The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 118



Only Noblemtl

In 118

* * *

Carnegie Hall located in Manhattan, New York.

This is the dream stage that every musician wants to perform at least once in their life.

Matthew Rogers first showed off the card he was most confident in.

‘This will make persuasion a little easier.’

Many performance planners saw this child’s performance in person.

If so, everyone is probably thinking the same thing right now.

A child who must be held captive at all costs.

The collaboration with the Konzerthaus was quite impressive, and the child’s piano showed more than just beauty and splendor.

The child moved people’s hearts.

It made the audience cry and laugh, and put happiness and sadness into the performance.

‘And that’s while dealing with Konzerthaus head-on.’

Moreover, there were no mistakes.

⌜Emperor⌟ is a major piece composed by Beethoven.

There was not a single missed touch during that long performance.

How many musicians in Europe can perform like this?

This would be possible only if you were a so-called ‘virtuoso’ pianist.

The 13-year-old boy was already trying to walk the path of a master.

He acted like a virtuoso, thought like a virtuoso, and played like a virtuoso.

The child proved it himself through ⌜Emperor⌟.

If I lose that child now, I might regret it for the rest of my life.

Rogers instinctively knew that fact.

So he made the best suggestion he could.

Currently, no matter how successful a performance planner is, there are not many companies that can make such an offer.

That’s not to say they aren’t capable.

In the case of large, prestigious performance halls, schedules are scheduled at least a year in advance.

Tickets are released to the public at the beginning of the year and reservations are accepted first.

No matter how successful a company is, it cannot suddenly create a stage that does not exist.

The Carnegie Hall card that Rogers held was something of a know-how gained from working as a performance planner for a long time.

Set up a venue in advance and slowly find musicians.

Through this, we provide the best stage and connect with ‘musicians we want to bring to ⌜Schmid⌟.’

It’s okay if you don’t find the right musician until closer to performance time.

⌜Schmid⌟ is a large agency that has contracts with various artists.

If you ask artists who are already in ⌜Schmid⌟ to stand on that stage, they will gladly accept.

In some ways, it’s a shallow strategy.

However, Rogers also achieved some pretty good results using this method.

‘Because the contract with Chloe Laurent was also carried out this way.’

Rogers emphasized Carnegie Hall and explained the rest of the proposal.

A child’s point of view, and content that is reasonable for the two masters.

Still, they did not give an easy answer.

The two masters were calm, and the child also seemed very calm.

The child spent some time slowly going through the documents Rogers handed him.

Without saying a word, his eyes just sparkle.

‘Now that I think about it, the material is in German. Can you read it properly?’

Although the two masters read the document together next to the child, they did not seem to explain it in detail to the child.

The anxious time passed quickly.

Finally, the child nods his head slightly.

Rogers noticed that and smiled slightly.

‘It’s a pretty hard offer to refuse. Then, let’s talk about the contract…’

however.

The child said something unexpected.

“I will think about it and contact you later. Thank you for coming here on purpose. “Director Rogers.”

* * *

“Hehehe. “Now that I see it, Seojin, it seems like you’re not only good at music.”

“I think it would be better if we were careful. “We were supposed to meet other people today.”

“That’s right. But I think the conditions offered by ⌜Schmid⌟ are the best. Still?”

“Because it wasn’t a one-time contract. 12 performances per year. Among them, Carnegie Hall was the only one. “Aside from money, I needed time to think about whether it would help my music.”

Professor Yuhan Kang smiled slightly.

“okay. Even if you had said you would sign the contract right away anyway, I would have stopped you and told you to think about it slowly. “It’s really amazing that you even thought that far.”

Conductor Hoffmann, who was next to me, also nodded.

“Good job. That’s 12 shows a year, so considering your age, it must be a killer schedule. You have to consider the time you have to practice, and you will also need time to go to the local area and get used to it. “You need to think about it carefully.”

In fact, even from a scheduling perspective, ⌜Schmid⌟ gave me the best offer.

Guaranteed 12 performances per year.

Great performance guarantee.

Full coverage of plane tickets and lodging expenses required for the performance trip.

It wasn’t an offer a 13-year-old performer who had just won a youth competition deserved.

Treatment equivalent to that of a professional pianist.

but.

If you do this, you are likely to end up repeating only a limited repertoire.

