Home 
Features GO Magazine Cooper revisits classical improv techniques
Cooper revisits classical improv techniques
|
 KEYBOARD MAESTRO: Matt Cooper will perform Wednesday at McKenzie Theatre. - EOU photo The professor of music at Eastern Oregon University will demonstrate Wednesday the musical forms that were originally improvised, as well as pieces specifically titled “improvisation.” The faculty recital starts at 7:30 p.m. in McKenzie Theatre. Although usually associated with jazz and contemporary popular music, improvisation was also once an integral part of the classical music tradition. Many well-known composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven,Chopin and Liszt were also adroit improvisers. “Working on this program and performing it for friends has made me realize how illusory is the distinction between so-called ‘improvised’ and ‘non-improvised’ forms,” Cooper said. “While these pieces are written out, each performance — like an improvisation — is unique and can never exactly be replicated.” Cooper will incorporate into his recital three pieces that were written during the 1980s by composer Allen Shawn. The pieces were written in the improvisatory styles of rag, tango and boogie-woogie. The program will also feature Beethoven’s Variations on “God Save the King,” (better known in the United States as “Our Country, Tis of Thee”); Bela Bartok’s eight short “Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs”; and Frederic Chopin’s four “Impromptus,” including the famous “Fantasy-Impromptu in C# Minor.” “The music happens only in real time, in the hands of the performer and in the ears of a willing listener,” Cooper said. “The magic, which happens between performer and listener, is subtle, elusive and transient. Even ‘composed’ music can feel quite spontaneous.” Admission is the recital is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit the EOU music scholarship fund. |
