The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 187



Only Noblemtl

187 Prologue

* * *

Chopin Opus No. 28.

Number 15 of 24 Preludes ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟.

A prelude or prelude usually refers to music that comes before some music.

Music that acts as an introduction but is not the main piece.

However, Chopin infused his own artistry into this prelude.

As a result, each of the 24 preludes became attractive instrumental pieces and independent pieces of music that were valuable in themselves.

One critic praised this piece, saying, ‘If all piano pieces except for one piece had to disappear from the world, I would choose Chopin’s Prelude without hesitation.’

Franz Liszt, a great composer and pianist in the classical world, heard this song and admired it, saying, ‘It is a poetic prelude similar to that of a great poet whose soul embraces a golden dream.’

Chopin is called the poet of the piano.

His music had Chopin’s unique poetry.

Chopin’s later years were not smooth.

Due to a lung disease that he suffered from for a long time, Chopin could not even climb the stairs to the second floor without someone carrying him.

It was for that reason that his lifelong lover, Georges Sand, who was concerned about Chopin’s health, decided to go to the Spanish island of Mallorca to recuperate with Chopin.

1838.

Chopin takes up residence in a cabin near the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa on the island of Mallorca.

That winter, unprecedented cold struck the island of Mallorca.

Sand went to the mainland to buy daily necessities, and Chopin remained alone on the island and continued composing.

Enduring the bitter cold.

I was clutching my chest as I coughed due to my lung disease.

I drew raindrops falling steadily on sheet music.

⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ was a song created at that time.

In that cabin with no one around…

I desperately copied the sound of raindrops falling on the monastery roof onto musical staff.

How did Chopin feel at that time?

Was she immersed in sadness, worried that her beloved lover, Sand, would not return?

Or did I just swallow the solitude, hoping not to return to this harsh place again?

It felt like I could hear the sound of a pen drawing on cheap paper.

Chopin’s feelings of pain for even the moment before his hands touched the piano keys are conveyed to me.

I continued to perform here at the Beaux-Arts Concert Hall.

The eighth notes played by the left hand did not stop even for a moment.

The sound of raindrops was endlessly repeated, as if a metronome had been turned on.

Chopin attached the instruction Sostenuto to the ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟.

It means ‘drawing out the length of the sound sufficiently.’

Because of that…

Chopin’s raindrops were falling slowly as if the world had stopped.

The pure melody of the right hand plays a glimmer of hope.

Hoping to overcome this situation, Chopin drew up the score.

When I was on a deserted island, I encountered a very sad rain.

Mr. Miller, who was suffering from a headache, suddenly collapsed while talking with me.

A fear that overtakes my entire body.

I carried Uncle Miller on my back and walked home.

My hands, feet, arms and legs were scratched somewhere, revealing red scars.

As a child, there was nothing I could do about him.

I didn’t know what I had to do other than take care of the fire so that my body temperature didn’t drop.

At that time, it rained on the uninhabited island.

One drop from the sky. Drop by drop.

In a house on a deserted island built in an imperfect way…

The rain seeped in little by little.

The fire burning in the firewood gradually dies out.

Of the two lighters found in the guitar bag, one did not light.

The remaining lighter already had only half of its oil left.

The dry firewood that was collected is getting wet little by little.

A hopeless situation.

Fear of being left alone.

and······.

A deep fear of losing him.

I prayed.

For me, God was a distant being…

At that time, at that moment, I cried out earnestly.

Rain falling from the sky…

Please let me stop for a moment.

I had hoped so.

but.

Unfortunately, the rain did not stop.

Rain fell endlessly from the sky.

The sad sound of raindrops moves from the left hand to the right hand.

The descending key of D major modulates to the rising key of C minor.

The major melody changes to minor, expressing deep sadness.

Passion and deep depression.

Chopin reflected his inner self in the ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟.

I also followed him and played this song.

I present my inner self and my own thoughts to those in Brussels.

⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ is calm music.

