The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 221



Only Noblemtl

* * *

It’s full-on summer.

Vienna, with the Danube River flowing through its center, was a very beautiful and vibrant city.

In the well-kept parks, you could see colorful flowers, and in the palaces and cathedrals of Vienna, you could feel the passage of time.

In the past, Vienna was the center of classical music when classical music was at its peak.

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss······.

Many musicians created their own music here in Vienna.

As I walked along the beautiful streets of Vienna, their music naturally came to mind, and at the same time, the melody of the song I wanted to write also came to mind naturally.

I sat down for a moment on a park bench with a panoramic view of the Danube River and scribbled notes on my staff.

A short topic of about 4 words.

I quietly hummed the melody and then got up from my seat again.

Before I knew it, two months had passed since I left Korea.

Since coming to Europe, I have adapted to the daily routine without even realizing it.

A daily routine of practicing the piano for about 5 hours every day, looking at various sheet music, reading books, composing music, listening to music, and going for walks in between.

These days, I feel very happy because I can spend most of my day with music.

When I came back from taking a walk around the park alone, a cute little boy and a woman who looked like the boy greeted me.

“Hey, I bought you ice cream. Here you go.”

“Son. Are you hot? Should I give you some water first?”

“Yes. Thank you. And thank you, Sooyeon.”

“Ahem. Not at all~”

I sat between them, getting ice cream and water.

After a while, my father joined us on the bench, holding an ice cream cone in one hand.

My family and I all munched on ice cream together and looked out over the sparkling Danube River.

People canoeing on the sparkling waves.

As Suyeon waved her hand vigorously at them, they soon returned the gesture.

Mother leaned her body back against the bench.

“Hmm~ It’s nice. The sunlight is warm, Suyeon is cute, and Seojin is cool.”

“I am?”

“Heh heh. Yes. You’re awesome too. This is the best moment for Mom. I’m so happy I can’t even express it in words. I’m even more thankful because it’s all thanks to Seojin. Thank you.”

“But didn’t you have a hard time when you came to Europe?”

“trouble?”

“Yes. You always prepared our meals, did our laundry, cleaned our rooms······. You even made sure Sooyeon studied. You even bought me the books I was looking for from the bookstore······.”

My mother stared at me, smiled, and gently pinched my cheek.

“That was all happiness. Those were precious times that I couldn’t trade for anything. All those things were of value to Mom that I could never trade for any amount of money.”

“Hehehe. Me too! I had so much fun spending time with you, oppa!”

“right?”

“What do you think, oppa?”

“Actually, I did that too.”

I nodded and agreed with what my mother and Suyeon said, and my father gently patted Suyeon’s head.

My family spent time at the park chatting away.

Before leaving the park, my mother took out her cell phone and took a few pictures, and thanks to Suyeon getting ice cream on her nose, we were able to get a pretty picture.

After dinner, I stopped by ⌜Schmid⌟’s practice room again. There, I practiced the concerto once more with Professor Kang Yu-han, and then went back to the hotel.

The first rehearsal that Bin Phil and I had was tomorrow at 2pm.

Even after finishing all the morning exercises, there is still some free time.

So tomorrow morning, I decided to go with my family to a place I really wanted to visit in Vienna.

The next morning.

After morning piano practice, we took tram number 71 to the outskirts of the city.

It was a pretty tram with an impressive harmony of white and red, but Suyeon was so excited that she didn’t even sit down but was busy holding onto the handrail and looking out the window.

We arrived at our destination quickly.

Get off the tram and walk along the main road for a while.

Soon we came across a huge park.

After grabbing a pamphlet at the entrance, I straightened my clothes for no reason and went inside the park.

I walked along the street guided by the street trees that had become even greener as the summer sun came on.

The park we visited was Zentralfriedhof in Vienna.

In Korean it is translated as Central Cemetery.

At the point indicated in the pamphlet, I stared at the gravestone there.

And I read the name written on the tombstone softly.

“······Beethoven.”

Beethoven’s tomb was simpler than expected.

The gold harp and the gold decoration with a butterfly in a circle with a snake biting its own tail were impressive, but there was nothing ornate about it.

There were no statues like the tombs of Brahms or Strauss that I had seen on my way here, and it was not very large.

As someone who performed his last piece, ⌜Immortal⌟, I really wanted to stop by here.

To express my gratitude.

and······.

“Brother. Here.”

Suyeon, who was next to me, pokes me. Then she hands me the flowers I had bought in advance yesterday.

I asked Suyeon a question first.

“Do you want Suyeon to come and leave?”

