Matryoshka

Musical education has been considered, since time immemorial, as something that can be started at a very young age. This is a direct result of the numerous expressions of spontaneous musicality seen in most children: singing, playing rhythms with their own body or with improvised instruments such as sticks or pieces of wood, imitating the gestures of an adult when making music, and so on. However, it is one thing to nurture a child's spontaneous musicality (sometimes simply to tolerate it!); it is another thing to educate him or her seriously, with the aim of becoming a professional (sometimes a prodigy), preferably as early as possible. There are – and unfortunately there still are – many examples of children whose first years of life have been entirely devoted to practicing and performing, sometimes creating little "monsters" who find it very difficult to grow into adult musicians and who often struggle with the consequences of the delusions of parents or teachers. In those cases, the goal of ambitious adults is normally to have the child play pieces as early as possible that were originally intended for adults (regardless of the fact that the human maturity required to interpret some masterworks satisfactorily cannot be achieved by a child, however talented). However, there is also another approach, which has more respect for a child's development in terms of hand size, body build, psychological characteristics and personal traits. This approach stimulates children's sense of musicality, but without attempting to transform a very young musician into a little concert artist. An advantage of this method is that children can enjoy music – instead of struggling with pieces that are beyond their abilities –, can stimulate their musical fantasy and imagination, and grow up with music in a way that is accessible to everyone. This approach is in fact not tailored to ambitious little Mozarts, but to both gifted and average children. While it certainly offers the possibility that talent can manifest itself and be nurtured and promoted, it is also 'democratic' in the sense that music education can be considered a right of all children. The piano is one of the instruments that music pedagogy prefers, and rightly so. There are of course instruments whose physical characteristics make it inadvisable, or simply impossible, to present them to children: for example many wind instruments (especially brass), or large instruments such as the double bass (or also the viola). But even instruments such as the violin are less popular than the piano: of course the violin is often played by children, but the first steps in violin playing can be discouraging for many children (and a nerve-wracking ordeal for many parents). Before a beginning violinist can produce a pleasant sound from his or her violin, many hours of screeching sounds must be endured. The piano, on the other hand, can produce pleasant sounds virtually from the first lesson, and cute little pieces can give the young pianist satisfaction and encouragement within a few weeks. To this must be added one more fact: good piano playing is a prerequisite for the most important musical professions. A good conductor or composer must also be a good pianist, even if he may not be an outstanding one. Composers who were also fathers and wanted their children to follow in their footsteps (Bach to name but one) created beautiful collections of keyboard music for their children, while that cannot always be said of other instruments. Johann Sebastian Bach's works, originally written for his firstborn, Wilhelm Friedemann, form a beautiful example of what "children's music" should be. Written or selected with the primary aim of giving something "beautiful" to form the taste of the young musician, they contribute to the development of technique, sensitivity and musical understanding, while remaining at the same time pleasant, enjoyable, encouraging and friendly. Robert Schumann was another pioneer of this genre; he too was the father of many musical children, and his Album für die Jugend has become a permanent part of music education (as has, of course, Bach's Clavierbüchlein, his two- and three-part inventions), and also an example for all later compositions in this genre. It was no coincidence that Tchaikovsky explicitly referred to Schumann's example when it came his turn to write children's music. In Tchaikovsky's time, Romanticism had created a new vision and concept of childhood. While the Enlightenment, with its cult of the goddess Reason, had trivialized the dignity of children – who were seen as underdeveloped adults – Romanticism had glorified the innocence, purity, simplicity and fantasy of childhood. The reference to Schumann was deeply rooted in the work's creative history and story. Tchaikovsky turned his attention to children's music during a particularly difficult period in his life, following the disastrous outcome of his marriage