Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 09/27/2005, uploaded on 01/12/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Fantaisie in C, Op. 12      Jan Václav Voříšek

Andante; Allegro con brio             

Like many other musicians in the 18th and 19th centuries, Jan Hugo Voříšek (1791-1826) left his native Bohemia to seek greater professional opportunities abroad.  He settled in Vienna, where he found employment as court organist.  As a composer, he achieved a good deal of success during his lifetime. He can be credited with being one of the first-if not simply the first-composers to write lyrical piano pieces called "impromptus," preceding Schubert in this genre.  His Fantaisie Op. 12 begins in an improvisational style, a skill in which Voříšek showed great ability. The two movements of this work differ on many levels: for instance, the first movement, in C Major, is slow with frequent shifts in rhythmic pace, creating an atmosphere between lingering and meandering. In contrast, the second movement is in c minor, with an unrelenting rhythmic drive, like a perpetual motion. While the first movement is free of any preconceived form, the second is formally strict.  The Fantaisie offers an appealing balance between reflection and brilliance, and deserves a place among the concert repertoire.    David Gross

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.