Nikolai Medtner in Pathum Thani: how Bee discovers the Moscow composer of the Fairy Tales and Forgotten Melodies, and spots any pickup before her AI piano lessons

Bee is thirteen and lives in Pathum Thani with her grandmother, who grows orchids along the fence and tells long stories in the evenings. Bee loves those stories, especially the ones about clever animals and enchanted forests. So when her piano app suggested a short piece called a Fairy Tale by a Russian composer unfamiliar to her, she tapped on it straight away.

The composer was Nikolai Medtner, born in Moscow in 1880 into a family of German descent. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a gold medal as a pianist, but he chose to spend his life composing rather than touring as a star performer. Almost everything he wrote involves the piano, either alone or with voice, violin or orchestra.

Two friends who dedicated concertos to each other

One of his closest friends was Sergei Rachmaninoff, who was a few years older. The two men admired each other deeply. Rachmaninoff dedicated his Fourth Piano Concerto to Medtner, and Medtner dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to Rachmaninoff. Bee thought that was a lovely way for two friends to say thank you without making a speech.

Medtner's favourite form was the short piano tale, and he wrote dozens of them. He called them Skazki, a Russian word for fairy tales or folk stories, but he usually did not explain which story each one told. Listeners are left to imagine the knights, witches or travellers for themselves, which is exactly what Bee likes to do when she listens.

After the Russian Revolution, life in Moscow became very difficult for artists. In 1921 Medtner left Russia and lived in Germany and then France. He was never as famous as Rachmaninoff, and money was often tight. In 1935 he moved to England, settling in London, where a small but loyal group of musicians continued to champion his works.

In the late 1940s, an unexpected supporter appeared. The Maharaja of Mysore, a ruler in southern India who loved Western classical music, paid for a series of recordings of Medtner playing his own works. Thanks to that help, we can still hear the composer perform his concertos and shorter works today. Medtner died in London in 1951.

Bee has been taking piano lessons with TIGA ALPHA for a little over a year. Her grandmother found the online piano learning app through a neighbour whose son uses it, and they bought a secondhand digital piano that now sits beside the orchid pots on the veranda. The AI piano teacher in the app suits her, because she can practise whenever her homework is finished.

Medtner's tales often begin in unexpected places, so Bee added a habit to the start of every session. Bee lets her eyes rest on the first bar before playing and works out whether it is a full bar or an anacrusis, just one or two notes leading in ahead of the main beat. If it is an anacrusis, she knows the final bar of the piece will usually be short too.

Her piano course on the app uses simplified versions of his melodies alongside folk songs, and the exercises focus on singing tone. Medtner's music needs the melody to sound clearly over busy accompaniment, so the app asks her to play the tune alone first, then add the left hand very quietly. It records both versions so she can compare them.

At school Bee has music lessons twice a week, mostly singing and recorder. When the teacher asked students to share a composer they liked, Bee brought a recording of one of Medtner's Forgotten Melodies. Her classmates said it sounded like a film about a long journey, and one boy asked whether there was a dragon in it. Bee said there might be.

For a child who wants to learn piano, Medtner offers an interesting lesson. Fame is not the same as value. His music was overshadowed for decades, yet pianists keep rediscovering it, and today many more recordings exist than in his lifetime. Bee likes the idea that good work can wait patiently until people are ready to hear it.

Her grandmother now asks Bee to play piano for her after dinner instead of telling a story, and Bee chooses one of the easy tales each time. Sometimes she invents her own story for it out loud, about orchids that sing at night, while her grandmother pretends to be falling asleep in her chair.

Before bed this week, Bee plans to learn the final page of her current tale. She will check the opening bar again, count the notes that lead in, and then play the whole piece slowly so that she can play music for her grandmother on Sunday without a single stop.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Who was Nikolai Medtner? A: Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951) was a Russian composer and pianist born in Moscow. He wrote mainly for the piano, including many short pieces called Skazki (Fairy Tales), three piano concertos and the Forgotten Melodies sets.

Q: What was the connection between Medtner and Rachmaninoff? A: They were close friends. Rachmaninoff dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 4 to Medtner, and Medtner dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 2 to Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff also helped him with concerts after Medtner left Russia.

Choosing a piano teaching app comes down to three questions: does the online piano teaching application give specific feedback, does the AI piano teaching app adapt to your level, and does the online piano lessons app make it easy to practice a little every day? Piano teaching with AI should answer all three. If you want to learn piano online, combine a clear piano learning course with an AI online piano course for daily feedback. Ask any experienced teacher about piano teaching or music teaching and you will hear the same advice: to learn music, keep practice short and regular.

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