Valse Nostalgique: "Gazing into the Storm", Op. 18 No. 1 | Original Composition

After numerous trials and tribulations, the story finally ends. We look back at our hardships and wonder how we got through it together. The main theme (timestamp) was originally a minimalist waltz I composed back in February of 2025, to which I struggled to write any continuation and thus gave up writing completely. While not the inspiration for this set of waltzes, it has been adapted to conveniently serve as a prelude. While composing this, I tried to actively mimic the sound of Japanese minimalist music whilst weaving in some complexity, but decided to lean in more of the minimalist style and utilise more patterns and repetition. In my mind, I imagine this waltz to be the background music that plays decades after we graduate, as we sit at the balcony alone and reminisce the good old schoolgoing days. A time that was much simpler, free of deception and lies, just pure, innocent souls going to school together. And that slight, sour tinge of regret as you realise those days are over, and you weren't able to treasure those memories in time, letting them fade as the years went by. (Apologies for the notation error at 3:05.)