Chapter 910: Isn’t It Too Difficult?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Is that so?” Yue Yu was intrigued. Shi Jin had such an ability?
I wonder what award it is? How valuable is it? Is it a useless prize given to people in the entertainment industry?’
“A very prestigious piano performance award. I can’t remember what it’s called at the moment,” Yue Lanchen said. “I’m sure your four-hand duet will be wonderful.”
Seeing that Yue Lanchen was being rowdy, the Yue Feng couple smiled and shook their heads. It was a rare good day, so they did not restrain them.
Shi Jin did not want to disappoint Yue Lanchen and said, “Alright, I’ll give it a try. Yue Yu, are you willing to play with me?”
Yue Yu nodded. “I heard you won an award. Shall we try a harder song?”
“No problem. You choose the piece.”
“Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, then,” Yue Yu said.
“Good! Good!” Everyone applauded.
Yue Lanchen also applauded.
However, Madam Yue knew that this song was very difficult. This was known as the most difficult song in the piano world. Not only did it have many double notes and massive intervals between notes, but it also required extremely high physical strength to play.
Someone had described the difficulty of the piece—”Rachmaninoff is cast in steel and gilt. Steel is his arm. Gold is his mind.”
Which was exactly why Rachmaninoff’s music was most prized.
When Rachmaninoff himself had first performed as a piano soloist in New York, he had jokingly called his concerto “the work of an elephant,” comparing its sheer size and weight.
A well-known music scholar once described the physical cost of playing the piece as “scooping ten tons of coal.” The difficulty was evident.
Madam Yue knew that Yue Yu often practiced this song, but Shi Jin might not have practiced it as well.
She smiled and said, “Xiao Yu, isn’t this too difficult to appreciate? Change it to something easier for me to appreciate.”
Yue Yu could tell that she was protecting Shi Jin, but she insisted on doing so. She said, “Aiya, Mom, Shi Jin has already won an award. There won’t be a problem, right, Shi Jin?”
Shi Jin saw a smile and did not want to delve deeper into her other intentions. She nodded. “Yes, I can try.”
“Right? You heard what Shi Jin said.”
Those who did not understand would not know how difficult this song was. However, Old Madam Yue and Old Master Li also knew a little about it. Naturally, they knew how the choice of this song would be.
Yue Xiu had practiced it with Yue Yu in the past. She could not keep up with the double notes and had long given up on this song.
Old Madam Yue smiled and said, “The children really like to fool around.”
“They’re happy. Let them have their fun,” Old Master Li said as he picked up his teacup and drank.
Yue Xiu stood behind them, feeling that Shi Jin might make a fool of herself.
Playing this song had nothing to do with whether she had won the championship or not. The person who had more experience practicing the song would succeed.
Especially since it required a certain amount of stamina.
Artists often dieted and lost weight in order to maintain their figures. It was always difficult to say that their stamina was good.
At that time, everyone would see that Shi Jin could not keep up with the pace of Yue Yu.
No one knew how difficult this song was, so they naturally wouldn’t think that Shi Jin couldn’t keep up because of the song. They would only think that Shi Jin’s previous piano award was too fake.
Yue Lanchen lifted the piano frame cover and gestured for them to begin.
Yue Yu took the lead and sat down. Shi Jin followed suit.
“This is the first time we’ve played a four-handed duet. We might not have enough chemistry. Please forgive us,” Yue Yu said to everyone.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Yue Lanchen said.
“That’s right. Shi Jin has won the championship before, and Yue Yu has always been very impressive. There must be no problem.” Everyone said with a smile.
Yue Yu smiled and said, “How about this? We’ve also agreed that no matter what, we’ll finish playing this song. If there’s a slight lack of chemistry in the middle, we won’t give up, okay?”
Shi Jin thought for a moment and said, “Okay.”
Madam Yue glanced at Yue Feng.
Yue Feng said calmly, “This kind of occasion is for everyone in the family to have fun. It doesn’t matter how you play it.”
Yue Yu said “Begin,” and Shi Jin and she began to play.
Yue Yu was familiar with the tune and got into the mood quickly.
Shi Jin followed the rhythm.
The two of them worked together for the first time. Although they didn’t have enough chemistry, they relied on their skills to keep up with each other. However, before the first section was over, Yue Yu began to lose rhythm.
Although she had practiced a lot, she relied on her muscle memory to familiarize herself. Her smoothness was not particularly good.
Initially, she thought that Shi Jin would make a mistake, but the first mistake came from herself.
Usually, once this kind of mistake happens, it could easily happen again.
It was especially easy to make mistakes when the opponent was becoming more and more familiar.
And when she practiced normally, she could make adjustments according to her own situation.
Now that it was a four-hand duet, the chances of adjusting were slim.
She gradually couldn’t keep up with Shi Jin, but she wanted to force herself to. And so the music became chaotic.
Originally, such chaos would also affect the opponent. However, Shi Jin continued playing as if nothing could affect her.
Therefore, the music that everyone heard was very pleasant and full of emotions, but from time to time, there would be some unpleasant noises.
When people looked over, Shi Jin’s expression was calm. Her hands flew and her fingers moved without any obstruction.
On the other hand, they would find that Yue Yu often became confused because she could not keep up.
Sweat trickled down her forehead as well. Several times she considered giving up, then reluctantly continued.
In short, her fluster was very obvious.
Sensing this, Shi Jin slowed the pace a little, motioning for her to take her time and follow the rhythm.
Yue Yu finally joined in.
The rhythm after that was still guided by Shi Jin, but her rhythm was much more relaxed than before. This way, Yue Yu did not make any more mistakes.
Moreover, Shi Jin was very calm and collected, slowing the pace down without anyone noticing. Everyone just thought that Yue Yu had found her rhythm.
“Not bad. As expected of Yue Yu, she’s quite impressive. She can still perform so well when she’s with the champion.”
“Shi Jin is really impressive. She’s not affected at all by the interference.”
“Of course. After all, she was a world champion.”
Hearing the discussions around him, Yue Yu felt quite upset.
Yue Xiu was also very surprised. Under such circumstances, Shi Jin was actually unaffected. Initially, she thought that this was Yue Yu’s specialty. Shi Jin would only be proven to be useless…
It seemed that she had indeed underestimated Shi Jin.