King of Classical Music 74

The concert hall was magnificent. Evenly spaced marble columns lined its walls of warm gold.

Under the religious-themed murals on the ceiling, there were 518 seats on the first floor and 235 on the second. Musical media arrived from all over the world, and there was a professional team to report on the school’s internal assessment.

The French media was most heavily represented. Due to the behemoth of talent that were the judges in attendance, reporters from more and more countries filtered inside.

Of them, Zhou Kang Sheng was one of the most inconspicuous.

Zhou Kang Sheng was a journalist of Huaxia’s top music magazine 《Music Hall》. His journey from Huaxia was lengthy, given its distance from Europe on the east side of Asia. Securing his participation from the Paris branch was difficult, even though it was valued by the headquarters.  

Getting him to record a video was even more unlikely. Zheng Kang Sheng only brought a single SLR camera with him. He was not interested in wasting his memory card on recording a college exam. It would last more than three hours.

As far as Zhou Kang Sheng was concerned, the Paris’ National Conservatory of Music was just a school. This so-called assessment was that of a college student’s level.

How skilled could a student be? They were in their twenties, at most. Could they really be another Min Chen? Christole?

Zhou Kang Sheng didn’t think so.

If he guessed correctly, the reason headquarters asked him to make a report was due to Min Chen serving as a judge.

As a worthy leader in Huaxia’s classical music scene, Min Chen confused Zhou Kang Sheng. He was born and raised in Germany and had hardly visited Huaxia. Why did he still hold Huaxia so firmly as his nationality from birth?

Though Min Chen was in attendance, he still encountered racists who despised classical musicians from Huaxia. He would only smirk and reply, “There are no good musicians from Huaxia? Do you know the name of Bai Ai’s chief conductor?”

Before Zhou Kang Sheng could consider things any further, the assessments began.

A lovely girl took to the stage with a cello, and a thought crossed his mind. Whispering to himself, he said, “Yes. . . Headquarters told me to pay special attention to a particular student. What was his name again? Li Mu?”

Zhou Kang Sheng shook his head, deciding not to think about it. He focused on the current performance.

. . .

The University had a lot of good students. All who participated in the assessment were coached by professor-level instructors. But. . . This did not stop the masters in the judging panel from baring their fangs.

When facing excellent music, the judges were gentle, giving comments and suggestions.

When the first player with music intolerable to human ears appeared, Min Chen listened politely to the final note. However, he gave 4 points without hesitation.

Where there are good performances, there are also bad ones.

This year’s assessment maintained the high standards of the college. Of course, it also made the lazy students too embarrassed to lift their heads in front of these masters.

The performances’ order was decided before the assessment began.

When a piano student finished his performance, he directly shouted from the stage, “Mr. Bertram, I’m a big fan of yours! Thank you for listening to my 《Piano Concerto in A Major》!”

Even with such a lovely fan, Min Chen could hardly be kind to the student. Offering advice and encouragement were the furthest things from his mind.

No, this man judged his own violin as “god awful.” How was he expected to listen to music so bad ]it echoed to the center of the Earth? Min Chen, who had so far listened patiently, was the one who deserved high marks.

It was truly useless.

The piano student who got the first failing mark of 59, Lewis, ran off the stage. In all his excitement, he shouted, “Hooke! Hooke! Mr. Bertram spoke to me, you hear me?! I’m so excited!!”

Hooke sighed. “. . . But he only gave you 4 points. . .”

On stage, students with various musical instruments continued their performances. When an excellent student from the clarinet department appeared, the deputy music director of the British BBC Orchestra immediately invited him to join the orchestra. This became the beginning of the invitation wave.

Clarinet, trombone, saxophone…

A lot of students received invitations from various orchestras. Once the assessment was concluded, they would consult with the head of the orchestra with the help of the college.

When the first violin student showed up, Bella Kim gave a high score of 8 points with a smile. The lovely girl excitedly nodded and got invitations from several orchestras.