“No. I think you should do this. And these are the flowers you bought.”

Our younger brother who is always smart.

I received the flower after Sooyeon patted my head.

The area in front of Beethoven’s tomb was already filled with flowers left by many people.

The tombstone itself wasn’t very ornate, but the flowers on it were.

I carefully placed the flowers on one side of the tombstone.

And I closed my eyes for a moment.

A short period of time, lasting only a few seconds.

But in the meantime, someone came up to me and spoke to me.

“Red-striped geranium. You picked some beautiful flowers······.”

German with a heavy American English accent.

I opened my eyes quickly and turned my head.

There, an old woman was smiling kindly.

With eyes as blue as the sky······.

He looks at me intently.

“Do you know the meaning of this flower?”

“that······.”

I was a little flustered and couldn’t answer right away, but she waited patiently for me to speak.

“······It’s comforting.”

“That’s right. I know it well. Comfort. Beethoven must have found comfort, as many people have been hoping for it. It must have been even more so with a child like you.”

“I hope so.”

“Yeah. But are they family? Then maybe this guy is your younger sibling?”

“yes that’s right.”

She bowed her head slightly toward my mother and father, then smiled deeply at Sooyeon.

“You’re holding my hand tightly. I guess you’re on good terms. Oh! But do you not understand what I’m saying?”

“I’ll interpret for you. Is there anything you’d like to say to my brother?”

“It’s just······. It’s nothing special. I just did it because the siblings seem to get along well. It’s nice to see. Very.”

A person who kneels on one knee and makes eye contact with Sooyeon.

In the meantime, when I was interpreting for Suyeon, Suyeon smiled brightly and did a belly bow.

“Hehehe. Thank you. Actually, my Han siblings and I are on good terms!”

“Yeah. Is your brother doing well?”

“He is the best to me in the world. He is the best brother!”

“I see. In return, you should always be nice to your brother. You should know how to express gratitude when something happens. Nothing in this world is taken for granted. Do you understand?”

“yes!”

“Yeah. That’s good.”

I ended up acting as an interpreter in the middle.

She gave us a brief tour of the empty central cemetery.

About places worth visiting or the graves of various musicians.

and.

“It was great music. The way he expressed it with a deeper inner self than anyone else was truly amazing. It was so much so that it made me think of someone······. So I hope he continues to perform healthily in the future. I always hope that it will be like that in my heart.”

“······You knew I was a performer, didn’t you?”

“Wouldn’t it be funny to not recognize the winner of the Queen Elisabeth in Vienna, the city of music?”

“······.”

“yes?”

“······.”

I called her teacher.

“Are you also a musician? Everything you say feels like it’s being explained directly by a musician.”

The teacher smiled kindly once again.

“It used to be. It’s not like that now. I was just passing through, but I think I took up too much of your time. Well, I hope you have a good time in Vienna. And always play the way you want to. It may seem like a difficult path at first, but it’s actually the right path.”

“······.”

The mysterious teacher we met in front of Beethoven’s grave greeted my family and me briefly and then quickly walked away.

A person walking slowly down a road lined with trees on both sides.

I stood there for a while looking at her back.

Our family took the exact opposite path she took.

Listening to Sooyeon’s chattering.

Watching the playful bickering between mother and father.

I thought back over and over again to those impressive blue eyes I had seen just a moment ago.

Blue eyes that are close to the color of the sky.

Because those eyes were very special to me.

.

.

.

‘······I didn’t know we would meet here.’

An empty central cemetery not far from home.

This time, I was going to the US and it was clear that I would never be able to return to Vienna, so I stopped by here for a little while.

To say hello to the musicians at the central cemetery.

To look back on the 10 years I spent in Vienna.

But it was here that I met the boy.

A pianist who occasionally plays with the tone of his younger brother.

Mark’s tone was by no means common, so Sophia was very surprised when she first heard him play.

Did Mark have any disciples?

Or was there anyone who learned music from Mark?

That thought lasted only a moment.

Mark’s accident happened 12 years ago, and the boy was 14 years old, so such a thing could not have happened.

Just a coincidence.

There was no other way to explain it.

So I tried to pass it by without paying any attention.

There was no need to deliberately listen to the child’s performance.

I saw the child in front of Beethoven’s grave, but I just passed by.

It was clear that if I suddenly left for America, nothing would happen.

however.

Of all things, that child placed the red-spotted geranium on Beethoven’s grave.

A flower with the meaning of comfort.

The deep meaning of the flower language is······.

‘When you see lonely or sad people, you want to comfort them in some way, but you yourself are actually a lonely person.’