Music that is neither flashy nor fast.

I played this prelude slower than anyone else.

The faint noise from the audience suddenly disappeared.

Even the noise made by the judges who were rattling and moving their pens disappeared.

stillness.

The atmosphere of Beaux-Arts Hall that I wanted was created.

I had a lot of trouble interpreting this song.

The story of Uncle Miller and me.

And the story of Chopin and Sand.

I thought that combining these two would make great music.

I am······.

It was like that until the Esplanade.

A story that becomes my foundation.

Just by showing that, great music could be created.

Because no one had any disagreement with my music.

then······.

Is that enough?

Should my music just stay there?

I had a doubt.

Musicians are beings who worry endlessly.

For one performance, the audience invests an unimaginable amount of time.

500, 1,000, and 2,000 hours are devoted entirely to music.

Time passed for me too.

My music was also trying to change accordingly.

I wasn’t afraid of the change.

The sound of raindrops on the right hand moves back to the left hand.

With my free right hand, I started playing those high notes.

The melody heard from the sky expresses beauty as in the beginning of the prelude.

Chopin eventually met Georges Sand again on the island of Mallorca.

Despite the rain and cold, she bought daily necessities for her loved ones and returned to the island.

Chopin says as he looks at her drenched in rain.

‘you are······. Is it really Georges I love? I saw a vision of you being caught in a torrent of water. But what happened…? Drops of water are still falling on my chest…’

Sand answers Chopin.

‘I thought you were dead too. If I didn’t hear your piano outside the cabin… ‘I would have thought so.’

It was from Georges Sand’s memoirs.

In my recollection, that day on the deserted island also passed safely.

My thumb got scratched and scratched by a lighter that wouldn’t turn on, and it bled a little.

In a shabby house on a rainy, deserted island, I guarded a campfire.

Uncle Miller woke up on the fifth day.

As soon as I woke up, in front of the man who looked at me blankly, I didn’t shed any tears.

‘mister! Are you finally coming to your senses? ah! Would you like some water first?’

I did what I had to do then.

Even then.

today.

Tomorrow too.

I had a path to walk.

I thought about the workshop in Namyangju.

In that narrow, old musical instrument workshop.

I remembered the time when I played guitar alone.

It was raining outside at that time too.

It was the first day I met teacher Lee Hyeon-hak and sister Ra-hee.

While playing, I made eye contact with Seolha for a moment and smiled together.

Those I love.

I wanted to finish this ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ through that moment.

My narrative…

I put my own complete narrative into this one song.

The sad rain that fell endlessly turns into beauty.

It is not rain that breaks up the soil in the forest and seeps deep into the ground.

I changed the performance to make it feel like countless water droplets looking down on this world from a high sky.

My right and left hands cover the entire keyboard.

Turn this moment into hope.

Existing in this world…

With so many beautiful things.

It removes deep darkness and deep depression.

My fingers brush the keys.

From your fingers to the keyboard.

From keyboard to space.

My meaning is conveyed.

I didn’t mean to forget the past.

I hold it deep inside…

It meant that I would walk my own path.

It’s not just music that originated from Uncle Miller.

I transform my music into a performance that I want Uncle Miller to hear.

The reverberation of the piano, which is slowly fading away, tries to remain in this space as if it is regretful.

But time passed honestly.

My Chopin performance is also over.

Before starting the next song, I looked at the audience for a moment.

I realized that my meaning was fully conveyed through their facial expressions.

My first song for Queen Elizabeth.

Chopin’s Prelude…

The country exposes musicians as they are to Brussels.

* * *

Silence flows through the Palais des Beaux-Arts.

No one in the audience moved.

Even the judges were so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that they forgot their work for a moment.

The boy’s performance…

It was so beautiful, sad, and sad that it can’t be described in words.

There was joy, a glimpse of hope, and purification of people’s emotions.

Who the hell is it?

Has there ever been a performance like this at Queen Elizabeth?

The boy’s performance was on a different level.

