• Tracks

Pianist David Kaplan's quasi una fantasia explores the relationship between composition and improvisation, with Beethoven's two Op. 27 sonatas at the heart of his program. Around these two works, Kaplan performs music by Ligeti, Louis Couperin, Brahms and Schumann, alongside contemporary works by Christopher Cerrone, Anthony Cheung and Andrea Casarrubios. The program grew out of Kaplan's interest in the improvisatory qualities of both old and new music. His own improvised preludes and transitions connect the works, while Cerrone's Passagework, Cheung's Holding Patterns and Casarrubios' Sandglass each offer a different perspective on musical freedom and spontaneity. The result reflects Kaplan's view of the classical score as something more flexible than fixed, and explores the role improvisation has long played within the classical tradition.