Sophia had no choice but to walk towards the boy.

The boy looked innocent.

He looked clearer than any artist, and had deeper eyes than any artist.

really······.

It felt like I was seeing my little brother again.

The boy had a younger sister.

A loving sibling that makes you smile naturally when you look at them.

His parents, who looked detailed, were also present.

All of this seemed like a kind of ‘mirror’ to Sophia.

I remembered one day in the past, walking through the park holding young Mark’s hand.

I remembered the day we spoke affectionately.

So Sophia had to leave Beethoven’s grave in a hurry.

‘Even though I’m this old······.’

‘My heart is still the same······.’

Even though so much time has passed.

The needle of loss, far from becoming dull, became sharper and sharper, stabbing my heart.

Sophia walked along, absentmindedly looking at the tombstones in the central cemetery.

A pretty secluded corner of the park.

There was a gravestone with Sophia’s favorite phrase written on it.

Wiedersehen.

It means ‘let’s meet again’.

I don’t know how much longer it will take, but the passage of time will eventually promise a reunion.

Sophia stared at the tombstone for a moment and then fiddled with her cell phone a few times.

Then he played a video of the boy playing ⌜Immortal⌟ in Brussels.

Beethoven’s music resonates softly throughout the empty cemetery.

Sophia stood there dumbfounded, holding her breath as she listened to the child’s performance.

Until the boy’s performance was over.

Until the piano’s reverberations completely fade away.

Sophia was like that.

* * *

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s headquarters is the Musikverein.

A concert hall that opened on January 6, 1870.

Designed by Danish architect Theophil Hansen, this concert hall is reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple.

I was guided to the waiting room by the concert hall staff.

There I had the opportunity to have my first meeting with the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Conductor Askin, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Han Seo-jin.”

“Rather, I am honored. And thank you for choosing the empty field. Pianist.”

Conductor Askin extends his hand to me with a faint smile.

I took his hand lightly.

Before we started the rehearsal, we talked briefly about the concerto for about 15 minutes.

A story about the direction and harmony of the concerto.

Rather than having a back and forth conversation, I ended up mostly just stating my opinions.

“Then shall we go out on stage? It’s much easier to coordinate music with playing than with speaking.”

“Yes. Then I will ask for your help.”

Conductor Askin stood up, holding the score and baton.

He walks briskly and opens the door from the waiting room to the stage first.

Even the slight click of the door opening made all the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra rise from their seats.

A maestro who is evaluated as having raised the contemporary Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to the level of a unique top-notch orchestra.

A conductor who pursues perfect music.

The orchestra of about 60 people who willingly agreed with the meaning showed their respect to the conductor.

Master Hoven took a few steps forward and greeted me.

After exchanging a few words with the conductor, I bowed my head to greet all the orchestra members.

Conductor Askin went straight up to the podium, and Concertmaster Hoven returned to his seat and gave a signal in the direction of the woodwind instruments, and the orchestra began to tune in unison to the note A of the oboe.

After I sat down in front of the piano, I checked the piano’s tuning like they did.

The performers here didn’t need any of that kind of stuff.

Moreover, they are all performers with busy schedules.

The six hours of rehearsal that Bin Phil gave me was not meant to be a time to take my time, but rather a promise to create a more perfect performance.

Conductor Askin looks at me while holding his baton.

I nodded slightly.

The conductor’s baton cuts through the air for a moment.

The fifth section appears without a single error, awakening the grandeur of the orchestra.

The piano must continue to perform with the orchestra from the introduction.

But I instinctively had to look at the cello part for a moment, and only after the conductor gave instructions did I start playing the chords.

The melody of the orchestra feels more magnificent than ever.

The empty phil’s performance so naturally awakened the soul of the collaborator.

I fit in······.

He began to strike the keys more and more intensely.

.

.

.

After about an hour and a half of concerto.

A concert hall staff member sitting in the audience came up on stage and announced the break.

“We will continue rehearsal in 15 minutes. There will be a 15-minute break.”

Only then did the orchestra members exhale deeply.

Members take advantage of their short break to go out to the lobby and get some fresh air.

But about half of them remained on stage.

“Wow. That’s great. Did you see that kid following along with our performance?”

“Are you following along? From the second concerto onwards, he took the lead. It was the first time I saw the maestro smile like that.”

“I got goosebumps. That kid is only 14 years old. Even the most accomplished virtuosos tend to get a little intimidated in front of the Vienna Philharmonic. He’s still so brave.”

“But there was a bit of a childish side to it. In the introduction to the first collaboration······.”

The second violin principal continues the viola principal’s speech.

