The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 140



Only Noblemtl

140 our

* * *

French genius composer Maurice Ravel.

He was a representative impressionist musician who was active from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

impressionism.

Unlike existing classical music, which expresses grand stories or expresses emotional states by following strict forms and structures, it can be seen as music that focuses on the impressions and feelings of the moment.

In a word, it is music that deals with the aesthetics of the moment.

Ravel’s ⌜Mirror⌟ also followed the impressionist technique well.

The first song of ⌜Mirror⌟, ⌜Night Moth⌟, is very dangerous.

The melodies of the whole tone scale, chromatic scale, and pentatonic scale are mixed together, creating confusion in the melody.

Chords that are never resolved.

On a dark night when nothing can be seen, the image of a moth fluttering around a fire is played out through piano music.

The moth endlessly craves that light.

If you get too close, you will be eaten by the light.

Mr. Miller, who was pushing firewood into the bonfire, continued his explanation.

“That’s why people need to know how to look back sometimes. Also look around. You also need to know how to keep your distance from the light. “That’s life.”

And I…

“done! I memorized it all! ⌜Night moth⌟. “It’s not that difficult of a song, is it?”

After writing the notes on the sand with a tree branch, I looked confidently at the man.

Uncle Miller smiles slightly.

“I don’t understand how someone like you has never won a competition.”

“That was because I was trying to get too close to the light. A moth has its own life, and I have my own life, but both of us were only chasing the illusion of ‘light.’ Actually, I wanted to be good at ‘music’. I guess I was in a hurry. “I no longer have that thought.”

“I thought it was passed on to Mrs. “You were listening to everything I said.”

“I don’t ignore anything you say. You’re telling me so much, but I can’t do that. It’s basic courtesy. manners.”

A man putting his hand on my head.

I felt like I was being treated like a child, so I looked away and laughed.

“To avoid it.”

“I’m already old…”

“okay. okay. I did this without even realizing it because it looked amazing. But don’t you think you patted your little brother’s head a lot too? “You mean we’re both common?”

“······?”

“what? Have you ever been like that? I heard there is a big age difference? “Don’t you think it would be really cute?”

“that······. I’ve never talked to her younger brother like that before. “I don’t know if you like this kind of thing?”

“······.”

A man pressing his temples.

Uncle Miller spent over 15 minutes telling me to get along with my younger brother.

“I didn’t intentionally avoid my younger brother. “I just focused on piano practice…”

“okay. Still, if you get a chance after going out to the deserted island, try stroking your little brother’s head. You said you were the only brother? “You’ll love it so much.”

“Even though you’ve been a blunt older brother?”

“But unconditionally.”

“Uhm. all right. “I will try that.”

“That’s enough.”

And in the end, he ends up messing with my hair.

I couldn’t understand what was good about this at all.

Mr. Miller held a wooden stick and explained step by step while looking at the score of ⌜Night Moth⌟ that I had written.

He also tells us in detail what he was thinking when he played ⌜Mirror⌟ on a certain stage in the past.

The story continued for a long time.

“But where was the stage? “After listening to what you said, it seemed like it was a fairly large place.”

“For musicians, the size of the stage is not important. Rather than that…”

Uncle Miller was fiddling with his left wrist as he recalled that time.

“Even a moth can become something that dances wonderfully around a fire, as long as you keep your distance from it and don’t get too close to the light. But moths are bound to make mistakes someday. So Seojin, as much as you… I want to find the light that resides within you. “All the lights outside are just illusions.”

.

.

.

Sweat beaded on Miller’s forehead.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a scene, but I couldn’t do it anymore.

A slight foreign sensation felt in the left wrist.

Although I was usually fine, some days I got a little nervous.

Maybe it’s because I’m tired.

Because the performance schedule has increased quite a bit recently.

but.

‘Why do I do this on stage… It’s just the beginning…’

⌜Mirror⌟’s ⌜Night Moth⌟ is a song in which precise tempo and dynamic expression are very important.

The melody, which felt vague at first, becomes clearer as it progresses, creating a clear contrast.

Only then can we deliver hope to people through this song.

Among the five songs in ⌜Mirror⌟, even ⌜Night Moth⌟, which was particularly easy to pass by, Miller wanted to do his best.

Move your fingers desperately.

Press the pedal mechanically.

