Editing Impromptu

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Short description|Musical form}}
{{Other uses}}
An '''impromptu''' ({{IPAc-en|ɪ|m|ˈ|p|r|ɒ|m|p|tj|uː}}, {{IPA|fr|ɛ̃pʁɔ̃pty|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-WikiLucas00-impromptu.wav}}, loosely meaning "offhand") 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. According to ''[[Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung]]'', [[Johann Baptist Cramer]] began publishing piano pieces under the (sub-)title of "impromptu." (AMZ, Mar. No II, 1815, col. 6), which seems to be the first recorded use of the term ''impromptu'' in this sense.

==Form usage==

Since the very concept of unpremeditated, spur-of-the-moment inspiration without studied care is at the heart of [[Romanticism|Romantic artistic theory]], it did not take long before the first generation of [[Romantic music|Romantic]] composers took up the idea. Others were:
* [[Frédéric Chopin]] composed 4 ''[[Impromptus (Chopin)|Impromptus]]'', including the famous [[Fantaisie-Impromptu]].
* [[Jan Václav Voříšek]] was the first one to compose impromptus published under that title, in 1822.
* [[Franz Schubert]] published two sets of four ''[[Impromptus (Schubert)|Impromptus]]'' for piano, [[Impromptus, Op. 90 (Schubert)|Op. 90]] and [[Impromptus, Op. 142 (Schubert)|Op. 142]] (1827). After his death three more unnamed piano compositions (''Klavierstücke'') were sometimes named ''Impromptus''.
* [[Robert Schumann]] wrote some Impromptus, published as Op. 5 (1833).
* [[Charles-Valentin Alkan]] composed two sets of four Impromptus, published as Op. 32 (No. 1 in 1848, and No. 2 in 1849).
* [[Franz Liszt]] composed an Impromptu in F sharp (sometimes called Nocturne) and a piano piece named [[Valse-Impromptu (Liszt)|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 and was prominent throughout the romantic era.

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.<ref>[http://www.journeau.com/en/oeuvres.html Journeau's works]</ref>
* [[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 and ''Two Impromptus Op.131'' in 2016.
* [[Vince Mendoza]]'s [[Epiphany (Mendoza)|Epiphany]], performed by the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] and published in 1999. The first piece of the album is named ''Impromptu''.
* One of [[Queen (band)|Queen]]'s songs, performed at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] and [[Magic Tour (Queen)|other performances]] is named ''Impromptu''.

==References==
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[[Category:Classical music styles]]
[[Category:Musical improvisation]]