King of Classical Music 46

The Centennial Celebration was an important event for Huaxia’s classical music industry. In fact, as early as a year ago, there was already media coverage on the anniversary. Now, in the tense month of preparation leading up to it, there were several national-level media outlets specially reporting on it, causing tremendous exposure.

The first day he came to S City, Qi Mu assured Zhu Wen Jun that three days of practice was all he needed. Since he dared to promise that, naturally he would not let Zhu Wen Jun down.

At noon on the third day, Qi Mu knocked on the conductor’s door and carried in his violin case with a smile. Then, before Zhu Wen Jun’s astonished eyes, he played a magnificent 《D Major》to the man’s thorough approval. 

Now that he had mastered both songs, the next step was to cooperate with the orchestra.

As the top orchestra in Huaxia, S City Symphony had an indisputable first-class standard, even on the world stage where the strong were like trees in a forest. The orchestra was disciplined, and each of their members were highly skilled, and their teamwork was bound together with years of experience.

Since Zhu Wen Jun became their permanent conductor eight years ago, the orchestra had undergone training and done several performances. Even when such an excellent orchestra worked with someone for the first time, they could make anyone feel that level of first-class music.

Perhaps because they so rarely practiced Min Chen’s 《Violin Sonata in D major》, Zhu Wen Jun stopped at almost every movement during their first rehearsal and pointed out corrections in detail. By the end of the day, once the song was about to end, he set down his baton, and the orchestra began coordinating.

It had to be acknowledged that Min Chen’s D minor was indeed tricky. When Qi Mu rehearsed the next day for 《Liang Zhu》, he had a much clearer image of things. The beautiful melody echoed in the S City Symphony Orchestra’s hall and the media outlets set to work on their reports.

Within a month, media even not in the music circle made reports on it, and the Huaxia National Radio decided to broadcast the concert live that evening. So everyone could enjoy the musical feast in the comfort of their own home.

Qi Mu’s rehearsal began the first few days, and Zhu Wen Jun told him he only had to take part once every two days in the afternoon. However, while things Qi Mu felt awkward with the arrangement, the orchestra was busy.

Qi Mu was only performing the last two songs, but what about Zhu Wen Jun? The S City Symphony Orchestra?

They needed to rehearse with all the musicians they invited!

Take the opening erhu musician for example. She was young, under 25, and she took first prize in the Golden Bell Award last year. She had never cooperated with such a formal orchestra before. The song she was going to play was “Er Quan Ying Yue,” the most popular erhu song in Huaxia. The difficulty wasn’t high, but the girl had terrible stage fright.

After all, the musicians invited to this celebration were all under the age of thirty. Most of them had yet to leave their mark on the world of classical music, so they did not have the confidence or maturity to perform so suddenly. It was understandable that they were a bit timid.

“Say, Xiao Qi, ah. . . the other day, Cheng-jie told me that you didn’t have any stage fright at all. I thought it was a bit weird.” Zheng Wei Qiao came to S City a week before the event. He was a freelance writer so he would never miss such an occasion. “You’ve performed on larger stages before, but it was in your childhood. . . this time, even the conductor’s praised your fortitude.”

While they talked, Qi Mu and Zheng Wei Qiao were listening to Zhu Wen Jun conduct Prokofiev’s 《Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor》 in the rehearsal hall.

The piano’s smooth melody echoed across the hall, and Qi Mu lowered his voice to laugh, “Zheng-ge, isn’t it good that I’m not nervous? Why are you worried?”

Zheng Wei Qiao shook his head. He spoke while typing on the tablet he brought with him, “It’s a good thing that you aren’t nervous, but it’s a bit unexpected. . . This Wang Zheng also won second in Xiao Sai last year, but he still makes mistakes while working with the orchestra.”

Among pianists under 30, Wang Zheng was one of the best. If one did not count Min Chen, who was unable to participate. By eighteen, he won second in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, and last year, he won second place in Chopin International.

Xiao Sai was one of the heavyweight competitions in the piano industry, globally. There were six places and one special place awarded each year. It also had a special feature. If the judges thought no one was worth the first place, they would rather leave it empty than give it to someone undeserving.

When Wang Zheng won second last year, the first place was empty. So in essence, Wang Zheng’s skill was best among the young pianists in Huaxia—so long as Min Chen was not counted.

