‘Why did you quit being a pianist?’
With such good sound, what made him go to the California Conservatory? There must have been a good reason for something. It didn’t seem like a weak reason, such as simply wanting to rest or being tired from running.
It was near the end of the lesson. Rowoon hesitated before opening his mouth.
“Me, professor.”
“hmm?”
“I heard that… usually when assigning students, the professors talk about it and share it with each other. Could it be the reason why they chose me… would it be okay if I heard about it?”
I didn’t care too much about it before. Whoever it was, he thought he was the student he would want to have. But now that he realized Han’s true value, Rowoon wanted to confirm it with his mouth. Why he is a worthy pianist and student.
And Han answered in a dry voice.
“If I have to tell you one thing, it was Professor Donatti who coveted you the most. not me.”
“······Ah yes.”
It was an answer I hadn’t thought of. Han continued to speak calmly, as if he had read Rowoon’s timidity or not.
“That friend is more like a professor than anyone else. I think teaching students is my life’s work, and I can’t help but rejoice whenever my students grow. I am different from that friend. Of course, teaching talented friends is fun, and watching them grow is proud, but…”
Han stopped talking for a moment. It seemed that he wanted to talk too much to Rowoon unnecessarily. He hurriedly put his words together.
“Anyway, I thought of you as a senior-like professor who could give you just the right advice, not a professor who was anxious to teach you everything you needed.”
It was an oddly fitting story. People will look at Rowoon and think of him as an empty drawing paper. In fact, it was true that there were fewer drawings on Rowoon’s paper. But now there were painters already painting the paper. And those painters were those who could draw better pictures than anyone else in the 21st century.
In a way, Han’s words meant that instead of becoming an artist, he would rather watch his paintings get engraved on paper. Of course, the artist Han thought of was not Beethoven or Liszt, but Rowoon’s talent, which could create anything that hadn’t been sorted out yet, but in any case, the conclusion didn’t change.
“······Well, to sum it up, I did it because I thought I would guide you best. Why don’t you like it?”
“no. thank you It is an honor to learn from you.”
“Thank you for the results of the contest. The online application deadline is just around the corner. You have to prepare well. know?”
“yes. I will do my best.”
“okay. That’s it. Oh, and from what I heard from Professor Donatti… Heather, she’s also going to the LA Competition.”
“yes. He wants to fight with me.”
“Who will win?”
“Doesn’t it look like it?”
Rowoon smiled and pointed to his sheet music. It was a version of the score in which only the most important parts of what I heard through the correction notes were written down, but even so, the notes were densely engraved on the score. It was a sheet music that made even Han look at Rowoon with frightened and tired eyes when he first saw it.
“······okay. He seems to be there.”
It was time to finish the lesson and leave the lesson room. Rowoon stopped for a moment when he saw a man pacing in the hallway.
‘Han Jeong-woo?’
A man in a sweatshirt was standing in the hallway. Looking at the lesson room where the Han is.
Jeongwoo Han. Han’s son and his classmate. Rowoon made eye contact with him for a moment, exchanged a quick glance, and moved on. And that was when
“excuse me.”
It was Korean. It was clear who that ‘over there’ was pointing to, and Rowoon turned his head.
“······yes?”
“I enjoyed hearing Chopin play the dog waltz the other day. You hit well.”
“Ah, thank you. Is that… Professor Han’s son?”
At Rowoon’s words, Jungwoo subtly furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. He didn’t seem too happy to hear about Han’s son. Aren’t parent-child relationships so good? While that thought dwelled in Rowoon’s head for a moment, Han cleared his expression and nodded.
“yes. I am Han Jeong-woo.”
“Ah, I…”
“i know. Rowoon. I liked the performance so much that I asked other people for his name. Even if it’s not a studio class later, if there’s something like a stage, let me know. I will always be your audience.”
“Uh… of course. thank you.”
“Then next time.”
After saying that, Jungwoo turned around and left. Seeing Jungwoo like that, Rowoon couldn’t help but wonder for a moment.
‘······But didn’t we come to see the professor?’
However, Rowoon soon dispelled his curiosity. No matter what drama the father and son were involved in, it was none of his business. And Rowoon wasn’t even that free right now.
As Han said, the preparation of the video for the LA competition had to be completed as soon as possible. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 2 was honestly well-received at the California Conservatory, so there was no problem, but the Mazepa in Liszt…
‘I know it’s good, but I still regret it.’
Liszt always gave him favorable reviews. But that made me even more aware. That his playing still hasn’t satisfied the list for quite some time. Rather, Liszt was treating him like a child. Just as it is great for a child to play to the end, it must be commendable that Rowoon is trying to express his song somehow.
