Piano improvisation

Teacher

Galina Vracheva

ECTS 2
Duration and structure 10 group sessions of 2 hours each and individual lessons.
Language Italiano
Certification Compulsory course for the Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy, piano classes.Course open to all interested participants (piano classes).

Restrictions

Study areas

Improvisation Electives

Study programmes

All

Instrument families

Piano

Learning outcomes

  • First-time participants: students must become familiar with at least five historical style periods and, within three of them, be able to improvise short pieces based on images, poems, or musical motives, or to invent cadenzas during concert performances.
  • Second-time participants: students will improvise variations, rhapsodies, études, nocturnes, and preludes, in a musical language that demonstrates individuality of sound, technical fluency, and personal harmonic style.

Course contents and description

  • Review the history of improvisation, primarily in music but also in painting, dance, and literature.
  • Study notable improvisers such as Homer, Shakespeare, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Picasso, Horowitz, and Nijinsky.
  • Explore and explain the decline of improvisation in the 20th century.
  • Examine the revival of improvisation since the 1980s initiated by Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, and Friedrich Gulda.
  • Practice piano improvisation with a focus on spontaneity and creativity.
  • Develop techniques for improvising on themes suggested by the audience.
  • Improvise cadenzas in concertos, with continuous emphasis on expressivity and audience engagement.

Calendar

All students

02.11.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
02.11.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
03.11.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
03.11.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
30.11.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
30.11.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
01.12.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
01.12.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
14.12.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
14.12.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
15.12.2026, from 10:00 to 13:00
15.12.2026, from 14:00 to 17:00
11.01.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
11.01.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
25.01.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
25.01.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
26.01.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
26.01.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
22.02.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
22.02.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
23.02.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
23.02.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
15.03.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
15.03.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
16.03.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
16.03.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
12.04.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
12.04.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00
13.04.2027, from 10:00 to 13:00
13.04.2027, from 14:00 to 17:00

Details

Teaching methods

  • Lectures and discussions on the history and cultural context of improvisation in music and other arts.
  • Demonstrations of improvisation techniques and styles by the instructor.
  • Practical sessions in which students actively create spontaneous improvisations at the piano.
  • Interactive exercises: audience-suggested themes for improvisation.
  • Workshops on improvising cadenzas under the instructor’s guidance.
  • Individual and group feedback to refine each student’s skills.

Evaluation methods

  • Motivation to experiment, develop instrumental virtuosity, and stimulate creativity in order to achieve personal freedom of expression.
  • Continuous assessment based on active participation in practical improvisation sessions.
  • Evaluation of improvisations performed independently or on themes suggested by the audience.
  • Assessment of improvised cadenzas in concert performance.
  • Instructor feedback on technical proficiency, creativity, and structural coherence.
  • Final performance/recital demonstrating the student’s overall improvisational skills.

Evaluation criteria

  • Technical proficiency and structural stability in piano improvisation.
  • Creativity and originality in improvisation exercises and performances.
  • Ability to develop musical ideas spontaneously from given themes.
  • Sensitivity to style, expression, and musicality.
  • Steady progress throughout the course.

Certification

  • Regular attendance at all lessons.

  • Participation in final examinations, held publicly in the form of student concerts (“Saggi”) at the end of the last session, consisting of both individual and ensemble improvisations.