The wind blew into S City from the dark east sea\non February 6th, 2016. Due to this sea breeze, the temperature wouldn\u2019t even\nreach zero degrees, and everyone felt the\nstreets were cooler than usual\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the damp cold of the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in this weather that chilled everyone to\nthe bone, there were still several women down from one car after another in\nbright, thin layers of clothing. On the arms of their male companions, they\nwalked into the S City Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were a total of 1200 invitations issued\nfor the centennial celebration. In addition to world-renowned musical masters,\nmany other guests with outstanding talent in various fields in Huaxia were\ninvited. Out of these 1200 invitations, except for a handful who did not\nrespond, the majority were gathered here tonight waiting to experience this\ngrand concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the guests who came tonight, most could be\nconsidered at the pinnacle of the classical music world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the world\u2019s four greatest conductors, the\nchief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Min Chen, and Dresden\nSymphony Orchestra\u2019s conductor, Master Farrell Louis, were present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The S City Symphony Orchestra\u2019s concert hall was\none of the top concert halls in Huaxia. This suspended building featured a\n1200-seat main auditorium and a 400-seat chamber hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main hall had an open design. But,\nregardless of whether it was a golden architectural style or a\ncomputer-calculated scientific design, it was exceptional. One could not help\nbut appreciate the grandeur of classical Huaxia music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were two VIP lounges and ten preparation\nrooms backstage. Qi Mu and the other young musicians were waiting in the ten\nprivate rooms. The backstage was busy, but\nthe S City Symphony Orchestra continued to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu made the final tuning of his E String in\nhis prep room when he heard the high-pitched sound of a sad erhu coming from\nthe stage. With the orchestra\u2019s cooperation, this \u300aEr Quan Ying Yue\u300b was\ncompleted successfully and won the audience\u2019s applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014\u2014Obviously, this was an excellent start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the erhu song ended, there was \u300aMoonlit Night\u300b on\nthe zither and \u300aOverlord Unloaded\u300b on the lute. . . When Qi Mu took his violin to the lounge, he saw\na young man walk past him toward the stage, hands clenched into fists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Wang Zheng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thunderous applause in the hall had yet to\nstop, and Qi Mu saw sweat on Wang Zheng\u2019s forehead. He frowned slightly and\nreached out to grab Wang Zheng\u2019s arm. The latter turned to eye him strangely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He saw Qi Mu lick his lips in hesitation then\nsmile, tone mild, \u201cWang Zheng, yesterday. . . when\nI talked to Min Chen, he said he was looking forward to your performance today.\nHe watched your video at Xiaosai, and he\nthinks your level is good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Zheng jerked in surprise and didn\u2019t know\nwhat to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He believed that Qi Mu wouldn\u2019t tell such a lie.\nAfter all, there were media reports about the Sea Music Festival in Hong Kong\nthat showed they had participated in it. It was proof they did know each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Zheng swallowed subconsciously, and his heart jumped a little. \u201cYou. . . are\nyou telling the truth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A light flashed in Qi Mu\u2019s eyes, and he nodded\ncalmly, \u201cYes. Min Chen is sitting at the side of the stage now. He said\nyesterday he believed you would be able to perform well today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu paused then said, \u201cWang Zheng, you earned\nthe approval of Xiaosai. It shows you have the strength to perform well. Do not\nworry, just like the rehearsal over the past few days, remember not to focus on\njust your performance. You have an orchestra, you must listen to all their\nvoices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Zheng was older than Qi Mu, but in front of\nthis youth, he felt a bit immature. Of course, he did not realize it himself.\nBut after listening to Qi Mu, he nodded seriously.\nHis pale face, originally due to stress, was replaced with a flush of\nexcitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu watched as he turned to the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After shaking hands with the conductor, Wang\nZheng sat on the bench. After a moment, the gentle melody of a piano emerged.