He already…

He was playing at the next level.

‘I can’t help but think that way.’

One of the judges barely held a ballpoint pen in his hand.

He hated the idea of ​​having to grade a performance like this, but he had to do what he had to do.

As he moved the pen, the other judges also quickly started moving their pens.

They reflected their individual thoughts in their scores.

‘You can already play like this at that age? It’s an incredible performance regardless of age…’

‘I can’t believe Chopin’s Prelude is presented like this…’

‘An original interpretation. But it’s an understandable development. This is my first time hearing ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ like this.’

‘I couldn’t breathe. A contestant who can play both deep depression and hope? This······. what······.’

‘A monster has appeared in Brussels. Everyone saw this performance today… It’s going to be noisy for a while.’

Before the judges could properly evaluate the boy, he started playing a second time.

As it is the first round where the performance time must be completed for 10 minutes, the boy finishes playing ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ and immediately continues with the next performance.

A short piece by Brahms.

The judges began to sweat and evaluate the boy’s performance.

On the other hand, there were some people whose eyes lit up after hearing the boy’s performance.

Masters of classical music who dominated the era.

They couldn’t help but be amazed in their hearts.

Chloe Laurent watches the stage closely.

‘I’ve grown again… And that coincided with the time when Queen Elizabeth came to the stage. You always surprise me. Seojin.’

Taiwanese master Lang Yu leaned forward.

‘A performance that transcends time. I don’t really accept the age of 14. A great performer has appeared in this world.’

If someone had read Lang Yu’s thoughts, it was a compliment that would have been surprising.

The boy’s ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟ played for about 7 minutes.

The boy played a song that an average pianist would play for about 5 minutes, but stretched it out.

A performance that may seem boring in some ways was completed perfectly by maintaining the tension between notes.

marvel.

Russian master Bashanov looked intently at the boy’s hand.

After the ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟, the boy was playing Brahms’ piece chosen to fill the remaining 3 minutes.

‘It seems like your repertoire is wide… No, that’s not it. You’re not tied to any specific music? I think that’s the case with the state law, too…’

In fact, while playing the ⌜Raindrop Prelude⌟, there was a moment when the spirit changed completely.

As if he had been replaced by a different performer…

The boy clearly had two voices.

‘I thought it would be impossible for any musician.’

The ethos is also called the performer’s fingerprint.

If a performer can freely change his style, he will become a virtuoso of this era that no one can surpass.

The virtuosos sitting in the audience here have risen to this position with one playing method, one thought, and one ethos.

however.

The boy was saying that wasn’t enough.

‘I can’t believe it…’

Bashanov kept his eyes fixed on the boy’s face and hands until the boy finished playing.

The boy finished playing without any special change in expression.

After successfully completing the second song, he took a deep breath and stood up.

The audience could no longer hold back the cheers they had been holding back for so long and burst out.

“Wow!!!”

“bravo!!!”

A shout that was loud enough to leave the concert hall.

But the boy was unfazed by that reaction.

The boy greeted the audience with a slight smile and calmly returned to the waiting room.

Today marks the end of the first round of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, where, unlike Ettlingen, all performances will be broadcast live.

Another strong candidate for the championship emerged in Brussels.

korea. Number 47.

Participant Seojin Han, 14 years old.

He was selected as one of Queen Elizabeth’s 48 people.

My name is proudly listed in the second preliminary round.

In Queen Elizabeth’s first round, only 12 out of 60 global qualifiers are eliminated.

In other words, the first preliminary round can be said to be a time for arrogant Brussels to check the atmosphere of the competition that year in order to check the basic abilities of the performers.

It is a kind of expression of will not to give proper attention to the 12 people who are not qualified.

The Queen Elisabeth Competition began in earnest with the second preliminary round, which determined the 24 eliminated contestants.

A grand music festival held in the heart of Europe.

Queen Elizabeth’s prelude, which the whole world is paying attention to, is finally coming to a grand finale.