Whenever he performed 《G minor》 solo, Wang Zheng did excellently, but when placed with the orchestra, he encountered problems. Seeing Zhu Wen Jun lay down his baton again and correct Wang Zheng’s mistakes, Qi Mu couldn’t help but frown.

“I hope. . . the situation improves later.”

There was a saying: even when there was good, one could only see the bad. In the rehearsal the day before, Wang Zheng had gotten better at performing with the orchestra. Yet, in the final run through, he played a beat fast, and Zhu Wen Jun was troubled.

For operas, there was a special day of rehearsal the day before the official event. This “preview” was a serious matter as the organizer would sometimes sell tickets for fans to enjoy the rehearsal. The fee was generally a share of the formal performance.

Fortunately, the S City Symphony Orchestra took the celebration very seriously, and only relevant personnel could enter the hall. Therefore, even if there were some mistakes, it wouldn’t have a large impact.

Qi Mu, who stood behind the red curtain in the background holding his violin, had his delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. He watched the orchestra and the figure hunched over the piano. . . the young man’s forehead was already dripping in sweat.

Wang Zheng was born into a good family, and he was spoiled by his parents. Though he had participated in several competitions, he had never interacted with an orchestra. Therefore, he was unable to make the transition smoothly, and he was anxious. Tomorrow was the event, and it was impossible to find a replacement. They could only hope he could play normally, maybe even exceptionally well, and would not be hasty.

Once 《G minor》 had ended, Qi Mu saw Wang Zheng’s taut figure relax, and he looked lighter.

But this was a much more formal form of rehearsal, so Zhu Wen Jun didn’t say anything. Wang Zheng stepped down, and Qi Mu stepped onto the stage to perform. The staff pushed the heavy nine-foot Steinway off the stage, and Qi Mu went to his position at the left of the conductor. He raised his head, looked up at Zhu Wen Jun, and they both nodded. A cheerful, intense allegro rang out in an instant.

The first movement of 《D major》 was fast and the title 《Constance March》 was famous. It was difficult and had a colorful tone. The orchestra listened respectfully to the sole violin.

Under the dazzling light, Qi Mu’s fingers danced across the strings. His speed was such that they left an afterimage. His left hand carried the bow in fast jumps, keeping pace with his other hand.

The piece had a colorful range of sound, from the G string to the E, and there several jumps that were challenging.

But this was not difficult for Qi Mu, and he played the piece with ease. Instead, Zheng Wei Qiao, backstage, wore a pinched expression and was in a cold sweat.

Everyone knew that the most difficult part of 《Constance March》 was at the end of the cadenza——the moment when the bassoon and the violin fused under the chief of the bassoon section!

The bassoon was a large tubular instrument, also known as the big pipe. It was heavy and deep. When played, it had a solemn atmosphere, and they were ideal for serious, formal pieces.

Yet, Min Chen did just the opposite!

《Constance March》 was a happy, lively springtime when everything was full of vitality and renewed. The start also depicted a beautiful image to the audience, and the sudden insertion of the bassoon was always stunning.

The reason 《D major》 did not stand out the most of Min Chen’s works was due to its high demands on the concertmaster and the chief of the bassoons. Throughout the first movement, the main section was the violin and the only thing that accompanied it was the melancholy sound of a bassoon.

But in a happy piece?

Well, the violinist had to make the bassoon witty and humorous despite its seriousness that offset the song’s liveliness.

While maintaining the difficult, complex movement, Qi Mu had to also lead the bassoon.

This was a problem for many violinists, but this time. . . when the most difficult duet came to an end, Zheng Wei Qiao who sat as the audience clenched his fists and whispered, “Good!”

He was so excited that his face was flushed red and his ears recorded every note that poured into them. Many other musicians were playing on the stage, but Zheng Wei Qiao’s gaze was fixed on the one standing just left of the conductor!

The youth’s skillful maneuvering and the gorgeous, beautiful arc of his bow—he even outshone the rest of the orchestra and had the most unique presence.

Zheng Wei Qiao could only imagine. . .

How big a shock this young man was going to give the world tomorrow!

Translator(s): Kuro
Editor(s): Bet

Bet:

Sorry for the delay everyone. We’ve undergone a minor schedule change. Due to life (curse you, daily necessities), we have to bump KOCM from three updates a week to two. Right now, I’m not sure when exactly they will be, but assume your next update to be on Friday (EST)!