L'Arabesque is a work from Burgmuller's Opus 100 collection. In the key of A minor it combines a chordal accompaniment with right hand figuration. It is quite a dramatic movement requiring light hands in the playing approach. Repeats are in place in the music score and should be used in performances to encourage good practice and the development of a secure musical memory. Burgmuller utilises a wide range of the keyboard The realisation plays back at 132 quarter note (crotchet) beats to the minute and the score tempo marking is Allegro scherzando. Scherzando is an Italian term meaning playful, joking or light hearted. Friedrich Burgmuller 1806-1874 was a German pianist and composer identified with the romantic period in music history known particularly for his Opus 100 teaching pieces - 25 Easy and Progressive Studies. The Burgmuller Opus 100 collection contains music that is relatively easy to play embracing many of the composition models in place during the 19th century. This is a time in music history when most homes would have had a piano in the household. The instrument was studied and taught widely. Burgmuller demonstrates a gift for embracing many musical and stylistic elements into piano miniatures that are excellent practice and performance material for the improver level pianist stepping up to the intermediate and more advanced levels.
