The enchanted world of piano fairy tales by Ellen Schorsch hroughout their long history, fairy tales have fascinated people the world over. Their multi-generational appeal contradicts the notion that they are solely for children. Composers have been inspired by fairy tales to write music in various genres, including a wealth of piano pieces at varying levels of difficulty. Studying such pieces can bring motivation and imagery to the learning experience. The music of the French Rococo period contains instrumental and vocal works relating to myths, ancient forerunners of fairy tales. The Classical era, focused on rational explanations and emotional restraint, was unreceptive to using stories of fantasy and magic as subject matter. The nineteenth century was a favorable time for fairy tales. Romanticism had an affinity with the supernatural, nationalism, and the Middle Ages. All of these traits fostered interest in enchantment and fairy lore. The brothers Grimm ( Jacob and Wilhelm) were instrumental in promoting fairy tales as a national force—many of the works in their collections relate to the culture of a specific time and place. These stories have even woven themselves into the national identity of many countries. Other important fairy tales from the Western tradition include those of Charles Perrault (Mother Goose Tales) and Hans Christian Andersen. t 30 CLAVIER COMPANION JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012