Both arms move quickly as if suddenly pulled.

Fortunately, the foreign sensation in my left wrist gradually began to disappear.

Look.

This was something that could be overcome.

This brings us one step closer to bright light.

Miller played ⌜Mirror⌟ to his heart’s content.

I sang with sincerity.

I shouted to the audience to listen carefully to this melody.

All the sadness you are feeling.

I will take it all.

The performer here.

I will ease your burden a little.

So I declare.

Detailed rhythms and complex chords flow from the piano.

At some point, Miller had his eyes closed.

I was able to fully immerse myself again.

Miller played the piano there in his imagination.

however.

‘······ Who is it?’

cannot be accurately identified.

A vague shape approached Miller.

Ravel’s ⌜Mirror⌟ is a work that expresses various shapes reflected in the musician’s artistic soul.

That shape…

Is this really my mirror?

Or is it someone else’s mirror?

The 17-year-old performer couldn’t figure it out.

The first song of ⌜Mirror⌟ ended and the second song started.

Yet the figure remained still in front of Miller.

It would be nice if I could at least recognize the face.

It is very unfortunate that imagination is limited.

Miller took courage.

‘who are you?’

The mirror had no answer.

but.

It was clear that he was gesturing to Miller.

After much contemplation, Miller stopped playing the piano.

In reality, all subsequent performance is left to the subconscious.

Mark Miller walked on an imaginary beach.

Accordingly, the shape of the mirror stands in front of the piano.

he is.

The boy who now knows that it is him.

I quietly stretched out my hand and touched a note.

The boy’s outfit catches my eye.

White dress shirt and black shorts.

The boy continued playing ⌜Mirror⌟ instead of Miller.

‘you’re good······.’

Miller stood silently and watched the boy play.

The boy was showing excellent performance even when playing the piano while standing.

‘okay. That’s how ⌜Sad Birds⌟ plays.’

The second song of ⌜Mirror⌟ was ⌜Sad Birds⌟.

An impressive piece with a melody that freely flies in a dreamy atmosphere.

The boy stands in the center of the sunset.

Played ⌜Sad Birds⌟.

– Birds lost in the pressure of the dark forest during the hottest part of summer. –

The boy faithfully expressed the words that Maurice Ravel himself mentioned.

‘It’s more refined than my playing.’

then.

Has this boy lost his way?

Or is it that I am lost looking at this boy?

I do not know.

I hope everything is clear.

Miller fell into deep thought while listening to the boy’s sad performance.

But then.

The boy suddenly stopped playing.

The second song of ⌜Mirror⌟ is already finished.

Then he makes a recommendation to Miller.

‘Do you want me to play the piano next?’

Nod your head.

‘And you?’

The boy pointed to another piano placed on the beach.

‘There were two pianos. Neither of them have chairs…’

As Miller stood in front of one piano, the boy also stood in front of another piano.

‘I don’t know what’s going on here.’

Have I been too tired these days?

Realistic imagination.

And to get this feeling on stage…

Miller burst into laughter.

I raised one hand and looked at it.

The boy also raises one hand.

When Miller hits the keys.

The boy presses the keys in the same way.

The clear sound of the piano resonates far away.

The pleasant concert continued for a while.

Only then did Miller open his eyes.

The Isaac Stern Auditorium stage came into view.

Miller never stopped playing here.

Before we knew it, the third song of ⌜Mirror⌟ had started.

‘That child… What kind of mirror did he show?’

well.

I don’t know, but it was definitely a great performance.

That’s what I thought.

Miller played powerful arpeggios with his left hand.

There was no problem with my left wrist.

then.

You can show everything to the audience.

Miller performed the third song of ⌜Mirror⌟ with all his might.

Slowly churning waves of the sea.

A small object floating above it.

The audience holds their breath at Miller’s meticulous expressions.

* * *

The third song of ⌜Mirror⌟.

⌜Small boat on the sea⌟.

A tremendously complex piece that requires pianississimo (pppp, very, very, very weak) expression.

Carnegie Hall was very quiet.

The boy on stage was turning that quiet, almost inaudible sound into a melody.

A performance that gives goosebumps all over your body.

Waves slowly rise in the sea, and a small boat continues sailing.

Payans, who was seated on the second floor of the hall, could barely control himself from shaking in his seat.

