The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 209



Only Noblemtl

209 If this happens

* * *

A blonde girl staring blankly at her laptop screen.

The blue-eyed girl, whose features had become sharper over the past year, read one of the comments on the video in a trembling voice.

“The title of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 33······.”

“⌜Immortal⌟······.”

Videos of each contestant’s performances uploaded immediately after the first round of the finals in Brussels concluded.

Among them, the performer who stands out the most is Han Seo-jin, the youngest participant ever.

I’m 14 this year.

An age at which, in normal circumstances, one would not even dare to apply for the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Even if they have outstanding musical talent and a wide repertoire of confidence, ‘young’ musicians do not necessarily participate in Queen Elizabeth, which is famous for its difficult competition process.

Even if you are lucky enough to pass the global preliminary round, you will first face the language barrier.

Given Queen Elizabeth’s nature of having to do everything on her own, if her English is not good, she won’t even be able to understand how the competition is conducted.

Native-level German skills are also required.

When you have to interpret a Brussels piece on your own at the Music Chapel, the thing that will help you the most is a book.

In Chapel, the study is known as the only place where one can access the world’s knowledge.

However, it is said that most of the books there are written in German.

This is because, along with the influence of the Austrian Empire, which has led the history of classical music, the German-speaking world still publishes the most books on classical music.

It is known that Music Chapel only stocks original books to reduce misunderstandings due to translation.

You could say that it’s a place with absolutely no consideration.

That means, to challenge Queen Elizabeth, you need to be perfect in English and German.

The participant must be able to play the piano at a level that is comparable to that of one of the best in the country.

You need to be able to analyze and interpret the work yourself and create your own work······.

It should be possible to do that in ‘just 14 days’.

A concours that takes your breath away just thinking about it.

There is no such thing as luck in this process.

Contestants will perform a total of six times, including a video preliminary round and the final round.

Slowly······ for over a month.

Brussels dissects the performer piece by piece.

Could luck really play a role in this process?

It might happen once in a while, but it can’t happen until the final round.

In a word, this 14-year-old boy······.

He overcame all of these challenges with superior skills compared to other contestants.

He earned the opportunity to premiere after receiving top marks from the judges in the third preliminary round, and gave an amazing performance in the first round of the final.

He expressed the music of the Music Saint with overwhelming skill.

A boy’s performance of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 33, which is believed to be his last work, and which was even given the title “Immortal.”

Russian master Bashanov and Taiwanese master Lang Yu called the boy’s performance ‘a performance that expresses immortality’······.

It may be said that it is only natural that the word ‘immortality’ has spread so quickly.

The girl watched the boy’s video over and over again three times before closing her eyes tightly.

‘I thought I had finally caught up with you······.’

‘You were already far ahead······.’

At that moment, a middle-aged woman approached the girl and spoke to her naturally.

Only then did the girl open her eyes.

“Anna. You were watching that video too. Isn’t it amazing? The orchestras are all talking about that now. They say the genius of the century has appeared.”

“I was surprised too. Up until the performance in the third preliminary round, I just felt, ‘He’s really good,’ but this performance… was on a whole other level. Beethoven would have been satisfied after hearing that child’s performance.”

The girl’s speech was much calmer than it was this time last year.

Having traveled around the world and completed over twenty ‘official performances’ over the past year, the girl has matured considerably.

I went on stage about twice a month, and in between, I spent all my time traveling and practicing.

As is typical for children of this age, the children were growing up at a rapid pace with each passing day.

Marie Schultz, the show manager, answered while brushing back Anna Becker’s long blonde hair.

“Anna. You’ve improved a lot since last year. So, you don’t need to be discouraged. You can enter the contest again. There will be plenty of opportunities to make up for it.”

The story of a boy winning first place and a girl winning second place at the Ettlingen Competition.

Anna Becker then looked at her quietly and shook her head.

“No. That kid said that it’s foolish to judge someone by their music. But he said that going to a competition is for the sake of continuing to do music. So in the end, you have to do your own music. I think that’s right too. So I’m not discouraged. Right now, I’m just finding my music.”

