Chapter 78
The first song Qi Mu selected was 《Summer Night》, an authentic Chinese piece . Only four minutes long, it was short and required no special skills . An amateur song around level eight .
While the piece played, more and more people gathered around .
Every spring, visitors from all over the world flocked to Vienna and to its famous attractions like Heroes Square . It was filled with people of all shapes, sizes, and colors .
The more people that gathered, the noisier it became . In such a loud, spacious area, playing the generous and passionate 《Turkish March》 seemed like the best choice . However, when something exactly the opposite began to play, Akkad was surprised by the melodious violin .
After pondering for a while, the experienced Akkad finally recognized it as a Chinese piece!
Even Akkad had to think for a while to know the piece was . Others would not know the name or origin of this mysterious song . However, they knew it sounded gentle and made them feel warm . Even their irritability faded .
While most passers-by hadn’t been exposed to musical instruments, that didn’t prevent them from enjoying the wondrous music . The beautiful violin was like a thin veil before their eyes, isolating the outside noise .
Even the noisy children chewed their little fingers and stared at the musician standing amidst the crowd .
More people continued to gather . When Qi Mu set down his bow, four or five layers of people surrounded him .
Qi Mu was a little surprised . He placed his right hand on his chest and bent in a unique gentleman’s bow .
The passers-by woke from their stupor, and thunderous applause broke out .
“Great music!”
“Vienna really has great musicians everywhere!”
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“This kid is really good . Oh, what’s the name of this piece?!”
……
Many languages filled the air around Qi Mu . Among them, he only understood English, German, and a bit of French . As for the others, Qi Mu couldn’t understand a single word . However, he knew they were praises from the smiles and applause .
The applause lasted for three minutes without pause .
When Qi Mu placed his bow on the strings again, the crowd was silent, then someone exclaimed, “Is there another?” The applause halted .
Qi Mu smiled and looked at a little blonde baby in her mother’s arms toward the center of the crowd . He touched his lips with his index finger, and miraculously, the babbling little girl went silent . She stared blankly at the handsome young man before her .
After that, Qi Mu raised his bow again . This time around, his performance just began, and the crowd already started whispering——
“This is 《Zigeurnerweisen》!”
Under the statue in the square, the desolate violin slowly resounded . Qi Mu’s brow tightened, and his expression grew solemn .
His slender fingers danced along the black fingerboard . The melody was not as light-hearted as the one before . Instead, it was tactful and quiet . The audience was stunned, their heartbeats rising with the sudden high pitch of the opening note .
《Zigeurnerweisen》 had another name, 《The Wanderer’s Song》which was one of the representative works of Spanish composer, Pablo de Sarasate . As a professional-level piece, it required so high a level of skill that many performers were hindered . It was both unique and profound .
A wandering Gypsy shivered in the cold autumn wind, the sorrow vividly demonstrated by Qi Mu’s violin . Expressing the wanderer’s terrible condition and lamentation over and over again, this piece aroused deep sympathy .
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By the time Akkad heard the third note, he had guessed the piece .
What he didn’t understand was why Qi Mu chose such a delicate piece as his second song .
《The Wanderer’s Song》 was a regular visitor . Performers from all over the world performed this long-standing classic on the stage .
Of course, Akkad never doubted Qi Mu’s skills . While 《Zigeurnerweisen》 was difficult, it was easier than Paganini’s 《La Campanella》 . The former paid more attention to artistic emotion while the latter paid more attention to skill . There was nothing much to compare between the two .
But . . .
“Since you’ve played 《Zigeurnerweisen》 . . . What are you going to play next . . . Little Seven?”
Of course, Qi Mu couldn’t hear Akkad . His eyebrows were furrowed, the violin climbing to a high pitched treble . The wanderer once again cried out his lament .
Such a miserable melody made the audience melancholic . Some people’s eyes reddened . It seemed like they had met poor wanderers not accepted by the world, by the people, by everything .
The youth’s skillfully emotional performance silenced the whole square .
The sad melody steadily grew to its highest tide and sharply change from sadness to joy . As if relieved from thousands of ordeals, it delighted them but left behind that underlying sorrow .
The contrast was too strong, the infinite grief turned instantly to incomparable joy . Such a transition seemed to have been deliberately made to force people to smile and in doing so, those who resisted now let their tears flow .
The scene was amusing . They resisted their tears when the melody was sad, but when it reached the joyful allegro in the fourth movement, they couldn’t help but cry .
Only those who have experienced ordeals in life could understand the pain behind laughter .
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Of course, many also noticed the young man’s brilliant skill .
To be able to perform 《Zigeurnerweisen》 at such a level, people with an understanding of music realized——
This young man playing in front of them was . . . an outstanding violinist!
His left hand gently plucked the strings, the other held the bow . Despite displaying these difficult skills, he was elegant and calm . The music he performed was more beautiful and moving than anything they had ever heard!
This was a musician!
Vienna was truly full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!
——This the audience thought .
When 《Zigeurnerweisen》 ended, the applause was even more enthusiastic than before . Even the blonde little baby nestled in her mother’s arms clapped and babbled at Qi Mu .
Qi Mu smiled and nodded at her . A middle-aged man came from the crowd and took a brand new €50 from his wallet, intending to place it in his violin case .
Qi Mu reached out and stopped the kind-hearted man . He smiled and said in fluent German, “Thank you for your kindness, sir . Please give this money to those who need it more, instead . ”
The sun bathed the youth’s delicate face win a golden light, stupefying everyone .
The middle-aged man understood his meaning and apologized . “Sorry, I didn’t know you were an artist . Thank you for the music you played for us . It’s a beautiful melody!”
Many tourists and passers-by approached Qi Mu and expressed the same sentiment .
In places like Vienna, many musicians wanted to dedicate their music to the enjoyment of the music city rather than for money . Obviously, these people regarded Qi Mu as a musician devoted to the art .
Qi Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so he just nodded . He had yet to recover when, a tender, childish voice called out, “En . . . Encore . . . Encore!”
When Qi Mu turned to the source of the voice, he saw the toddler clapping . She repeatedly shouted, “Encore!” . It seemed like her mother told her to say it . She kept chanting . Soon, everyone else joined her .
“Encore!”
“Encore!”
“Encore . . . ”
Qi Mu smiled . He performed the gentleman’s bow again then . . . placed his bow on the strings once more .
The voices went silent . The crowd gathered around the statue in eight or nine layers——each drawn in by the sad and moving 《Zigeurnerweisen》 . At the time, they were angry at themselves for not coming to see what the performer looked like .
At the back of the crowd, Akkad’s lips twitched . He whispered, “Well, of course, my student is very excellent . His violin is superb, and he’s also cute . If you guys knew, I’m sure you’d be jealous of me, haha . . . ”
Akkad frowned and thought, “But . . . What if there is another like Auston with bad intentions? Oh no, I will protect my student . . . I won’t let him . . . ”
Before Akkad could finish his broken thought, he heard a rapid, fast-paced allegro ring out in the square .
Akkad’s words died in his throat . After a while, he realized what he was hearing . He opened his eyes in amazement, looked towards his student violinist, and exclaimed, “It’s this song!”