Hyperion Records

The Impromptu and Tarentelle both belong to the Op 35 set of Études de concert that includes the famous Automne. The Impromptu lives up to its name, beginning in lyrical style not unlike the Op 87 Consolation, but with capricious bits of decoration built into its smooth main melody. It arrives at a more virtuosic and improvisatory central section characterized by sudden washes of keyboard colour and abrupt changes of subject, and, though the opening tune returns, these more wayward elements reassert themselves and carry the piece to a flying (volante) conclusion. The Tarentelle, a natural coda to this recital, is an extended bravura study in a pulsing 6/8 rhythm. Its ceaseless quaver motion carries the music through many distant modulations and several dramatic episodes to a barnstorming coda that would win well deserved applause from any aspiring concert performer.

from notes by Calum MacDonald © 1994