The piece was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/first-page-improv-sonata-edited1-300x166.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/program-notes-from-premier-of-one-musicianone-magician-march-2010\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":1},"title":"Program Notes from Premier of One Musician\/One Magician, March 2010","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"July 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Program Notes Welcome to the maiden voyage of One Musician\/One Magician! For the past several months, Jeff and I have been amusing ourselves by exploring the intersections of our respective arts, and we are delighted to present some of our findings today. Our primary goal is to create music you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":482,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/dalcroze-7-9-year-olds-2714\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":2},"title":"Dalcroze: 7-9-Year-olds, 2\/7\/14","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"February 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Back to my own observations... enjoy! \u00a0 Statue tag All students make a statue. One moves as long as she likes. When she stops, she makes the shape of one of the statues. That statue is free to move. This game is more fun when whoever is making someone else\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15829,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/its-all-a-charade\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":3},"title":"It’s All a Charade","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"October 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Classic Party Game as Music and Movement Portal for 3rd-5th Graders Last week, I came across a passage in a book by Elizabeth Vanderspar that stopped me in my tracks. (The book was originally published as \u201cPrinciples and Guidelines for Teaching Eurhythmics\u201d and is now available as Dalcroze Handbook:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":486,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/dalcroze-7-9-year-olds-2717\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":4},"title":"Dalcroze: 7-9-Year-olds, 2\/14\/17","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"March 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's what we did: Statue tag All students make a statue. One moves as long as she likes. When she stops, she makes the shape of one of the statues. That statue is free to move. This game is more fun when whoever is making someone else\u2019s shape does not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11900,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/1st-2nd-grade-skills-experiences-and-objectives-associated-with-pitch-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":5},"title":"1st – 2nd Grade Skills, Experiences and Objectives Associated with Pitch (Part 3)","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"November 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are more curricular lists for 1st-2nd grade. This time the focus is on pitch. Rhythm skills for kids this age are a lot more predictable for me than pitch skills. 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