Impromptu Op.90 No.2 // SCHUBERT

Franz Schubert's Impromptus are a series of eight pieces for solo piano composed in 1827. They were published in two sets of four impromptus each: the first two pieces in the first set were published in the composer's lifetime as Op. 90; the second set was published posthumously as Op. 142 in 1839 (with a dedication added by the publisher to Franz Liszt). The third and fourth pieces in the first set were published in 1857.

Set in E♭ major, the piece begins with a lively scale-based and often chromatic melody in triplets; it is in compound ternary form (the A section is in ternary form itself). The middle subsection of the A section is in E♭ minor and is naturally darker than the opening though still very lyrical. The section ends with two oscillating figures which act as an important bridge both here and later. The first subsection repeats but moves quickly into a codetta which reasserts E♭ minor and the darker feeling of the middle subsection.

A quick ascending scale leads to the B section in B minor (which however contrasting, is based rhythmically on the implied accents in the structure of the A section (123123123123)). This section is based on a figure alternating a widely spaced bare octave and an offbeat accented triplet. The alternation of octave and triplet becomes closer towards the end and the oscillating figures played at the end of the E♭ minor section return to lead back into the opening A section of the work. The coda is a modified version of the B section, starting in B minor but alternating that key with E♭ minor, in which key the work ends. It is one of few single-movement pieces that begin in a major key and end in the parallel minor (another example being the Rhapsody in E♭ major from Brahms's Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119).
(Source: Wikipedia)

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Piece: Impromptu No. 2 in E♭ major
Work Title: Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90)
Composer: Franz Schubert
Year of Composition: 1827
First Publication: 1857
Piece Style: Romantic

Performer: Rio Kai Rui (2017), notes were edited
Artwork: © PianoAdventure
Visualization: Synthesia