Mouse

Dear friends of piano music,

my little daughter is currently doing a lot of work in kindergarten with the mouse Frederick, invented in 1967 by Leo Lionni - you must have met him already. The story is quickly told: it is autumn, all the mice are busy collecting supplies for the winter, they are storing nuts and seeds, Frederick, on the other hand, seems to be sitting idly on a stone - he collects colors, sunbeams and words. Nobody understands this, but when food starts to run out in the spring, Frederick shares his supplies with the others - he tells them stories and poems that warm their hearts, inspire their imaginations and give them courage. I was reminded of this story yesterday when a well-known singer told on the radio that when she said she was a singer, she was asked very often: Interesting - and what do you do full-time? Yes, we musicians are also required to be a "homo oeconomicus" and to collect nuts and seeds instead of colors, sunbeams and words. There are such fantastic composers, but who is interested in their works? Nobody knows how much wonderful music will never be written simply because its potential creators are completely wiped out in the desperate balancing act between duty and inclination, between job and art? Not everyone can marry rich or win the lottery. And which job today still leaves enough room for artistic activity that should be more than just a hobby on Sunday afternoons? If you then add the children and the household, it becomes completely absurd - get cloned if you should plan something like this!

The other day something occurred to me when the word "unconditional basic income" was used here and there during the election campaign, and it haunted the election programs of left-wing parties. No, it shouldn't be like that, but how about a conditional basic income for musicians and other artists? You get a basic income, you are allowed to pursue your artistic activity, but you give something back to the community, like the mouse Frederick. You play in hospitals and old people's homes, you give charity concerts for schools, you do projects with children. And when the weather is good, you practice clarinet or guitar in the park - I love that especially, and maybe you feel the same way. In summer someone sat down in the children's playground and played the clarinet, and did it really well - a professional musician. I was really happy. It's a utopia, my plan, but it would be workable and I think it would make the world a little bit better. What do you think?

Kerstin