MUSIC UNWRITTEN
The Forgotten Tradition of Classical Improvisation
Saturday 21 March 2026 at 6:30pm
Discover the forgotten art of classical improvisation, from Bach to the contemporary, in an unrepeatable evening of live piano music.
For most of its history, classical improvisation was a core pillar of the Western classical tradition. From Bach to Liszt, composers were celebrated as much for their capacity to create music spontaneously in front of live audiences as they were for their written works. This tradition was not a party trick or showcase, but the foundation of a lived aural tradition. Its near-total disappearance in the twentieth century, as the score became sovereign and performance became crystallised by recording, represents one of the great unacknowledged losses in musical culture.
For an evening, Music Unwritten sets out to recover that tradition. The concert will unfold as a passage through time. It opens with explorations of early forms — the invention, fugue, and sonata — before giving way to the free and expressive language of the Romantic era. The programme culminates in entirely new music, demonstrating how this living tradition speaks with full force to the present day. Classical forms and techniques will be demonstrated and explained, and the audience will have a chance to participate in the creation of a new composition on the night.
Performers: Gabriel Williams — piano, Marc Plasmeijer — piano
Tickets: £10 avaiable here.
Time: Doors open 6:00pm, concert begins 6:30pm. Duration just over 1 hour, refreshments served after.
At Heath Street Baptist Church. See map and get directions.