The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 206



Only Noblemtl

206 A Fugue

* * *

The boy walks towards a place with bright lights.

I leave behind words of greeting, peace and comfort in this waiting room and walk briskly.

Oleg Yankovsky looked at the sight.

I stared at the door that was slowly closing by the staff.

Sylvie Lucas and Brian Turner soon turned their gaze to the sheet music.

He squeezes out time to create his own unique and perfect music.

Yankovsky stood up.

I stood in front of the door separating the waiting room and the stage, from which the sound of applause could be heard.

Since Jankovsky was the one who had to go up on stage right after the boy’s performance, the competition officials just watched him from a distance and paid him no attention.

Yankovsky put his hand on the vertical strip of light streaming through the crack in the door.

A strong beam of light that seemed to cut the body in half.

Yankovsky created words by breathing them into his mouth.

So that no one can hear.

So that only one person can hear.

He speaks in a mumbling tone.

“Ivan. That kid went up on stage.”

“I’m sure they’ll put on a great performance like at the Chateau de Chapelle.”

“It will create opportunities for people to change.”

“Ivan. Ivan. Ivan.”

“My beloved brother······.”

“I heard my brother’s voice······.”

“I didn’t know I would miss you this much······.”

Oleg glanced to his left.

There, Ivan was looking at Oleg with a faint smile on his face, without saying anything.

Ivan stepped forward in front of Oleg and peered through the crack in the door.

He shows an innocent appearance like a child who wants to see a performance.

Before I knew it, the applause began to die down.

The pianist is sitting on a chair.

Although he couldn’t see the stage from the waiting room, Oleg had the whole scene in his mind.

I talk to the piano, think about the performance I have to do, and stare at the keys, lost in thought.

The audience follows the performer’s every move.

The most important moment for a pianist.

Soon, an eerie silence descended upon the concert hall.

In contrast to the image of his brother, which was becoming increasingly blurred, the image of the boy and the melody he would show became clearer and clearer.

Yankovsky closed his eyes.

I thought back to the moment when I played the piano with that boy at the Chateau de Chapelle.

A melody that I couldn’t hear, but could understand.

The silent melody that was beautifully heard through the musician’s deep inner self······.

Finally, it turns into reality here.

Sonata in F major.

Lyrical and beautiful······.

A very delicate melody, resembling a violin······.

It can be heard beyond the stage and into the waiting room.

Yankovsky.

The younger brother is now an adult and the older brother is still a child.

I held my breath and listened intently to the noble melody the boy sang.

They draw eternity through a moment.

Spend the same amount of time together.

.

.

.

The melody starts Allegretto (slightly faster) and moves cautiously.

A delicate melody that seems like it could break if you’re not careful.

Fortunately, a new secondary theme emerges from the left hand to provide balance.

Two melodies resembling a violin and a cello played simultaneously.

They created harmony, taking turns leading and following, as if sharing a story.

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 33 was in a kind of fugue form.

Fugue.

A piece of music using imitative counterpoint.

When we usually say ‘counterpoint’, we mean a composition method that creates a harmonious harmony while having two or more independent melodies.

If we were to name a composer who was popular during the Baroque era and made the best use of it, Bach would be a prime example.

And the element of ‘imitation’ that was added to this counterpoint was the fugue.

Several themes are played simultaneously, but each succeeding theme imitates part of the melody of the preceding theme, providing a sense of stability.

Then another topic comes along and ‘imitates’ the previous topics, and the previous topics finish their roles and transform into a completely new topic.

A very complex composition method.

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 33 also features endless small themes that express his agony and distress.

The notes outside the chord create dissonant intervals, but the following melody barely manages to resolve them.

In some ways, it’s a precarious melody.

In a way, it’s a question and answer.

Left hand and right hand.

Furthermore, three or four parts are created, each producing its own voice.

The pianist must not miss a single one of these sounds.

Music that falls apart when it loses its balance.

Even one mistake would cause the fugue, which takes the form of an ‘imitation’, to collapse like a sand castle.

Your breathing becomes slightly rough.

Ten fingers, each moving with a different intention, press on my thoughts.

question.

question.

question.

Although it did not require as much virtuosity as ⌜Petrushka⌟, ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟ posed endless questions to the pianist.

Beethoven in his later years, filled with agony······.

Speak to me now.

