Improvisation over the first 14 measures of Beethoven's Appassionata

This is an Improvisation I played on July 31st, 2010 over the first 14 measures of the first movement of the sonata "Appassionata" of Ludwig van Beethoven

Improvisation over the first 14 measures of Beethoven's Appassionata

Up to 1.52 is Beethoven's original compositione, namely the first 14 measures.

From 1.54 on is my elaboration of it, all made on the spot, so don't ask for a score which doesn't exist, because it was all made on the spot.

For an improv, this is very long. I'd ask you if you could try notating it from the recording, but since it's like 22 minutes long I wouldn't dare. XD

I must say, this is a very good improv. Yes, you had a great piece of work to start off with, but you continued a high level of skill throughout. Congrats on that.

Well this is just one of my improvisations I recorded, I do improvise almost everyday and for hours.

This is just one piece I could improvise while improvising other things, but I don't record them all the time because I forgot to do it heheeh I always tell myself to do it like, every time I will improvise I must record, but then it takes some time to set it all up, and I never do it hahah

a friend of mine asked me to improvise something on Beethoven's "appassionata", and I had a quick look at the score and took the very beginning, which is just a simple jump from note to note in F minor with little added in-between, then I put it together with my ideas and my feels of that moment, and every now and then used the theme to give to the whole piece a better sense of togetherness.

For the second question/idea, it is a big no, I wouldn't write down an Improvisation, would be pointless and lose the improvisation character itself which consists in the fact that it is made on the spot, it's not something written out, so you had thoughts on it, it is just "free speech", and it has to be that way.

I could improvise you millions different ways on the same theme, in this case of Beethoven, and this would mean I'd need to notate all them? No way! hehe

I dont really care to write down my improvisations, as I said, if i want to make a record of them, I just go and record it. I have my written music and my improvised music. Sometimes while I am improvising it happens that I want to sue that idea for a work, so I take the pen and the paper and write it down and compose the piece while improvising it, that's why it takes me not much time to write something, if I really need it.

But, besides all that I am glad you liked my music! :)

This improvisation deserves far more attention. ;)

Very nice job.

Um...I don't have a tuner or the greatest ear on earth, but that piano sounds very flat...?

Extremely well-done, though. Molto espressivo and very inventive! Thank you for getting this one recorded.

I am sorry for the flat piano haha but I got just that...

but thank yous very much guys for appreciating it! :)

atrocious! well done

Thank you very much

Soon I will post more improvisations, I just need to convert them to a smaller size

No, Actually I don't like this at all. Hate me as much as you can, but this is exactly how I play appasionata when I'm drunk ))))

I thought the way you interpreted the material of Beethoven's Appassionata at the beginning there was a little funny -- an awful lot of soft rubato there, and I never imagined it being played that way :mellow: It was a little distracting, but it wasn't too big a deal.

I thought when things got turbulent at about the 2:40 ish mark, that was when you started really channeling Beethoven's spirit :lol: And then at about 5:00, the thick, dissonant-ish chords were also very much in the mood of Beethoven, I think. 8:00 with the repeated chords of frustration was also a nice touch :thumbsup: And then still later on you showed some really amazing virtuosic techniques.

All-in-all, I like how you kept Beethoven's language (aka chromatic descents/ascents and lots of diminished chord arpeggios :musicwhistle:) while making it your own spontaneous emotions that were being portrayed. I enjoyed it, personally.

atrocious! well done :)

Errrr ... :ermm: I'm getting mixed messages here :blink:

Thanks for sharing! :phones:

Hahaha, well the beginning is that slow because i was reading it prima vista! A friend of mine asked me to improvise something on a Beethoven piece, and he asked me to do it with that theme, so I went online and I found the beginning of the music and I wrote down on paper, then I started recording it and playing it and I went on like that... I know it has to be a bit more fast, but well... next time :D

SergeOfArniVillage, thank you for the nice analysis, I really liked it!

LordNemrod, haha that was funny :)