Episode  #1 „What would Heinrich say?“

As the founder of MOVING CLASSICS, the Internet channel for modern piano music, I often wonder what Heinrich Marschner would have thought about such a channel in his times.

You do not know Heinrich Marschner? Well, he was an important composer for the development of German opera in the 19^th century, a friend of Beethoven and Mendelssohn and quite well known in Germany. Maybe Heinrich would not use Internet at all, but it is also possible that he would have loved it and he would be sharing his music in the social media.

The difference between his time and our times is that the music market was much smaller – in fact, there were many small local markets that were hardly connected. There were less composers and less listeners than today.

Today the market is completely packed with music – just think of thousands of uploads per second in Spotify, Youtube  – there are no limitations. What I wonder is if there were more innovations in former times when there was a clear local market, or if it is more innovative today, when everybody is filling the pipeline so that it is completely gushing over.

I believe that we have to find a middle way. And that it why I founded MOVING CLASSICS.

In my opinion it makes sense to try to reduce the complexity of the offer. The reduced complexity allows to discover some focal development, I call it – “find the dots.” When it is possible to identify these dots, it is also more likely to see a clear structure. Once the offer is structured, it is easier to have fruitful collaborations and healthy competition.

In the last 3 years I have been creating such an internet platform for modern piano music.

Moving classics has a curated approach with carefully selected composers and their works, a curious listener can go even further and read the interviews with composers about their creative process. It goes in contrast to the huge impersonal and ever-changing playlists in Spotify.  I remember my surprise when I realised that 80% of the names of the featured artists of the most influential high-profit Spotify playlist “Peaceful piano” do not exist in Internet outside of the Spotify platform. Who are the composers behind the tracks? Are they fake? Did you notice this surprising fact yourself? Are these pieces created by artificial intelligence?

Or just one prolific composer with access to the playlist who is writing 100 successful tunes? I do not know.  I only know that listeners do appreciate the authenticity and the artistic value behind every composition.

I am getting submissions of new, freshly composed music and it is amazing to see that the piano music is constantly evolving and developing. I am enjoying a diversity of styles: from minimal music to cross overs, mixed genres. My approach is to discover the big trends and to present to my listeners the modern piano music between passion and serenity. I am proud to be a part of this development and to support the composers of today.

Moving Classics – New Piano Music · Podcast “Reflections of a Pianist”