Rather than making ‘the music I want to make’, ‘commercial factors’ will be considered more.

If word spreads that there was a great collaboration between Konzerthaus and ⌜Emperor⌟, audiences in other regions would naturally want to hear ⌜Emperor⌟ as well.

Audiences pay their own money and take their own time to see the performance.

In a way, it was natural to want to listen to music from a well-known repertoire.

But I wanted to experience as many different works as possible.

I felt like this was the right time in my music career.

I wanted to not only perform, but also compose.

I wanted to try more popular music rather than classical music.

For me, it felt a little burdensome to carry out 12 concert tours.

and.

There was one thing that I thought was more important than all these reasons.

I carefully discussed my opinion with Professor Yuhan Kang and Conductor Hoffman.

“I think Ettlingen is my first step. In that case, I think we need to prepare in advance for the next step.”

“······.”

“······.”

For a moment, the two of you look at each other.

Professor Yuhan Kang first asked me about my intentions.

“What you mean is…”

“Among the three major piano competitions, there is one that has no minimum age limit. Queen Elizabeth in Belgium next year. Right now, I want to focus more on music than on public attention or money (there’s already a lot of it). “Just as I learned a lot in Ettlingen, I think I will be able to learn even more as I prepare for Queen Elizabeth.”

“haha! “That’s really good news!”

Conductor Hoffmann also nodded.

“okay. Seojin, you will be 14 next year. Even though at that age she only won an award from Queen Elizabeth…”

I knew this well.

“Queen Elizabeth will be the youngest Prime Minister.”

Queen Elisabeth, which is held every year in different categories in the order of violin, piano, cello, and vocal music, will be the piano competition next year.

If you miss the opportunity to participate next year, you will have to wait four more years.

In addition, thanks to winning in Ettlingen this time, I can advance to the finals without even having to go through the preliminary round.

The Queen Elizabeth Competition is worth participating in just for experience.

It would have been a great shame to miss the opportunity due to a performance trip.

Moreover, Queen Elizabeth is a competition with a very popular reputation, so even if she only makes it to the final list, she will have a significant resume.

For me, this competition made me more greedy than the money I would earn from 12 performances (which is already a lot).

Conductor Hoffman asks Professor Yuhan Kang a question.

“How old was the youngest ever winner of the piano section, Queen Elizabeth?”

“It’s only been about 30 years since the minimum age limit was lifted, so you’re probably still 18.”

“He was an Italian musician, right?”

“That’s right. “I heard she’s working as a college professor.”

“haha. If that’s the case… I’m looking forward to it.”

“I think it’s quite possible, too.”

Their eyes focused on me for a moment.

Conductor Hoffmann tapped my arm.

“At your age, you will gain more by focusing on ‘the music itself’ than the money or experience you gain from performing tours. “It seems like you’ve already become a great musician.”

“yes. All you need is a certain amount of money (it’s already a lot). “I know it well.”

“Hehehe. okay.”

Two happy people.

I had a meeting with people from other companies besides ⌜Schmid⌟ in the hotel lobby.

Most of the suggestions are similar.

As Professor Yuhan Kang said, ⌜Schmid⌟’s proposal seemed the best.

But I had no regrets because I had made up my mind.

After all meetings are over.

As I watched Sooyeon come out to meet me at the hotel lobby, I realized that I had made a good choice.

‘Once the performance schedule is confirmed, there will be less and less time to spend with him.’

In Su-yeon’s six years of life, it must have been only a year since she last saw her older brother.

Because I used to be very blunt.

I wanted to stay by his side a little longer and be nice to my younger brother.

“uh? “What are you thinking now?”

“huh? why?”

“You’re just staring at my face blankly. Is something wrong? If you have any concerns, tell me! “I’ll take care of everything!”

I worry a lot about my little brother.

“just. “I thought Suyeon was so kind and cute, so I was watching her for a while.”

“······ really?”

“Then~”

“Uhm. “I’m an attractive little brother, right?”

“of course.”

“Hi-Hi. But my brother is also very attractive. He is always kind to me, talks well to me, plays well with me, buys me ice cream, is kind, and…”

“Does Suyeon want to eat ice cream?”

“Also… you’re quick-witted! So I like it!”

Suyeon smiles brightly.

My mother, who was across the table, gave me a little notice, but judging by the way she waved her hand, it seemed like permission had been granted.

