Improvisation at the piano in the classical music medium is as old as the piano itself, although one wouldn't know it to the extent that it has found representation on recordings. The improvising of Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz was captured on wax cylinders in 1910, and Sergey Rachmaninov's intense improvisation on Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 recorded for Edison in 1919 was willful enough to move the Wizard of Menlo himself to describe Rachmaninov as "a banger." Improvisations once were an integral part of the ...
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Improvisation at the piano in the classical music medium is as old as the piano itself, although one wouldn't know it to the extent that it has found representation on recordings. The improvising of Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz was captured on wax cylinders in 1910, and Sergey Rachmaninov's intense improvisation on Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 recorded for Edison in 1919 was willful enough to move the Wizard of Menlo himself to describe Rachmaninov as "a banger." Improvisations once were an integral part of the reproducing roll trade, as well. More recently jazz pianist Marcus Roberts recorded a partly improvised performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue that, while interesting, was distractingly eclectic. Therefore, it can be a mixed blessing, and classical record companies seldom pursue this course.EMI Classics has decided to make an exception in the case of intriguing Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, and have developed an interesting platform from which to spring this risky prospect....
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