to Antonina Miljukova. He struggled with a deep existential and creative crisis, in which the outflow of his works seemed to be blocked. Fortunately, the composer (in many ways) was supported by his patroness Nadezda von Meck, whose financial support was essential, but whose personal encouragement proved no less crucial. Tchaikovsky particularly benefited from the healing power of nature and beautiful landscape, when he could stay on von Meck's estate by her generous invitation. In the first weeks of 1878, however, Tchaikovsky was in Florence, and the idea came to him to write a cycle of piano pieces for children. He wrote to Piotr Jürgenson that he planned to "write a number of easy pieces, like Kinderstücke". He also wrote to his publisher in the same vein; he feared that he did not have the creative power to compose a large-scale work, but he also claimed that miniatures for children could be both amusing and profitable. Tchaikovsky's publisher enthusiastically welcomed this idea and supported an undertaking which he believed would be successful, in the wake of Schumann's album. Tchaikovsky then set about writing the set and a couple of months later wrote to Von Meck: "A while ago I thought it would not be a bad idea to make a small contribution to the stock of musical children's literature, which is very modest. I want to create a series of little individual pieces, specially for children, and with an attractive title, like Schumann's." By the summer of 1878, the set was complete. For Christmas it was dedicated to Tchaikovsky's favorite nephew, Vladimir Davydov, a budding 7-year-old pianist; the composer wrote to the child's father: "Tell Bobik that the music is printed with illustrations, that the music was composed by Uncle Petya and that it says 'Dedicated to Volodya Davydov' on it. That silly fellow won't understand what 'dedicated' means... Still, Bobik is an inimitable delightful figure when he plays, and he might look at the notes and think that an entire symphony has been dedicated to him." Although Tchaikovsky's collection is shorter and less ambitious than Schumann's, it contains numerous musical and creative ideas, ranging from evocations of church music to dances, from games and toys to folklore, and offers abundant nourishment for both technique and fantasy. The creative history of Prokofiev's children's pieces was rather different, although it is interesting to note that these too were prompted by a crisis situation. In this case, the crisis was the crisis caused throughout the entire Soviet music world by the persecution of intellectuals under the direction of Stalin and his associates; a persecution that did not spare even the most beloved Russian composers. It is even possible, as Stanley Krebs suggests, that Prokofiev's composition of children's pieces reflected the usual Soviet practice of "redeeming" those not affiliated with the regime by having them work with children. Within the so-called 'second period' of his creative activity, his Music for Children op. 65 is framed by the Three children's songs, op. 68, and Peter and the Wolf, op. 67. In the words of Robinson Harlow: "According to Soviet cultural ideology, children were almost the most important audience for the arts. They formed the hope for the communist future. As a result, writers, filmmakers, directors and composers were strongly encouraged to create works that appealed to them, for art could be used to educate children in the ideals needed to establish a strong Soviet state." His opus 65 was so successful that Prokofiev transcribed it for orchestra, under the title A summer day. Again, the titles are highly suggestive and speak strongly to a child's imagination, with their unique blend of poetry, enchantment and pleasure. Dmitri Shostakovich's Puppet Dances date from about two decades after Prokofiev's collection. Here we can observe the reverse movement: instead of transcribing a piano work for orchestra, Shostakovich realized this series by transcribing some already existing orchestral pieces for piano. The opening piece comes from the ballet The Bright Stream, opus 39; the Gavotte is drawn from the incidental music to the play La Comédie Humaine, op. 37. From The Bright Stream come once again the Romanticism, Polka, Waltz-Scherzo, Barrel organ and Dance (of which Waltz-Scherzo and Dance were also used in the ballet The Lightning, op. 27). Moreover, these dances were organized in Ballet Suites (nos. 2, 1 and 4). These short, delightful pieces recall other 'children's' pieces by Shostakovich, such as his Children's Notebook op. 69 (1944). Together, these three collections offer a unique insight into the pedagogy of the Russian piano school – one of the world's best and most renowned. They show us that the Russians focused not only on technical skill and musical proficiency through rigorous music studies, but also through masterful, yet delightful works for young pianists. Chiara Bertoglio © 2025