Michael Gees: How can a musical idea develop over and above what has been written down? What would Bach have thought about Mendelssohn? What would have happened had they been able to encourage each other to extemporise on their compositions?

It is considerations such as these that lead me to explore the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by way of adaptational improvisations. In this context, I want to mention the term historical performance practice. Once upon a time – long before the invention of jazz – it was desired of, and common for, performers to treat the prescribed material creatively, improvising on the works in front of them, not only playing them, but also playing with them.