The wind blew into S City from the dark east sea on February 6th, 2016. Due to this sea breeze, the temperature wouldn't even reach zero degrees, and everyone felt the streets were cooler than usual——
This was the damp cold of the south.
Even in this weather that chilled everyone to the bone, there were still several women down from one car after another in bright, thin layers of clothing. On the arms of their male companions, they walked into the S City Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.
There were a total of 1200 invitations issued for the centennial celebration. In addition to world-renowned musical masters, many other guests with outstanding talent in various fields in Huaxia were invited. Out of these 1200 invitations, except for a handful who did not respond, the majority were gathered here tonight waiting to experience this grand concert.
Of the guests who came tonight, most could be considered at the pinnacle of the classical music world.
From the world's four greatest conductors, the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Min Chen, and Dresden Symphony Orchestra's conductor, Master Farrell Louis, were present.
Additionally, Bella Keim, known as Queen of the American Violin, and the Canadian natural treasure composer, Spencer Rice, and Bai Ai's concertmaster, Christi Mensa. . . all of these famous international musicians were gathered at this magnificent hall.
The S City Symphony Orchestra's concert hall was one of the top concert halls in Huaxia. This suspended building featured a 1200-seat main auditorium and a 400-seat chamber hall.
The main hall had an open design. But, regardless of whether it was a golden architectural style or a computer-calculated scientific design, it was exceptional. One could not help but appreciate the grandeur of classical Huaxia music.
There were two VIP lounges and ten preparation rooms backstage. Qi Mu and the other young musicians were waiting in the ten private rooms. The backstage was busy, but the S City Symphony Orchestra continued to play.
Qi Mu made the final tuning of his E String in his prep room when he heard the high-pitched sound of a sad erhu coming from the stage. With the orchestra's cooperation, this 《Er Quan Ying Yue》 was completed successfully and won the audience's applause.
——Obviously, this was an excellent start.
Once the erhu song ended, there was 《Moonlit Night》 on the zither and 《Overlord Unloaded》 on the lute. . . When Qi Mu took his violin to the lounge, he saw a young man walk past him toward the stage, hands clenched into fists.
It was Wang Zheng.
The thunderous applause in the hall had yet to stop, and Qi Mu saw sweat on Wang Zheng's forehead. He frowned slightly and reached out to grab Wang Zheng's arm. The latter turned to eye him strangely.
He saw Qi Mu lick his lips in hesitation then smile, tone mild, "Wang Zheng, yesterday. . . when I talked to Min Chen, he said he was looking forward to your performance today. He watched your video at Xiaosai, and he thinks your level is good."
Wang Zheng jerked in surprise and didn't know what to say.
He believed that Qi Mu wouldn't tell such a lie. After all, there were media reports about the Sea Music Festival in Hong Kong that showed they had participated in it. It was proof they did know each other.
Wang Zheng swallowed subconsciously, and his heart jumped a little. "You. . . are you telling the truth?"
A light flashed in Qi Mu's eyes, and he nodded calmly, "Yes. Min Chen is sitting at the side of the stage now. He said yesterday he believed you would be able to perform well today."
Qi Mu paused then said, "Wang Zheng, you earned the approval of Xiaosai. It shows you have the strength to perform well. Do not worry, just like the rehearsal over the past few days, remember not to focus on just your performance. You have an orchestra, you must listen to all their voices."
Wang Zheng was older than Qi Mu, but in front of this youth, he felt a bit immature. Of course, he did not realize it himself. But after listening to Qi Mu, he nodded seriously. His pale face, originally due to stress, was replaced with a flush of excitement.
Qi Mu watched as he turned to the stage.
After shaking hands with the conductor, Wang Zheng sat on the bench. After a moment, the gentle melody of a piano emerged. The first movement passed, and the second, then the final, and once that last movement came to an end, Zhu Wen Jun quietly sighed. Qi Mu smiled and nodded but did not speak.
Wang Zheng had the ability. Some people just became nervous once they made a mistake. Therefore they became increasingly prone to errors. Error, nervousness, more mistakes, more nervousness. . . there was no way to escape such a vicious cycle.
