The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 207
Only Noblemtl
207 Does it have to be that way?
* * *
Vivace (Vivace, very fast).
Legatissimo (extremely soft).
In fact, two incompatible instructions are presented simultaneously, which cannot coexist.
Moreover, the rhythm is intense, but the melody is delicate.
When faced with a score like this, the performer becomes confused.
What if I play according to these instructions?
A hazy melody is created that is difficult for anyone to distinguish.
Music that is closer to BGM with a distinct sense of rhythm but no clear melody.
Did Beethoven really intend to make this music like that?
Should I give up everything and throw myself into the flow?
Have you become so consumed by despair that you’ve given up on yourself?
‘I wish I had had a chance to talk to him······.’
The Beethoven I know was not that kind of person.
I read this score over and over again.
Even after the ambo was finished, I continued to look at the sheet music.
I dug into this score so much that I could memorize the shapes of the lines Beethoven drew and even how he corrected the notes he drew incorrectly.
After spending 14 days at the Music Chapel, I discovered a section from the second movement.
Between phrases, the only part where you don’t have to follow these instructions because of the rests and pull-ups.
A single note that can be passed over without a second thought.
I will be the first to reveal Beethoven’s deep thoughts, which he could not express directly and could only express indirectly.
Like Haydn’s Surprise Symphony, I left this one note in people’s minds.
Among the smoothly flowing melodies, only one note stands out.
I used the pedal deeply to emphasize the note even more.
A glimmer of hope.
The small hope hinted at in the first movement······.
I hear it again from the high heavens.
A violin that was thought to have disappeared reappears.
Suddenly, a melody that seems to bring tears to your eyes makes you reminisce about the past and make your voice tremble.
Cello and viola, without anyone’s help.
I endure everything alone.
Accept everything alone.
Accept everything alone.
Beethoven, on his deathbed······.
Ask Karl for forgiveness.
.
.
.
A boy’s performance that seems possessed by a god.
Aside from the fact that he was only 14 years old, the boy’s performance continued with incredible fluency.
His performance suddenly changes when he meets one strong note.
The melody that made people shed sad tears becomes more and more beautiful.
The fugue repeated endlessly, the delicate theme wavered precariously, but that one beautiful note was never forgotten.
A sound that has left a strong impression.
The boy left a huge impression on the audience.
He was talking to the audience to try to understand the essence of this music.
Creating an incredible performance by combining the impossible harmony of vague sounds and distinct rhythms.
He continues to try to communicate with the audience.
The Q&A of the fugue, which should be resolved by the performer alone, is transferred to the audience.
The boy asks, borrowing Beethoven’s music.
‘You may not even be able to properly understand one person’s heart.’
‘I still don’t want to let go of what I have in my hands.’
‘Do I have a chance?’
This was also written on the pamphlets distributed to the audience.
The audience was already familiar with the text, as the Queen Elisabeth advisory board, which included Basyanov and Lang Yu, had included Beethoven’s verse in a pamphlet.
The audience began to listen to the boy’s performance with even greater concentration, each with their own thoughts in their minds that arose from his performance.
Meanwhile, Polish maestro Payans, a former Chopin Competition winner, absentmindedly clasped his hands together.
He looked at the boy with a kind expression.
‘It’s so beautiful······.’
‘It is so profound······.’
‘This is a kid who makes music so deep that I can’t understand everything about him.’
‘You’ve been carrying a lot on your shoulders even at such a young age.’
‘So, show me everything you have, even if it’s right here.’
‘that······.’
‘I hope it will help you too······.’
Payans closed his eyes tightly and listened to the boy’s music.
Max Richter, known as the Melody of Dresden, was also quietly watching the child’s performance from one of the seats in the concert hall.
Until last year, the child who showed me his friend’s music, music of healing······.
Before I knew it, I was creating my own music.
‘Miller. Another new musician is about to rise up in this space.’
‘Music has been passed down through generations of teachers, through our generation, and now to that child.’
‘New. We are moving forward using our music as a stepping stone.’
‘Are you watching? I hope you are watching. The child who played a tune that somehow resembled yours is trying to move forward using that music as a stepping stone.’
‘This graceful melody······’
‘I hope you’re listening there too.’
The boy’s performance was becoming more and more beautiful.
Melody, who started to find answers to questions, takes the first step.
The lyrical and beautiful melody unique to the key of F major begins to fill the space.
The boy closed his eyes slightly······.
There was a faint smile on his lips, barely visible.
.
.
.
The extremely intense rhythm subsides.
Even the melody that was once slender stands on its own with the help of other themes.
The heavenly melody heard from up high.