My brother and sister bought ice cream at the cafe in the lobby.

I looked at the fountain outside the window while getting some air from the air conditioner.

Suyeon, sitting on a chair, moves her legs back and forth.

My younger brother, who offered to give me advice on my concerns, had ice cream on his cheek.

I wiped it off with a wet tissue.

“Hmm. brother. People sometimes make mistakes. “You might get ice cream on your cheek sometimes.”

“is it?”

“I have an older brother there. “There’s nothing to worry about~”

Suyeon looks at me and smiles.

A moment of leisure for the first time in a while.

Given the success I achieved in Ettlingen, I thought it would be nice to enjoy this leisure time for a while.

* * *

Late evening that day.

‘I’m not getting a phone call?’

Matthew Rogers, director of ⌜Schmid⌟, looked closely at the cell phone on his desk.

I even tried calling my wife to see if my phone was broken.

A good phone call.

It wasn’t a cell phone problem.

‘Could it be that they said better conditions somewhere else?’

It wasn’t easy to imagine, but I thought it might be possible.

According to a critic friend, that child is a genius who comes along once every 100 years.

In fact, the column was introduced to the media a little while ago.

My critic friend stayed up most of the night and wrote a column about that child.

It’s been a day since I collaborated with Konzerthaus.

It seemed only a matter of time before word of the young genius spread to more people.

‘Should I call you right now?’

It is very disadvantageous to call first when signing a contract.

Because phone calls are usually made by the person who is disappointed first.

Matthew Rogers showed great patience just by holding off the phone until dinner time.

‘Or… should I just wait until tomorrow?’

Rogers was constantly clicking his pen in nervousness.

He checked his watch again.

It’s almost 9 o’clock.

Considering the child’s age, this is a time when he or she could be sleeping.

9:15.

Rogers eventually grabbed the cell phone.

I didn’t think I could delay any longer than this.

‘If I lose this child now, I’ll become stupid. In the future, I can’t remain that kind of director.’

Rogers was shameless and called the number the child had given him.

Turrrrr.

Turrrrr.

Turrrrr.

Turrrrr.

Turrrrr.

Only the obscene call connection tone is repeated.

Just before the call connected to the voicemail box.

– Oh, Director Rogers?

Fortunately, the child answered the phone.

Rogers smiled broadly.

After clearing his throat once, he continued his explanation honestly.

It didn’t take long for Rogers to get to the point.

“Is there any part of what I explained that you didn’t like? “If there is such a thing, I would like to talk about it openly.”

– yes?

“If performance guarantee is the problem…”

– ······ yes???

Longer calls.

Matthew Rogers confessed his feelings as honestly as possible.

The child listened to him silently for quite a long time.

* * *

The next morning.

Hotel lobby.

“Carnegie Hall???”

Anna makes a noise similar to a scream.

“That’s it. Originally I wasn’t going to do it, but he was very proactive. “I was persuaded.”

“But… you said you weren’t going to do that???”

“Because I wanted to focus more on other things. “In the end, we found an agreement.”

“······?”

Anna blinked several times.

Yesterday, on the phone with Director Rogers, I spoke frankly.

The schedule of 12 performances is burdensome.

I want to prepare for the next competition a little earlier.

Director Rogers thought about it for a while and gave me a compromise.

3 performances including Carnegie Hall.

The performance guarantee is twice the amount originally proposed.

In addition, we decided to consider various conveniences.

Professor Yuhan Kang and Conductor Hoffmann also said that a performance of that level would actually be helpful to me.

‘instead······. I hope the pianist views our ⌜Schmid⌟ favorably. We want you to know that we are always doing our best for our performers and that we are a company that pursues music more than the company’s profits. If preparation for the competition is an issue, then of course we have to take care of it. If you have any problems with your schedule, just let me know at any time.’

I was actually persuaded by Director Rogers’ words that he just wanted to gain my favor.

Carnegie Hall performance in three months.

The Queen Elizabeth Competition will be held next year.

and.

“What are you doing now?”

“Composition. I haven’t been able to do it because I’ve been busy. “I thought I would share some of the inspiration that came to mind while I was in Germany.”

“······.”

Dream-like things I sincerely wanted to do.

Something I can do before I know it,

It started to gradually change into something that had to be done.

That too.

‘It’s been a year since I left the desert island.’