Impromptu 2

Yves Daoust

Impromptu 2 has been performed in Claremont, Karlsruhe, Los Angeles and Montréal…

I completed this piece thanks to the help of Chopin who, for the occasion, loaned me his Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, opus 66 for piano. All the materials in my piece (aside from a brief allusion to Schumann) come from this work: the harmonic colours, the pitches, but also the agitation in the writing, the overly abundant energy, the tension. A sort of cry expressing the ‘tortures of the soul’ that continue to plague contemporary human beings, in spite of the myth of a liberating technology. We remain unabashed Romantics…

[i-01]


Impromptu 2 premiered on January 30, 1996 by Manuel Schweizer, piano, and Anne Gaudemer, keyboard both from the Ensemble Grame, during the concert Live from Lyon produced by SMCQ at Salle Pierre-Mercure in Montréal. Impromptu 2 was commissioned by the SMCQ with support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

Premiere

  • January 30, 1996, Manuel Schweizer, piano; Anne Gaudemer, keyboard • Live from Lyon, Salle Pierre-Mercure — Centre Pierre-Péladeau, Montréal (Québec)

Details

Impromptu 2 (1995), 16:00
piano, synthetizer (Roland JV-80, Max/MSP sampler) and stereo fixed medium

Calendar

Broadcasts

Date Work Program
December 14, 2001 Yves Daoust, Impromptu 2 (1995), 16:00 Borderline Extra / Freies Radio Kassel (Germany)
August 15, 2021 Yves Daoust, Impromptu 2 (1995), 16:00 Episode 1073 / Martian Gardens Podcast (USA)
December 14, 2022 Yves Daoust, Impromptu 2 (1995), 16:00 Episode 1132 / Martian Gardens Podcast (USA)