King of Classical Music 128

A large orchestra was generally divided into two parts: the first and the second violin group. Usually, the first violin group was in charge of the main melody while the second violin group was mainly meant to keep the harmony and rhythm. The groups had their own chief and deputy to help manage the whole main instrument group.

Since the incident last year, the seat of the deputy concertmaster had been vacant. No one knew what Evra was thinking, leaving the seat vacant for a whole year. It was only under the strong demand of the music director did the conductor began to recruit publicly.

At first, the members thought Evra would promote a violinist from the orchestra as the deputy concertmaster.

But, no one expected him to announce, “Next weekend, I decided to hold a recruitment audition for the deputy concertmaster. Starting tomorrow, Jacques will take charge of accepting applications. If the applicant has participated in any orchestra before, be sure to record it.”

Just as everyone was confused by his statement, the portly man, Jacques, asked, “Mr. Evra, we are recruiting… Outsiders?”

“Yes! Let our orchestra absorb the fresh blood from the outside! That’s what will drive us to be mature and grow!”

Such a simple reasoning made the orchestra’s violinists nervous. Everyone wanted to step up. The higher you were, the broader your view.

Among them, the most enthusiastic one was probably Luo Yu Sen. He called Jacques that very day to apply. Under the portly man’s sardonic smile, he recited the names of the several small orchestras he had been with.The members of the orchestra were very enthusiastic while the violinists outside were… shocked.

For a large orchestra like Vienna Symphony to recruit new members, it was a huge deal. What’s more, it was for the deputy concertmaster position! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Jacques recorded dozens of names in the registry just in the span of three days. From fresh graduates to old musicians with grey hair, more than 50 people had signed up per the day before the audition. Each of them waited with bated breath for the audition to come. 

Qi Mu wasn’t among them.

This time… It wasn’t that he meant to get in through special means, but… Before he could sign up for the audition, Lance called him and said, “Seven, I called Evra this morning. He had already reserved a spot for you, so you can go tomorrow.”

Qi Mu: “…”

With such a warm and caring elder, Qi Mu knew he didn’t need to do a thing.

That being said, Qi Mu spent the day before the audition practicing for a long time in the piano room.

As Min Chen said, the spacious room was really great for practice. The sound insulation was really good. It was only 40-50m2 wide, but the sound effect was comparable to a concert hall.

There was only a 9ft, black Steinway piano in the center of the room. The rest of the space was empty, with a simple Bauhaus architectural style.

When Qi Mu first arrived at the apartment and found that it was clean, he asked Min Chen if he hired workers to clean the house every week. Min Chen did but after Qi Mu came, he dismissed the workers so they wouldn’t disturb his daily life.

With such good conditions for practicing, Qi Mu played through several pieces before the audition. Most of them were Bach’s, but some were Mozart’s.

Every member who had spent more than five years in the Vienna Symphony Orchestra knew that although Evra rarely conducted Bach’s works, he listened to them in the conductor’s lounge.

Qi Mu had a good relationship with Evra in his previous life. When he asked why the man rarely conducted Bach’s pieces, he said, “Oh, Lu, just because I like his music, doesn’t mean I can conduct them. Bach’s music is too profound and self-centered. Auston Bertram and Farrell Lewis could do it but… I can’t.”

Bach was one of the greatest composers in the 17th century. He was honored with the title “the father of modern western music”. Like many serious Germans, Bach’s style was sad, yet majestic. He had a breath of meticulousness which was not compatible with the free-spirited personality of the Italians.

And Evra was… an Italian.

From what Qi Mu could see, Evra had always been whimsical and willful. For the recruitment audition, there was a big possibility that he would take a two-pronged approach. The first was to let the applicant draw a lot for a piece that will be selected by the orchestra, the second was to let them freely choose their repertoire.

Either way, Qi Mu’s thought was…

It was necessary to practice Bach’s pieces.

Some of the orchestra members were probably still complaining about why the man would want to hold a public audition to select a new deputy concertmaster. But, some of them had already made preparations and chose their repertoire according to their observation of their conductor.

But what they didn’t know was that…

Qi Mu had the same insight.