Fauré’s Improvisation from his Opus 84 is an intermediate level piano solo in the key of C sharp minor. Pianists should be aiming for a singing legato and be prepared to use rubato particular at the ends of phrases Use of the sustaining pedal is suggested and indicated in the score but the sound needs to be controlled without too creating too ambient a sound. The spread chord played by the left hand in bar 9 is best played slowly and rhythmically. There are many fine performances of this work which is not particularly well known that can be explored on streaming media It is a short intense movement in which many change of moods are expressed and tonal ambiguities implied. The sheet music requires careful reading and there is some triplet figurarion in place that creates a number of 3 against 2’s cross rhythms. The realisation lacks the fluidity and sensitivity of a live performance. This is not a typical Fauré piece composed at the beginning of the 20th century when Debussy’s music was widely coming to the fore in Paris.