Selbst das Verständnis des Herzens einer Person scheint unmöglich zu sein.

‘I can’t even properly understand one person’s heart······.’

At that time, Beethoven was deeply shocked by his nephew’s attempted suicide with a pistol.

My nephew whom I have loved my whole life.

His nephew, who had hoped to become a great musician like him, attempted to take his own life.

In a world where you can’t hear anything.

To Beethoven, who had to create music while enduring loneliness and silence.

His nephew, Karl, was no different from Hope.

Beethoven supported him in everything and hoped that he would have musical talent like him.

But Karl was an ordinary person.

A musician who may have been dull.

It was impossible for such a person to please his uncle, who was called the Music Saint.

Karl was off.

He became pessimistic about his own talent and gave up everything.

Beethoven tried to correct him.

I always wished him well.

When Karl was a child, Johanna, Karl’s mother and his younger brother’s wife, took custody of Karl because she was unhappy with the way he was being raised.

He sued and convinced Karl.

I wanted to see hope in Karl, who had the blood of the Beethoven family flowing through him.

But paradoxically, the more this happened, the more Karl resented his uncle.

An increasingly dysfunctional relationship.

Things that cannot be undone.

The ending was Karl’s attempted suicide by pistol.

Beethoven is in agony.

While composing the ⌜String Quartet No. 16⌟, which I had to finish first upon receiving a commission.

While drawing the score of his brother work, ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟.

I tried to find out what was wrong.

How can I······.

I wonder if I can remain whole in this world.

He draws sheet music while worrying about Karl, who has been sent to a mental hospital.

Beethoven’s rough handwriting came to mind.

When I first saw the score, I was struck by the strong tone of his notes that I had dismissed as bad handwriting.

Beethoven’s fragile heart worried about his nephew’s safety.

A broken relationship.

Still, the will to find an answer.

It is expressed through music.

Melodies of different themes descend simultaneously.

The fourth note of the scale appears and expresses tragedy.

At this very moment, an instruction is given on the score.

perdendosi (slower and weaker).

Beethoven falls into despair.

His emotions are transmitted.

His suffering is vivid.

What should I do?

How on earth can we solve this problem?

A situation that I can’t even get a feel for.

The bottom of despair······.

It’s much darker than we imagined.

I can’t do anything.

I could only struggle and there was nothing I could do.

A place where there is not even a shred of hope.

The melody finally reaches there.

Beethoven was there too······.

He hummed quietly.

I continue to struggle to find the answer.

‘Ich will das, was ich in meiner Hand habe, noch nicht loslassen.’

Because I still don’t want to let go of what I have in my hands.

‘Have I a chance?’

Do I have a chance too?

.

.

.

Perdendosi (slower and weaker) drags the melody into the deep abyss.

But even there, Fugue’s questions and answers continued.

Small worries pile up and create a huge monster.

Beethoven created his own narrative through this work.

A composer who was influenced by his surroundings more than any other composer.

Beethoven shouts.

Borrow that boy’s hand.

Transcending 200 years of time.

He vents his anger roughly.

An empty scream that could not even make a sound echoes throughout the concert hall.

Melody of pain.

The audience cringed without even realizing it.

The boy’s overwhelming music.

No one can disagree with this.

In the studio of the Palais des Beaux-Arts overlooking the auditorium, Bashanov, who had been watching the boy play, rises from his seat.

If this had actually happened in the audience, it would have been an action that deserved criticism, but the Russian maestro Basyanov had no time to care about such things.

‘You understood this difficult music······. perfectly?’

14 days.

The period during which Shafiel’s musicians prepared this piece.

Even Bashanov was not confident about it at the time.

He interpreted Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 33 together with several scholars.

I tried to understand the background of the work and the depth of the melody.

Although it was the same 14 days, I interpreted this work under much more favorable conditions.

Even Bashanov, who was like that, didn’t have the confidence to play like that boy now.

I didn’t have the confidence to create a single melody by endlessly asking myself questions and answers.

If I were given enough time and had a chance to perform in six months, I might be able to play like that.

It took that much time to understand Beethoven’s deep agony and the weight of the notes.

However.

The boy seemed to already understand everything, as he fully expressed the melody of the Music Saint.

A boy who is only 14 years old······.

Beethoven’s rough emotions are played on the piano.