Qi Mu was the second student of the violin department. His number was close to the one Jenny drew, but they were separated by Langston from the piano department. When she learned that her turn was before Langston, Jenny was relieved.

“Little Seven, you don’t know. . . That Langston guy is really amazing! He received an invitation from the Salt Lake City Symphony Orchestra at the last assessment, but he refused. I think. . . he wants to be a solo pianist. He might have even bigger ambition. It’s good to play before him!”

Looking like she just escaped disaster, Qi Mu wasn’t nearly as worried as Jenny. When Langston finally went on the stage, his piano was like a running river. Qi Mu was astonished. In an instant, he realized that Jenny was right to be concerned——

Langston was, indeed, a solid competitor.

In terms of piano alone, he believed Langston could serve as a pianist in the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He played Liszt’s famous piano piece, 《Dante Symphony》. Like the roar of the devil, it depicted the torment and painful sorrow of hell. It was an eerie piece that evoked strange feelings of an unknown world.

Langston’s piano was able to show enough depression, constraint, and sadness. Even the audience did not realize that they were all brought to a beautiful realm by Langston’s piano. As if they could see Liszt’s Dante’s Purgatory, they were full of intense emotion.

Even at the end of the song, Qi Mu couldn’t return to his senses. It was the shout of “Bravo” from the audience that woke him up.

The world never lacked genius. He stared at the tall young man standing in the middle of the stage. His long-lost hot-blooded spirit revived in his heart.

Only when he met a worthy opponent would his ambition skyrocket and become violent——

He must defeat this person!

Faced with such high-level skill, even the picky Min Chen gave a high score of 8 points. After 10 judges gave their evaluation, Langston scored a total of 89 points. Among them, he received a perfect score from the French connoisseur Leonid.

“Auston, I think. . . this Langston kid will probably end up with the highest score.” Sitting at Min Chen’s side, Leonid applauded and continued, “It’s amazing that this incredible 《Dante》 came from a man of only 24-years!”

On the other side, Ms. Bella Kim reminded, “Leonid, you have to see clearly, in front of whom are you praising a 24-year-old as a piano genius?”

Leonid suddenly realized his position. “Oh! I shouldn’t say this in front of Auston, but Bella, this 《Dante》 is really outstanding. . .

Waiting for the next student to come to the stage, the two masters on either side of Min Chen began to exchange opinions. Min Chen, however, looked ahead without any expression. When he heard Leonid say, “I bet Langston will be the one with the highest score,” Min Chen curled his lips into a smile and turned to the other man.

“Leonid, what do you want to bet on?”

He hadn’t expected the indifferent man to say something like this, so  Leonid was stunned to silence. He paused for a moment then said, “I’m going to bet. . . if Langston doesn’t get the highest score, I will write a music review for you myself, Auston! If you win, Auston, you will write a song for me. How does that sound?!”

Bella laughed and said, “Leon, don’t you think this bet is cheap?”

Without giving Leonid the chance to respond, Min Chen raised an eyebrow and asked, “You will write a review for me?”

Startled, Leonid said, “Oh. . . yes. Who do you want me to write about?”

He saw a man in the dark just offstage, and his dark eyes flashed with light. Min Chen pointed at the stage. With a quiet laugh, he spoke——

“Him.”

Leonid and Bella followed the direction of his finger and spotted a handsome, delicate young man walking towards the stage with his violin. He moved elegantly, his expression calm. Coupled with his beautiful eyes and exquisite face, it was difficult to tear their gazes away.

Min Chen’s thin lips curled. He whispered, “Him. Give him a music review. How does that sound?”

Stunned for a long time, Leonid woke up as if he were in a trance and said, “Deal! If you really think you’ll win, I can write about anyone!”

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

The Author:

Just stepping on stage, Qi Mu didn’t know that he had already become the subject of a gamble between judges.