Suppressing the sound of despair coming from down there······.
It began to shine beautifully.
Beethoven’s music was the product of endless agony.
He couldn’t draw musical scores as easily as Mozart.
I couldn’t sing about love like Schumann and Chopin.
He did not produce music as technically accomplished as Liszt and Paganini.
But we respect Beethoven and call him the saint of music.
I want to understand the music he created through his suffering and efforts, and reflect on my life through it.
I did the same.
As a musician······.
I tried to understand him, and through him, to understand myself.
Beethoven goes to see Johanna after Karl’s suicide attempt.
He goes to her with his aching body and asks for forgiveness.
I admit that everything I thought I did for my nephew up until now was wrong.
After a legal battle, Beethoven, who had become Karl’s official guardian, officially appointed her as Karl’s custodian.
I express my deepest apologies.
Johanna······.
I accepted Beethoven’s apology.
This brings a glimmer of hope to life.
It is expressed through the piano.
⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟ enters the third movement with all the themes ascending.
Dancing happily.
The delicate violin gains strength and creates harmony with another theme.
The fugue form gradually fades.
All the themes harmonize and ultimately form one melody.
When I put down what I was trying to hold in my hand, an opportunity arose.
By letting go of my ego, I was able to understand a person’s heart a little bit.
Beethoven might have wanted to give this ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟ to Karl.
I started by drawing the score for ⌜String Quartet No. 16⌟, which I had to finish as quickly as possible because I was commissioned to do so.
He probably wanted to give Carl the ⌜Piano Sonata No. 33⌟, which contains the story of the past with sincerity.
That’s how I looked at the meaning of this score.
Beethoven put both despair and joy into his Piano Sonata No. 33.
There was not a single lie in the score.
I wrote down in detail the events that happened in the past in a confessional.
At that moment when he composed this piece, wasn’t Beethoven also filled with anticipation?
Beethoven reconciled with Karl’s mother.
If that’s the case, then it could have been the same with Karl.
He probably intended to finish composing the String Quartet No. 16 in a hurry and then conclude the Piano Sonata No. 33.
He might have tried to ask for forgiveness from Karl through this music.
but.
Beethoven was running out of time.
Meanwhile, Beethoven’s condition worsened further.
Because my stomach was filling with water, I had to undergo a paracentesis to drain 11 kg of ascites.
I had this procedure done a total of 4 times.
A time when medical technology was not of much use.
Beethoven becomes increasingly ill.
Just a little more.
I wish I had just a little more time for him······.
Time did not wait for one musician in particular.
The doctor knew that Beethoven’s death was imminent.
So I told Beethoven honestly about that, and Beethoven wanted to see Karl one last time.
One for a lifetime.
That’s what I was trying to solve.
However, after attempting suicide with a pistol, Karl was released from the mental hospital and enlisted in the army.
A choice to stand up to your uncle.
Karl never responded to Beethoven’s call.
The third movement, which began with joy, begins to lose its power.
The increasingly thin handwriting of Beethoven, which I could see only by looking at his autograph scores, lingers before my eyes.
His intense handwriting wavers, and his notes are filled with tremors.
Beethoven’s feelings at the time are reflected in his music.
As in the first movement, the delicate theme appears again and falters.
Shedding sad tears.
A sorrowful melody filled with regret.
I had no intention of leaving this music as it was.
The musician, who knows the story of Beethoven after his death, has once again taken control of the melody.
There were two people who watched Beethoven die.
One of them was the composer Anselm Hüttenbrenner.
And the remaining one······.
It was Johanna, Karl’s mother.
Johanna forgave Beethoven.
He willingly forgave Beethoven for taking his son away from him.
What kind of conversation did they have in their last moments?
Unfortunately, nothing was known about this.
However, Wittenberger did record Beethoven’s will.
Beethoven’s last words were bold and brief.
But, to spät······.
Too bad, it’s too late······.
Beethoven was unable to complete his Piano Sonata No. 33.
Without even being able to deliver this score to Karl.
He closes his eyes with regret.
An unfinished work.
A work that had to be left unfinished.
Beethoven’s intentions were never conveyed.
So does that mean all his actions in his later years were meaningless?
That’s probably not it.
When Karl hears of his uncle’s death, he rushes to Vienna.
Beethoven’s funeral held in Vienna, attended by 20,000 people.
However, Karl, who was in Iglau, far from Vienna, arrived in Vienna three days after the funeral.
Things keep going wrong.
But here’s where the twist comes in.
Before he died, Beethoven left all his wealth to Karl.
Actions that come from the heart.
Johanna, Karl’s mother, calmly tells him about her uncle’s death.
