24 Preludes and Improvisations
for Piano
The works contained in this volume were created in 2016 for release on the music album 24 Preludes & Improvisations.1 Each prelude was coupled with an improvisation in the same key. I propose to adopt the same dual pattern as a model for the performance of this cycle. If you prefer to perform selected pieces separately, this is also an acceptable option.
I am not in the habit of writing down my pieces for solo piano. This is why the Preludes have never appeared in score form before. In my work on these compositions, I first focused on the music alone, and later described the idea of the cycle in my doctoral dissertation,2 where I also explained, specifically, why notation should not ‘mediate’ between me and my creations, and what
role improvisation plays in this context.
In score form, the Preludes may nevertheless be useful for those who wish to interpret themin their own manner and complement them with improvisations of their own. This is an idea once suggested to me by my grandfather Janusz, to whom I have dedicated both the original recording and this printed edition.
My heartfelt thanks is due to the exceptionally talented pianist Tymoteusz Bies, who made ‘decoding’ my playing possible in the first place. Faced with the dilemma of whether I should faithfully represent the recorded version or instead reflect the diversity of my later performance variants, I have opted for a possibly precisely notated score that nevertheless leaves some much-needed
room for the performer’s interpretative freedom.
At the end of this volume, I have added brief performance notes, which may help understand the nature of this cycle and possibly encourage someone to take up the art of improvisation.
Piotr Orzechowski
translated by Tomasz Zymer
- Series: Strumento
- ISMN 979-0-2740-4233-2
- Number of pages: 100
- Cover: softcover
- No. of edition: 1
- Published: 2025
- Type: instrumental solo
- Size: N4 vertical (235x305 mm)