\nThe first movement passed, and the second, then the final, and once that last\nmovement came to an end, Zhu Wen Jun quietly sighed. Qi Mu smiled and nodded\nbut did not speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Zheng had the ability. Some people just\nbecame nervous once they made a mistake. Therefore they became increasingly\nprone to errors. Error, nervousness, more mistakes, more nervousness. . . there was no way to escape such a vicious\ncycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Zheng exited the stage with an excited\nexpression on his face, and Qi Mu smiled. They gave each other a hug, and Qi Mu\ntook a deep breath. Then he stepped onto the stage for his turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were at least 1100 people seated in the\n1200-occupancy concert hall. The stage was in the center and surrounded on all\nsides by the audience. With listeners on both the first and second floors and\nthe numerous watchful eyes that missed\nnothing, many newcomers would panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Illuminated by the ceiling\u2019s dozens of lights, a\nhandsome young man walked from the backstage with a smile. He extended his hand\nto Zhu Wen Jun, and they shook hands,\nthen he turned and bowed to the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the gazes of more than a thousand people,\nQi Mu lifted his violin to his shoulder and readied himself. Just as he was\nabout to turn to Zhu Wen Jun, he saw a man sitting in the third row look up at\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu stilled. He smiled and turned to Zhu Wen\nJun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then a passionate\u300aViolin Sonata in D major\u300b filled the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the third row of seats, Daniel stared at the\nyouth on the stage. Even through a lens, his gaze, which seemed capable\nof peeling flesh from bone and swallow Qi\nMu directly, could not be disguised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially when at the end of the first\nmovement, Qi Mu\u2019s violin blended perfectly into the deep resonation of the\nbassoon. Even Daniel couldn\u2019t help but smile. In his heart, he added yet\nanother level of potential value to this young man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such a nice seedling, ah! If they could sign him\nonto Bai Ai, that would be great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n On stage, Qi Mu had no idea that someone in the\naudience was looking at him. . . \u201clike a tiger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He and Zhu Wen Jun had played dozens of \u300aD major\u300b over the past month.\nWhether with the orchestra, an ensemble, or a solo performance, they could say\nwith absolute confidence that there would be no problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This wasn\u2019t just for his confidence, but also\nfor Zhu Wen Jun\u2019s, and the S City Symphony Orchestra\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naturally, the development of things would not\nlet him down. From the fiery passion of\nthe first movement, through the slow pace of the second, over the andante cantabile of the third movement, and\ninto the fast allegro of the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The twenty-minute \u300aD major\u300b came to an end. Qi Mu\nsighed a little and came back to himself from such fierce music, but before he\ncould relax, he heard a familiar, magnetic voice\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBravo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warm applause filled the concert hall, almost\nenough to raise the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few listeners turned to the man who spoke.\nThey were surprised not only by the sudden breaking of Min Chen\u2019s silent,\nintroverted nature but also by how he\nsupported such a newcomer in such a high-profile manner. Most critically\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n The track played by this newcomer was his own \u300aD major\u300b!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing a piece of music and getting a \u201cBravo\u201d\nfrom its composer was an honor for any musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, the people who noticed Min Chen now\nlooked at the young man on stage more seriously. They wanted to see what kind\nof person he was, to garner such a high level of praise and appreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Qi Mu did care about the audience\u2019s\nserious gazes. He turned to Zhu Wen Jun, and\nthe two men nodded. Zhu Wen Jun lifted his baton, and the flute group\u2019s melody\nbegan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Chinese people may have not heard\nBeethoven\u2019s \u300aDestiny Symphony\u300b or Mozart\u2019s \u300aMarriage\nof Figaro\u300b, and perhaps not even Min Chen\u2019s song. But\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u300aLiang Zhu\u300b?\nAlmost every Chinese could hum a few notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not just in Huaxia, this \u300aLiang Zhu\u300b often echoed in major\nconcert halls across the world. It resonated with Europeans and Americans. They\nmay not understand the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai<\/a>\u2019s love, but they would know it was called\u2014\u2014\u300aHuaxia\u2019s Romeo and\nJuliet\u300b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People were most familiar with the violin piece.\nIt was well known to the public, and even\npeople on the street could sing along with it. In fact, many music laymen\ndidn\u2019t know that \u300aLiang Zhu\u300bwas over twenty minutes\nlong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The difficulty wasn\u2019t high, but neither was it\nlow. Especially in the launching of the wedding, the demands on the violin were\nvery high. Many amateurs couldn\u2019t practice this piece without training for\nseveral months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After his display of the extremely difficult \u300aD major\u300b, the audience naturally\nbelieved he could play this song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child, the question was. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could he really portray the complex and profound\nemotion behind \u300aLiang Zhu\u300b?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n