Alex Gimenez

Practicing the lost art of classical improvisation. Classical improvisation was once the widely practiced cornerstone of classical composition and how classical composers played their own pieces themselves. They improvised those too. No two performances were ever quite the same. And so, improvisation was a part of classical performances. Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt were all virtuoso improvisers whose concerts often included ad-lib fantasies and spontaneous variations on themes called out by...

Practicing the lost art of classical improvisation. Classical improvisation was once the widely practiced cornerstone of classical composition and how classical composers played their own pieces themselves. They improvised those too. No two performances were ever quite the same. And so, improvisation was a part of classical performances. Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt were all virtuoso improvisers whose concerts often included ad-lib fantasies and spontaneous variations on themes called out by their audiences. In my case, I’m not sure how I’m able do it but I can. Improvised when I recorded it on the first take. I don’t very much care the classical purists, particularly classical music professors, are unaware that this is a legitimate lost art they maybe never learned or want to teach as it’s an all but forgotten part of what could be a more complete classical curriculum. All of my copyrighted music is right here in one place for you to enjoy. Many of them were recorded live as I composed them on the spot and played them on the spot on the first take. I’m classically trained but not much bound by the classical instruction straitjacket of “we don’t improvise”. All rights reserved.