Impromptus Nos. 1-2

Like the Nocturne, models for the Impromptu can be found before Chopin (in Schubert and Moscheles, for instance). But the term only referred generally to any piece with an improvisatory feel. Chopin's first efforts in the genre from 1837 and 1839, as well as the popular Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor (1834, but published much later as No. 4), continued the style of his recent Etudes. In such works Chopin sought to appease his devotees while also transcending the frivolity widespread in European concert music. Impromptu No. 1 inverts the nocturne form. What would have made a perfect main theme for a Nocturne is framed instead between perpetual motion sections—Etudes in all but name. With themes developing organically and gradually, Impromptu No. 2 sounds more truly improvisatory than its predecessor. We hear echoes of a lilting Barcarolle at the outset. What is more, Chopin uses this prologue to set an important precedent: the bass can carry the thematic load when the right hand eventually goes tripping off on a virtuosic lark. That Chopin should include a lengthy and flashy variation betrays both his skill and his consideration of the salon's tastes. But he proves his matchless aesthetic sense by reprising a poignant chorale theme to avoid a banal finish.

(c) Jason Stell