Akiko is part of the suite called “Ein Kinderspiel” (translates to “Child’s Play”). Neither children’s music for adults nor adult music for children, “Ein Kinderspiel” explores a musical middle ground where simple musical gestures hammer at the foundations of traditional musical meaning. In “Ein Kinderspiel,” the composer avoids the commonplaces associated with basic pedagogical piano pieces like folk songs, chunky dance rhythms, simple five-finger patterns, and so on. In this piece, the innovation comes from the left hand pressing the lower keyboard keys in reverberance, creating a mysterious and whimsical aura. Another challenge comes from the coordination required for the right-hand to play two contrasting layers at the same time.