‘I can’t believe it······. Even the genius of the century would be unable to do this······.’

Would Mozart of that age have been able to make such an expression?

Would Chopin at that age have been able to play the depths of despair?

How can he maintain the balance of the fugue, accept Beethoven’s emotions, and convey his will to everyone?

Bashanov had never seen such a performer before.

It seemed like there would be no more of it.

“That boy······. He seems closer to Beethoven than we are. The boy’s melody pierces my lungs······.”

The mutterings of Taiwanese master Lang Yu.

Bashanov barely opened his mouth.

“But this performance… Will that boy be able to continue until the end? Will he be able to achieve a reversal of emotions?”

“Well, ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟ is a piece that contains the essence of Beethoven. In his later years, Beethoven poured everything into this piece. It is a piece comparable to ⌜Chorus⌟ and ⌜Fate⌟. I can’t guarantee every single word of the score, so I guess I can’t discuss the ending of this piece.”

“······ Yeah. ······ Yeah.”

Langwei was right.

A song where I can’t guarantee a single word.

The first movement is just about to end, but the ending is already unpredictable.

Their conversation is captured in full on Queen Elizabeth’s camera.

The host of the program was so focused on the boy’s performance that he didn’t even think to ask the commentators any questions.

The studio staff continued to watch the boy playing beyond the glass window.

I just stared blankly.

Before we know it, the first movement is slowly coming to a close.

The melody from high above, expressing a delicate violin, appears again, hinting at a small hope.

A small light in the darkness.

The first movement ends precariously, with lanterns swaying to the wind-driven melody.

The boy suddenly stopped playing.

There came a moment of rest between movements.

The boy closed his eyes slowly and took his time.

And then.

The introduction of the second movement was played leisurely······.

I struck a key harder than ever before.

* * *

My gaze naturally turns to him.

Jang Loong, MD, Ph.D.

Singapore General Hospital

‘If you are an MD or Ph.D.···.’

“doctor?”

Suddenly, goosebumps appeared all over my body.

It felt like I’d been hit in the head with a hammer.

It seemed like the empty gap in my memory was filled in an instant.

okay.

okay!!!

We managed to escape!

We succeeded in escaping through that vast ocean.

Really!

“Do you remember your parents’ names? Your siblings’ or friends’ names are also fine.”

The doctor kept pestering me without giving me time to admire him.

I decided to start by asking about something much more important.

“What about Mr. Miller?”

“huh?”

“So, Mark Miller, the guy who was on the same boat as me.”

“······Who are you?”

“Mark Miller. A white man in his late 40s. He must have been right next to me.”

“······.”

The doctors suddenly started gossiping among themselves about me.

‘No, what the hell are you doing now?’

The moment I was about to ask something, the doctor spoke first.

“Do you remember any plane crashes······.”

I answered his question.

“Huh. Okay. I understand. I see. Then······.”

He answered again.

“By the way, in such a big accident, it is natural to have trauma due to the psychological shock. So don’t worry too much. Let’s solve the Han Seo-jin problem little by little.”

I held it in for so long that I finally ended up screaming.

“Now!!! What are you guys talking about!!!”

“Are you kidding me???”

“@#$%$@# @!#$@#$@#!!!”

“*$%^!@#%$^#($!!!!!”

The depths of despair.

A deep abyss.

The melody of ⌜Beethoven Sonata No. 33⌟ brings back memories of my past.

Just as I wanted to look at Beethoven.

He also asked me a question.

rough.

As is.

It forcibly brings out my inner self.

Not easy music.

The small lamp that was barely lighting up the darkness suddenly swayed dizzily in the wind.

Dangerously close to being turned off.

It’s slowly suffocating me.

The grand introduction to the second movement by Beethoven.

From this moment on, the true nature of ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟ is revealed······.

I will take the lead in this music myself.

The melody suddenly begins to fly away.

A melody that disappears in an instant.

From now on, you might get lost in an instant.

Beethoven’s intentions were fully respected.

so.

I couldn’t be dragged around like this any longer.

I······to find the center of the melody.

I hit one key harder than ever before.

To stand up to the musical saint Beethoven.

Boldly reveal the existence of ‘me’.

The second movement begins frantically.

The melody is interjected into the extremely intense rhythm.

The fugue begins to solve questions that seemed unsolvable on its own.