Anna’s calm answer.

Marie Schultz, who had been looking at Anna with a bit of surprise, smiled deeply.

“You’ve definitely grown. I guess the time you spent participating in the contest with that kid was meaningful.”

“It was amazing. The biggest thing I got from Ettlingen was the moments when I could talk to that kid about music. I think something similar is happening in Brussels now.”

A year ago.

At that time, I was very young and immature, so I often threw tantrums in front of that child.

The stories about music we shared here and there were so intense that they still remain vivid in my mind.

Marie Schultz answers.

“Yes. Regardless of whether they win or not, it would be best if everyone who participates in the competition can gain something. I hope that happens in Brussels too.”

“I’m sure that’s true. That kid is a pianist who plays that kind of music.”

“Healing. You said that tone was strong?”

Anna looked at the boy who had grown taller in the frozen video.

A boy who now looks almost 10cm taller than himself.

He answers calmly, recalling the song he played, ⌜Immortal⌟.

“I thought so then, but I’m not so sure now. Healing. Comfort. Consolation. Now, it’s more······.”

The blonde girl finally came to a conclusion after much thought.

“Change. A musician who brings about change. I think that’s who Seo Jin is now.”

“······ That’s a lot of talk. I’m not a musician so it’s hard for me to understand.”

“If you listen to the performance directly, it will definitely be different. Seo Jin-i surprisingly tried to make the performance easy for people to understand. Music that you listen to through a laptop or smartphone and music that you listen to while breathing together with the performer at a concert hall are completely different. If the manager listens to the child’s performance directly, he will understand what I mean.”

“Yes. I really hope that opportunity comes. But today, we have to put on a great show here.”

Marie Schultz points to the clock.

There are 30 minutes left until the final rehearsal.

There were five hours left until the main performance.

As Anna began to look at the sheet music, Marie Schultz stepped aside.

After some time had passed like that.

Anna stared at the doll attached to her phone and wiggled her fingers.

Yellow chick doll.

It was a doll I received as a gift from Seojin in Berlin.

‘It’s been quite a while since I’ve been in contact with you. And······. I heard that you can use your cell phone after leaving Chapel······.’

After much thought, Anna grabbed her smartphone and began writing down messages of congratulations and support for the premiere.

Then he closed his eyes tightly······.

‘I don’t know!’

I pressed the send message button.

Anxious time passed.

I wonder if it was sent for nothing?

I’m sure you’re really focused on the second stage of the finals, but I wonder if I interrupted you.

Should I have waited a little longer?

But I’m cheering you on, so isn’t that okay?

If it were Seojin, what would be his reaction······.

That’s when various scenarios started to form in my head.

Tiring!-

“oh!”

A reply came from the boy.

He said he was grateful for the support and that he would call me after the contest was over.

and.

I appreciate you contacting me from time to time despite your busy performance schedule.

It was a simple message wishing you good health always.

Anna Becker couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

‘Still, it’s nice that you always reply quickly.’

Anna read the message a few times and then sent a chick greeting emoticon.

The boy suddenly replied with an emoticon of a chicken crowing.

Anna Becker bursts out laughing and then leaves the waiting room.

I had a feeling that today’s performance would go better.

* * *

I looked at my phone screen and ended up chuckling.

Anna, who has been in touch with me at least once a month since the Ettlingen Competition.

Even though he’s busy, he always takes care of me.

I also got texts from my friends.

I received contact from my brothers, sisters, juniors, and people I am grateful to.

Even Lee Ha-eun wrote a long essay and sent it to me.

The smartphone I was using for two weeks was a whole new world.

I can hear music just by lifting one finger.

Can I exchange messages with someone in Hungary?

Even just typing Beethoven into the search bar brought up tens of thousands of pages of information!

I stared at my smartphone and muttered.

“Is this······. modern civilization?”

This world was beautiful.

Suyeon must have noticed my sparkling eyes because she cleared her throat and said, “Ahem!”