Wang Zheng exited the stage with an excited expression on his face, and Qi Mu smiled. They gave each other a hug, and Qi Mu took a deep breath. Then he stepped onto the stage for his turn.
There were at least 1100 people seated in the 1200-occupancy concert hall. The stage was in the center and surrounded on all sides by the audience. With listeners on both the first and second floors and the numerous watchful eyes that missed nothing, many newcomers would panic.
Illuminated by the ceiling's dozens of lights, a handsome young man walked from the backstage with a smile. He extended his hand to Zhu Wen Jun, and they shook hands, then he turned and bowed to the audience.
Under the gazes of more than a thousand people, Qi Mu lifted his violin to his shoulder and readied himself. Just as he was about to turn to Zhu Wen Jun, he saw a man sitting in the third row look up at him.
Qi Mu stilled. He smiled and turned to Zhu Wen Jun.
Then a passionate《Violin Sonata in D major》 filled the air.
In the third row of seats, Daniel stared at the youth on the stage. Even through a lens, his gaze, which seemed capable of peeling flesh from bone and swallow Qi Mu directly, could not be disguised.
Especially when at the end of the first movement, Qi Mu's violin blended perfectly into the deep resonation of the bassoon. Even Daniel couldn't help but smile. In his heart, he added yet another level of potential value to this young man.
Such a nice seedling, ah! If they could sign him onto Bai Ai, that would be great!
On stage, Qi Mu had no idea that someone in the audience was looking at him. . . "like a tiger."
He and Zhu Wen Jun had played dozens of 《D major》 over the past month. Whether with the orchestra, an ensemble, or a solo performance, they could say with absolute confidence that there would be no problem.
This wasn't just for his confidence, but also for Zhu Wen Jun's, and the S City Symphony Orchestra's.
Naturally, the development of things would not let him down. From the fiery passion of the first movement, through the slow pace of the second, over the andante cantabile of the third movement, and into the fast allegro of the last.
The twenty-minute 《D major》 came to an end. Qi Mu sighed a little and came back to himself from such fierce music, but before he could relax, he heard a familiar, magnetic voice——
"Bravo!"
Warm applause filled the concert hall, almost enough to raise the roof.
A few listeners turned to the man who spoke. They were surprised not only by the sudden breaking of Min Chen's silent, introverted nature but also by how he supported such a newcomer in such a high-profile manner. Most critically——
The track played by this newcomer was his own 《D major》!
Playing a piece of music and getting a "Bravo" from its composer was an honor for any musician.
Therefore, the people who noticed Min Chen now looked at the young man on stage more seriously. They wanted to see what kind of person he was, to garner such a high level of praise and appreciation.
However, Qi Mu did care about the audience's serious gazes. He turned to Zhu Wen Jun, and the two men nodded. Zhu Wen Jun lifted his baton, and the flute group's melody began.
Many Chinese people may have not heard Beethoven's 《Destiny Symphony》 or Mozart's 《Marriage of Figaro》, and perhaps not even Min Chen's song. But——
《Liang Zhu》? Almost every Chinese could hum a few notes.
Not just in Huaxia, this 《Liang Zhu》 often echoed in major concert halls across the world. It resonated with Europeans and Americans. They may not understand the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's love, but they would know it was called——《Huaxia's Romeo and Juliet》.
People were most familiar with the violin piece. It was well known to the public, and even people on the street could sing along with it. In fact, many music laymen didn't know that 《Liang Zhu》was over twenty minutes long.
The difficulty wasn't high, but neither was it low. Especially in the launching of the wedding, the demands on the violin were very high. Many amateurs couldn't practice this piece without training for several months.
After his display of the extremely difficult 《D major》, the audience naturally believed he could play this song.
Child, the question was. . .
Could he really portray the complex and profound emotion behind 《Liang Zhu》?
Translator(s): Bet
Editor(s): Bet
Aaaaaaaah. I did it! Don’t tell me how bad it is. (//^) Shower me in love and affection. I’m working on the next four chapters so we can stabilize our update schedule, but aaaah. I feel like I didn’t do this justice.