The fantasia, the improvisational discipline of pianists par excellence, is the means to transform inventiveness and imagination directly into sound creation. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this discipline guaranteed the instant generation and development of one's own musical ideas, and aimed for an interactive connection with the audience. After all, ‘requests’ were performed in a melting pot of existing melodies, one's own inventions, and inventions created during the playing itself. Often the fantasia was the adventurous finale to a successful keyboard recital.
With the disappearance of this discipline during the 19th century, the profile of the pianist-composer also gradually changed to that of a pianist devoted almost exclusively to the performance of repertoire.
Mapping the skills specific to a fantasia can make this discipline accessible again. Scattered across numerous historical methods and in all manner of sources, possible clues can be found that could reinsert the trajectory of learning to ‘fantasieren’ into the training and practice of a contemporary pianist. The unique starting point in this research is ‘The Art of Preluding’, the discipline that creates an ideal foundation for any form of improvisation.
Online platform: www.the-art-of-preluding.com