“Oppa. You must have had a hard time at Chapel. By the way, have you forgotten how to use a smartphone?”

“Well? What, for example?”

“Hmm. That’s······.”

I listened carefully to Sooyeon’s explanation, and it seemed like she wanted to take a picture with me.

As my brother had intended, I took a few pictures with Suyeon against the backdrop of the beautiful scenery of Brussels.

And Sooyeon immediately sent those photos to her smartphone.

Suyeon, who was holding her smartphone and fidgeting with her fingers, set the photo she took with me as her background screen.

“Hehehe. As expected, there’s no one better than you, oppa. I don’t know how you always know exactly what I’m thinking. It’s amazing!”

I smiled and said a word.

“I can understand at least one person’s heart in this world. I guess that was the heart of the youngest member of our Han family.”

“Oh! I know that too! Isn’t that the phrase from Beethoven that was written in the song you played?”

“That’s right. Did you see it in a pamphlet?”

“Yeah! Mom interpreted it for me. Right?”

My mother, who was standing a little ways away from my siblings, nodded.

“But now, Suyeon knows more about that song than her mom? She must have studied so hard.”

Suyeon coughed again and said three phrases in German, albeit clumsily.

The pronunciation is a little off, but who cares?

I wanted to understand the song my brother was going to play at least a little better.

To our Suyeon, who complimented me on my wonderful performance.

I said thank you sincerely.

Suyeon smiles bashfully at me like that.

The 14 days I spent at Music Chapel.

That time was definitely meaningful to me, but······.

This world that exists is the most precious place to me.

My family went out to eat delicious waffles.

I was wondering what was going on when Suyeon confidently walked ahead, and it turns out she was actually paying the bill herself.

I ordered waffles from the lady in broken English, and our family was able to eat the four waffles that Suyeon ordered.

“But Mom and Dad need to give me money. Otherwise, we won’t have enough money.”

“······.”

“······.”

So······. Out of all the people in my family, I was the only one who got to eat waffles for free.

In the evening, we gathered together and had a meal.

Jankowski and Sister Lucas.

Sister Hyun-joo and Turner.

Participants and their families who have the time.

And I spent time in a restaurant in Brussels with musicians.

According to the restaurant owner, this was a very unusual event.

It was the first time in his life that he had seen the finalists eat together before the second round of the competition.

Some people ask whether we are in a competitive relationship.

Then, Yankovsky, who was sitting at the same table as me, answered on behalf of the group.

“We’ve already surpassed that. We have something much more valuable, so there’s no reason to worry about the little things.”

“Haha. Really? This year’s competition is really fun. That child’s wonderful premiere, and the other great performers here are equally as great.”

The lady served cranberry juice as a special treat to our table.

He said he made it himself, not sold it.

I took a sip and it was a little bitter and sour······.

“Is it really delicious?”

“That’s the charm. The juices sold in the market are too sweet and not very good. Just like a performance that is too flashy can easily become boring. It’s always difficult to find that balance.”

The lady who winked at me.

My mother said that she was impressed by my piano sonata performance and even encouraged me to keep going until the end.

We finished dinner a little early because there were contestants who had to perform on the first day of the second finals tomorrow.

Even though it was evening, midsummer Brussels was bright.

The sun was no longer visible, but the moon was rising across the sky, which was beginning to turn blue.

The month that started from waning has now become full.

It gave me an idea of ​​how much time I had spent at Music Chapel.

At that moment, Suyeon ran over to me and grabbed my hand tightly.

Sister Lucas pulled my arm and told me to look at the statues in the cathedral.

Turner grumbled, but muttered, “Well, the atmosphere is nice.”

Yankovsky stared at one place without saying a word, then turned his head towards me.

Sister Hyun-ju and Sister Lucas link arms affectionately.

Before I knew it, my mother and father were linking arms.

The remaining time in Brussels is running out.

I couldn’t come up with anything yet, so I looked at the dim full moon······.

I wanted to confidently show off my current appearance.

This is fine.

As you said.