“Ah, was it a little late?”

“That’s right. It was almost unnoticeable, but a mistake is a mistake.”

“But isn’t this pretty good for a collaboration that’s just being played for the first time? It’s too much of a bother to call it childish.”

This time, the cello principal takes his word for it.

“That’s true. It was perfect except for that part.”

“I guess I was a little nervous because it was my first concert. But I thought it was really childlike, so it was nice to see.”

“But you quickly got into playing?”

“That’s right. The look in your eyes has changed.”

“It was a Tchaikovsky that took my breath away. Like a cold winter wind blowing.”

“Hahaha. Yeah. That’s exactly right.”

These are the people who briefly exchanged opinions about the concert a little while ago.

15 minutes passed quickly, and the members who had gone out to the lobby, the conductor, and the collaborators all returned to the stage.

Conductor Askin called each of the chiefs together near the podium.

At the spot where the piano is placed, I once again explain the direction of the performance to about ten principals.

This is what the Vienna Philharmonic does every time it enters a new concerto repertoire.

Conductor Askin asked the pianist for his opinion at the very end.

Is there anything else that needs to be added or any requirements?

It was a process of creating one music by sharing communication between the conductor and the principal performers with the collaborators.

The boy pianist smiled faintly.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to fix. It was a perfect orchestra. It felt like they had been preparing my concerto for a long time. I think the only thing left to do is to polish up the harmony a little more.”

“I see. Fortunately, my collaborator and I have the same idea. I think we just need to work together to get the accompaniment right. Oh, and one more thing······.”

Conductor Askin glanced at the faces of the seniors and nodded slightly on his own.

“There is no need to be concerned about what others think in our empty philharmonic. And since you are young, I think this kind of experience is essential for you as a pianist.”

A boy looking at the conductor.

Askin pointed out the boy pianist’s mistakes.

A slight timing mistake that occurred in the introduction of the first concerto.

Conductor Askin, who had a more accurate ear than anyone else here, would not have missed it.

“If necessary, I can conduct a little earlier. If there is something you are not confident about, being honest with the conductor is also a skill. So what should we do, Mr. Pianist?”

A boy’s little mistake.

It was something that could have just been passed over or brought up separately, but the conductor talked about the boy’s mistake in front of the seniors.

As he continues his career as a performer, he will face many things like this, so I wanted to make it easy for him to overcome these things as well.

The Vienna Philharmonic’s principal conductors, including Askin, look at the boy.

The boy took a moment to think about what was going on before he opened his mouth.

“I shouldn’t have done that, but I got distracted for a moment and ended up making a mistake. I think it would be better if you conducted that part a half beat faster, as Conductor Askin suggested. Please.”

A boy who knows how to admit his mistakes and ask for help.

Conductor Askin smiled at the boy.

“Okay, then let’s do that. But you had another thought? At the very moment when the concerto was just starting?”

“Ah······. Yes. I don’t know if I should tell you this······.”

The boy hesitated a little and then continued speaking.

“It didn’t sound like the empty sound I’d heard before. That’s why I hesitated for a moment.”

“······Isn’t that the empty sound you’ve been hearing until now?”

“Yes. I felt like the current 5th section was a little empty. Oh! Of course, I don’t mean that the orchestra performance was bad or anything······!”

When Conductor Askin heard the boy’s words, his eyes lit up for a moment.

The senior members also watched the boy quietly.

“Heh heh. That’s an empty sound······. Could you be a little more precise?”

“yes?”

“That way, I can fill in the missing parts. Please, Pianist.”

“······.”

The conductor of the empty Philharmonic uses extremely honorific language towards a 14-year-old boy.

A respectful tone, rich in German nuances.

The boy looked a little embarrassed, then took a deep breath and answered the conductor’s question.

“Cello. It felt like one sound that held the center of the Vienna Philharmonic was missing. The warm sound that I always heard from the Vienna Philharmonic was not heard today.”

“······ A cello?”

“Yes. I made a mistake because I was flustered because I couldn’t hear that sound. It might have been a small sound from the orchestra’s perspective, but it sounded big to me. The sound of the cello was clearly empty.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

A moment of silence came.

Not only the principals and conductors, but also many orchestra members listened to the boy’s words.

The boy looked around the suddenly quiet stage, and Conductor Askin bowed his head slightly toward the boy.

“There was someone who properly listened to the empty field’s music.”

“Huh? What is that······.”

“Thank you, pianist Han Seo-jin.”

“······.”

A collaborator who notices the presence of a member who is not here today.

The conductor of the empty Philharmonic paid him respect for that.