About this work: (This 2011 version has been superseded by the 2011 version, 2012 update. Please go to the updated version, which is accompanied by additional information.)
“Rondo Refrain” is the tenth of the pieces that I selected as my best ten completed short piano pieces each of which satisfy certain criteria so that together they comprise a set, not just a disparate collection. This 2011 version has numerous small improvements to the score, the playback, and a few in the music itself. There are more and better fingering numbers and pedal markings.
It is intended for the intermediate sections between the repeated sections of the rondo to be improvised. Or, it may be played as a non-rondo piece (no intermediate sections).
The idea here is that, in the series ABACA (or more) that comprises the rondo, the pianist performs the composed “A” parts (the refrain) and improvises the B, C, D, etc. intermediate parts. Composed for this purpose, with phrases apt to improvise upon, the refrain engenders anticipation of something significant to come.
Your challenge is, every time you reach the end of A, to improvise an appropriate intermediate section. Included is an optional bridge passage for transitioning from A to your improvised parts, and this may also be placed at the end of your improvised parts for a smooth and natural return to A. If you memorize A, you can mentally prepare the next improvisation while playing A. In your improvised parts you could use elements from the refrain or something different or contrasting but compatible.
Rondo Refrain is in two similar but not identical parts — A1 and A2; each is on one page — designed so that it can be played as a stand-alone piece without improvised parts. (It would be too short for this purpose if there were only one part.) This also provides a choice of A sections for the improviser.
The recording is that of the computer playback of the score, thus the sound quality is not as good as that of a real piano and the performance is rather mechanical. All of the pieces in the set sound significantly better when played well on an acoustic piano — the more complex the piece, the more so.
The indicated duration of 2 minutes, 12 seconds is that of the computer playback. It ends at the end of the transitional passage. Please see the score for complete information, especially regarding how it would be played as a non-rondo.
The titles of the pieces in the set are:
1. Mazurka March
2. Ballad
3. First Love, in May
4. Hispanic Rhapsody (Excerpt)
5. Hymn of Consolation
6. Nocturne
7. Spanish Sonatina
8. Variations on a Game
9. Venetian Cadence
10. Rondo Refrain
If they are all played on one occasion, I recommend that they be played in the given order.
To help the pianist interpret the pieces, performance recommendations and options are placed in boxes on each of the scores.