Nostalgia

As usual, I was listening to NHK-FM during my commute.
After the news, "Garden of Classics" (rebroadcast) followed, and they said today they would be introducing Burgmüller's 25 Progressive Pieces.
*Burgmüller—is the spelling "Burgmuller" (without the dakuten on the 'ku') actually correct? I'm not sure, but since I've always thought of it with the dakuten, I'll just leave it as is.

It was introduced as the first 12 pieces, performed by Christoph Eschenbach. I listened closely to the piano sounds.

It brings back memories.

I started wanting to learn the piano when I was in the third grade.
A teacher came to our house, and I started taking lessons with my mother and younger sister.
I could read sheet music somehow, but moving my right and left hands together was quite a wonderful thing.

"Arabesque" began to play on the radio.
Ah, this piece.
Everyone was competing to play it.

I remember often hearing it from Y-chan's house on the way to school. Come to think of it, back then, even when walking outside, you would naturally hear the sound of a piano. There was music drifting out mixed with the scent of dinner being prepared, and the scenery of those days comes to mind somehow.
Recently, perhaps because more people are using soundproof rooms or connecting headphones to their instruments, it has become rare to hear the sound of a piano leaking out.

The sound of a piano heard from inside a house.
The elementary school music room.
Classmates who were good at the piano.

That's right.
The kids who were taking piano lessons often played during school breaks too.
"This is what I'm working on now," "Oh, wow!"—they would talk excitedly, saying "I'm on this one," "I'm on that one," about which number in the collection they were playing.
Of course, there were some kids who could play famous pieces like Chopin's etudes and waltzes, or sonatas by Mozart or Beethoven, and there was always a circle of spectators around those kids.
But I didn't have the courage to practice at school or show off my results.

I couldn't imagine at all if I would ever be able to play the pieces I was listening to on records (it was records back then). Although I had the desire.
However, once I could read music and follow even a few famous melodies, it was fun in its own way.

As a precursor to that, being able to play "Arabesque," "The Wagtail," and "Tarantella," which my classmates had all once played, was genuinely happy for me.
I think it's a good collection that gives you a small sense of accomplishment.

In lessons, there is the order of pieces you want to play and pieces you are recommended to try—the order varies.
After going through Burgmüller, you encounter several other short pieces—even if there are likes and dislikes, or strengths and weaknesses, you take one step at a time and move forward, even if only a little.
By doing so, you can sometimes gain a small sense of accomplishment, and by accumulating that, you can somehow continue, and eventually, your own tastes, aspirations, and goals come into view.

Burgmüller.

A wonderful, kind-hearted collection for children.
While thinking of my classmates from that era, I truly think it is a collection that serves as a small milestone.