Thoughts · 7 September 2026
The Art of Improvisation — A Lost Legacy
Anyone who could not improvise was considered an incomplete musician. On a skill that has all but vanished from classical training.
Improvisation was once among the most important skills of a musician. Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Bach were masters of spontaneous musical creation. They could sit for hours at the keyboard or organ and improvise freely — without notes, without preparation. The art has largely been lost today, but it deserves to be rediscovered.
In the Baroque, improvisation was an integral part of musical life. An organist such as Bach was in demand not only because he could play existing works but because he could invent new ones in the moment of playing. Improvisation was the musician’s highest art, the proof of his creativity. Anyone who could not improvise was considered an incomplete musician.
In the Classical period it was equally central. Mozart and Beethoven appeared not only as interpreters of their own works but as improvisers. Their concerts often consisted half of improvised passages. The cadenzas we play from notation today were originally improvised — the climax of the concerto, the moment when the soloist could show all his skill.
Improvisation is also an important aid in practice. Whoever improvises learns to engage with the instrument without clinging to the text. They develop a feeling for harmony and melody, for the structure and flow of the music. It promotes not only creativity but deepens understanding of what one plays.
Its rediscovery is one of the great challenges of modern music pedagogy. It is not about imitating old styles but about developing the courage for spontaneous musical expression. Improvisation is not only a technique but an attitude — one of openness and trust in one’s own musical intuition.
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