If you do that now, you will definitely interfere with that child’s performance.

Even the slightest sound of your collar rubbing against you will be louder than that piano sound.

The child was showing great concentration.

With my eyes closed, I stroke the keyboard and finely adjust the volume.

The theme melody of the right hand rides the wind.

A small, artificial boat that sways in the natural wind.

The delicate expression made me feel like I was actually on a boat.

‘That performance… I think I’ve heard this before somewhere…’

Pyayanth was lost in thought.

It is rare for a pianist to show this level of expressiveness.

So, some performers came to mind for a moment.

But considering the child’s age, I couldn’t find a connection to anyone.

‘Kang Yu-han is not a pianist who plays like this… I don’t know…’

Trouble comes to the ship that was rocking like rags.

⌜Little Boat on the Sea⌟ is a song with a very wide dynamic range.

The fragile melody suddenly meets fortissimo (fff, very, very strong), expressing turbulence.

The child’s hands move quickly as if being pulled.

Even though the chord connection seems to be broken, it does not break.

Virtuoso technique.

Something unbelievable was happening on this stage.

‘A 13-year-old child… ‘You perfectly understand and express Ravel’s ⌜mirror⌟?’

Ravel’s ⌜Mirror⌟ is a song that has even quite a few professional performers tongue-in-cheek.

The combination of dissonance and 5th and 8th chords must be created solely by the pianist as ‘music’.

If you make a mistake, this music will not sound like music.

But that child was perfectly expressing the ⌜mirror⌟.

Momentary aesthetics.

Beauty that comes from moments.

There was already a huge mirror inside that child’s artistic soul.

Payans closed his eyes.

I wanted to see the performer projected onto the child.

Many musicians who passed by Payance.

Among the performers I have seen in my 75 years of life.

One person’s shadow is vaguely visible.

In Fayance’s memory, he could not remember the performer’s face.

but.

that he played

⌜Mirror⌟.

I remembered what kind of music it was.

Tired people often go to nature.

I find comfort there.

Watching the sunset, listening to the sound of the wind, and watching the waves of the sea.

I feel one thing.

Jeongjungdong (still movement).

A word that indicates that there is some movement in silence.

He expressed nature through the flow of music.

It only moved people’s hearts.

It was an incredible talent.

Forgotten in the past.

Unlucky pianist.

‘Mark Miller…’

I had only seen him in person twice, but his tone still lingered in the memory.

and.

That kid was continuing Miller’s music.

Sing healing on the piano.

The tone that I thought had been lost was present in that child’s playing.

“······.”

marvel.

Payans opened his eyes.

I raised my head and looked at the ceiling of the hall.

I turned my gaze and looked at the audience as well.

People were enjoying the peace at this concert hall.

Each person puts aside their own sadness for a moment and leaves everything to the child’s performance.

The value that music should ultimately pursue.

I felt like I could figure out what it was through that child’s playing.

The child spoke through his music.

‘I hope the audience who came to see my performance today will be happy.’

The meaning is conveyed as is.

A tear flows down Payans’ cheek.

The old pianist…

This old, old music…

I was grateful that it continued.

* * *

When I close my eyes, I picture the scenery of a deserted island.

I saw flying insects hovering around the campfire,

I heard the sad songs of birds crying in the dark forest,

I saw a small boat floating on the ocean.

but.

Uncle Miller was nowhere to be found here.

I looked at the grand piano lying on the beach.

A piano made from my imagination.

I stood in front of the piano, which was bathed in orange light by the setting sun, and stroked the keys.

When I was on a desert island, I heard Mr. Miller’s interpretation of ⌜Mirror⌟.

‘It was impressive… Very…’

I may have chosen ⌜Mirror⌟ as the first song because it reminded me of that time.

While standing in front of the piano, I hesitated for a moment.

Then I tried playing it carefully.

My subconscious was playing on the Carnegie Hall stage.

My consciousness continued to play here.

Amazing experience.

I think this may be possible thanks to practicing so hard.

however.

It seemed like a familiar performance was coming from somewhere.

A sweet yet warm melody.

It sounded very similar to my piano.

so.

so······.

So I go with that sound.

I tried playing the piano.

Everyone who listens to this performance.

I hope everyone is happy.

Focusing on the light within me.

The pleasant concert continued.

Our ⌜mirror⌟…