What would Karl have thought as he looked at his uncle’s grave after hearing his mother’s words?
I think Karl eventually forgave his uncle.
Later, Karl gave his son the name ‘Ludwig’, after his uncle.
Something I would never have been able to do if I had considered my uncle my enemy until the end.
These facts allow us to continue to infer what that time was like.
Johanna, who was present at Beethoven’s deathbed, must have given Karl the score of the Piano Sonata No. 33.
and.
After receiving the score, Karl must have spent a long time looking at the melodies and phrases left by his uncle.
You may not even be able to properly understand one person’s heart.
Selbst das Verständnis des Herzens einer Person scheint unmöglich zu sein.
Because I still don’t want to let go of what I have in my hands.
Ich will das, was ich in meiner Hand habe, noch nicht loslassen.
Do I have a chance too?
Have I a chance?
Karl must have been lost in thought again as he looked at the last copy of his uncle’s published work, String Quartet No. 16.
A difficult decision.
Der Schwergefaste Entschluss.
Does it have to be that way?
What is it?
It has to be that way.
It’s Your Thing.
Therefore, this song······.
It was an unfinished but already complete song.
Eventually the message was conveyed.
The music flowed correctly with intention.
Karl spent his entire life calling his son ‘Ludwig’.
Wouldn’t that be okay?
This score faithfully fulfilled the reason for its existence.
Accordingly······.
I spoke to Beethoven directly.
You made the right choice.
So this third movement.
As you wish.
According to my will.
I will end it with joy.
I declare this proudly here.
The melody, which had lost its way and lost its fugue form, gradually reveals its true form.
A scale that starts from the lowest note and quickly ascends.
A wind hidden deep within Beethoven bursts out in an instant.
Like the hymn of ⌜Chorus⌟.
Like the quiet knock of ⌜Fate⌟.
The melody finally takes flight.
A melody that has endured through hardships appears in this space as if exploding.
The melody didn’t look back.
It runs without hesitation until the end of the third movement, which is not long left.
Music that is not flashy, but is played flashily.
Music that is steeped in sadness, but hopes for joy.
This music that has been passed down to me across the flow of time has finally revealed its true form.
There isn’t much time left for this performance.
It’s only about one page of sheet music.
If you keep running like this, you won’t be able to stop.
It can’t be finished.
There are set rules in music.
Every piece of music must always have a ‘proper ending’.
If you play it like this, this lyrical music will end in a disappointing way.
The music, which would have originally ended lyrically and sadly, ends in the middle, filled with joy.
It could be a finale that leaves one feeling empty, like a novel whose ending is never known.
An act that breaks the rules of music.
I know that too.
I know better than anyone else.
But it didn’t matter.
Unfinished music.
That’s why the music is complete.
I had to convey this fact to the audience.
The fate of a musician.
Regardless of the concours, this was something I had to do.
We always want perfection.
I wish for perfection.
But this world doesn’t work that way.
People think that everything will be tied up······.
No, it is not.
Just because you had a nice goodbye doesn’t mean it’s complete.
Exchanging nice words doesn’t make it complete.
In the end, those who remain are left with regrets.
Like me and Mr. Miller.
Like Yankovsky and his brother.
Watching my performance here in the concert hall······.
Like the 2,000 or so audience members who all have their own unique stories.
We live unfinished lives.
So the country is a musician.
I decided to view this incompleteness itself as completion.
With this, we have gone beyond perfection······.
It will transcend the meaning of extinction.
The illusion that everything can be tied up.
The illusion that you can truly understand a person’s heart.
Finally, this music breaks away from him.
Andante Semplice.
Simply at the pace of a human walk.
In keeping with the original Italian meaning, I wanted to end this piece with a brisk ‘step’.
Beethoven’s thoughts and mine overlap.
Mr. Miller’s thoughts and mine overlap.
My thoughts resonate with the musicians of Chapel.
Even the audience’s thoughts and mine are in sync.
so.
I am happy to represent this music.
The melody that repeats ascending and descending returns to the first movement.
The fugue form rears its head again.
Beautiful yet lyrical.
Heartwarming and warm.
The sad and delicate melody asks me a question.
‘Does it have to be that way?’
I, a musician, answer.
Regretfully pressing the last note of this piece that Beethoven had drawn.
Whisper without making a sound.
“It has to be that way.”
After 200 years, the unfinished song is finally completed.
It is given the value of completion as something that is incomplete.
Before the piano’s reverberations had even faded, the entire audience in the concert hall stood up from their seats.
The audience cheering for me.
I too am with them······.
I stood up from this spot.
Music Genius’ Healing Life Episode 208