MODERN MINIMALISM
In a world—and a summer—
that’s ever spiraling faster and louder,
modern minimalist composers invite us into
a sonic sanctuary for the soul,
music created in quiet solitude (or so we imagine).
With repetition and resonance, this music doesn't
tell you what to feel or when to feel it.
It simply connects you to a place inside yourself where you can.
Whether you call it crossover-classical, ambient,
or "sad piano music"—
it's everywhere.
From concert halls to candle-lit churches
to coffee shops.
Most often now we encounter it in
pop culture and media:
🖤 A slow black-and-white Chanel or Audi commercial
🍎 That Apple ad that has you in tears in less than 90 seconds.
☕ Or just the first few notes of the Amélie soundtrack—and you are there, immersed in her color-soaked, wonder-filled Paris.
It transports instantly.
When you hear it, you think:
So simple. I could play that!
You are right—you can!
(And that's not all you can do...)
As centering and hypnotic as playing this music on piano can be,
the real magic lies in what happens when you start to venture off-script.
letting variations emerge, taking an intriguing side street instead of the well-traveled boulevard.
A little like how it feels to wander the streets of Paris in the late summer afternoons
with no destination in mind, just curiosity about what is around the next corner.
And the next. And the next.
You might end up back home. Or find a garden you never knew was just right there.
SPEAKING OF PARIS,
and the summer, and making musical magic
in the fleeting, golden hours that are left of it—
every August in the
Paris Creative Piano Café:
An August Reset. A Respite. A Retreat.
(whichever applies!)
With the same invitation —
to slow down, tune in, and connect with your own creativity
through poetic simplicity on piano.