Promoting pristine piano music
The pieces that the children played were from the repertoire and some classical pieces like Mozart's Sonata 545, Bach's Prelude, Chopin's Opus 18, Haydn's Minuet. "This gives the student an exposure to public performance and creates an awareness of western classical music among the audience. Some of the students have been here for a few months while others have been training for several years," Mehjabeen says. What the students receive is an intensive basic course. The school follows the methods of Alfred, Beyer, Czerene and Rose. Mehjabeen herself was trained by Korean teachers, Haan and Ji Hyon Rio. She hopes to do research in music associated with language learning in New York.
Adittyo Noman Khan enjoyed piano music as a little boy, and today loves Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven. Adittyo, who has just completed his SSC, practices from half an hour to an hour every day. Besides western classical, he also likes rock and heavy metal. Tabassum, another student in Mehjabeen's school, is always encouraged by her mother. She began taking music lessons at Dhaka Int'l School and has been with Ecole de Musique for last five years. She is a student of BBA. Her favourites composers are Beethoven and Mozart. She likes modern Bangla songs too along with Nazrul Sangeet.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Masima Kamal is another devoted student of the piano. She trained initially at the Yamaha School in Malaysia, beginning in 2001. Her favourite pieces are the ones by Mozart and Chopin. She listens to Bangla music too along with her parents. Marilyn Shirley Louis, a IX-grade student, enjoys Struass and Beethoven most of all. She hopes to carry on with music into her adult life. Sadia Zaman, another teenager, says that she was motivated by her mother and that her favourites are Beethoven and Mozart. At the same time, she likes Tagore songs as well.
Ayaz, Abrar and Maisha are seven, nine and eleven, respectively. They too flourished their fingers on the piano keyboard, although their selection of the pieces played at the Alliance Francaise programme were meant for beginners. Maisha likes Bach's minuets and has been a student for 18 months. Ayaz hopes to be a pianist in future. Faizah, the youngest of all, made her own vital contribution to the concert
The fresh strains of piano notes by the young enthusiasts were refreshing indeed.