But I can’t stop at the level of praise. Rowoon looked up at the ceiling for a moment and relaxed his neck. The lesson had just finished, and I felt a little stiff all over my body, and I also felt a little sleepy.
There are many excuses to take a break. His playing is already good enough, and he’ll probably be able to pass the online audition, and today he’s already taken lessons, and he’s been practicing without days off all week.
However, Rowoon went to the practice room, not the dormitory.
Liszt will always give advice on his playing.
But how can he rest? How dare you find an excuse Of course, one day I might be so weak, but at least it wasn’t today.
Two weeks passed like that.
And Rowoon’s application video knocked on the door of the LA International Piano Competition.
#
It’s obvious, but the video of participants’ support is usually pouring out at once with the deadline right around the corner.
And as the contestants flocked, of course, some of them drew the attention of the judges.
“Heather Hong? Isn’t this friend that friend? Runner-up at the Chopin Junior Competition.”
“Does it seem right? Seeing that the school is also the California Conservatory of Music…”
“Heh heh, is this going to be fun? I think the level of applicants this year is rather high.”
“Should we listen to this friend first?”
“Ah, but in order…”
“It’s okay to listen to it first, right?”
The man said that while playing the music. It was Brahms’ Paganini Variations. Brahms’ famous piano reinterpretation of Paganini’s 24 Caprices. It was a song famous for its technical difficulty as well as its artistic quality.
From noble mtl dot com
However, after a while they nodded with a satisfied expression.
“As expected, you are a prize winner at the Chopin Competition. The basics are solid, and the expressiveness is not bad. After a few years, it will be very delicious, right?”
“Hmm, it’s definitely not that bad… though the Chopin I heard before is much better. Well, this definitely doesn’t seem like a bubble. so passed? Or are you sick?”
“That’s a question…”
It was when the man blurted out his words as if he was being ridiculous. The door burst open, and a woman with a flushed face pulled out her earphones and shouted.
“Martin, Helen! Have you heard of that california conservatory friend? Are you okay?”
“Oh, Jennifer. We were listening too. He said it was fine.”
“It’s been a while since I heard Beethoven-like Beethoven and List Down List.”
“······huh? Beethoven? List? What we have just heard is Brahms’s Paganini?”
“uh? What are you talking about? This friend Brahms didn’t even play?”
Only then did they realize that there was a misunderstanding. Jennifer pulled her earphones out of her phone and manipulated the screen. And after a while, Liszt’s mazepa began to flow from the phone’s speaker.
It was after a page-by-page performance had passed. Jennifer asked in a quiet voice.
“Look, how are you?”
“wait for a sec. stop it Let’s connect a Bluetooth speaker and listen.”
Helen said with a smile on her face. Jennifer nodded with an expression of unhinged excitement, and after a while, the three judges were soon seated side by side in front of speakers the size of their trunks.
Mazepa’s playing time is roughly 8 minutes. However, during those 8 minutes, no one spoke easily. No matter how the performance was, or if there was a miss, it would come out several times during the ceremonial choo-im-sae.
And that’s when eight minutes passed. Jennifer looked back at the other two expectantly,
Martin’s lips went up.
“… Hoo?”
＜ Why are you still unknown? (1) ＞ end
＜ Why are you still unknown? (2) ＞
“Why is this friend unknown? Is it really a name I’ve never seen before?”
There was no one to answer Helen’s muttering. It was the same that they had the same question. Martin said to Jennifer.
“When you said you were listening to your friend at the California Institute of Music, I naturally assumed it was Heather Hong. That was the name that stood out among the applicants.”
“I did too. After hearing Heather Hong like that, I also wanted to be different, so I saw another friend from the California Institute of Music… I couldn’t imagine it. What is it? I never thought the California Conservatory was hiding a friend like this.”
“I still have the feeling that it’s not fully ripe, but it’s okay to take that into account. You’re a California Conservatory student.”
“This contest must be of a high level in many ways. Beethoven down Beethoven, list down list. It’s just your expression. So it’s a bit boring, but it’s good.”
It was in the midst of such favorable reviews. Jennifer asked.
“But then, what are you going to do with this friend? Are you going to attach it?”
Helen laughed.
“well. Do you think the three of us have the same opinion?”
#
Brahms’ music feels like he’s showing off somewhere.
see world i made this song See my music, admire it, applaud it.
But that was why Heather liked Brahms. It was Brahms who did not break his insistence on classicism in an era when romanticism was mainstream, and Heather’s strengths were the most blossoming in the romantic part, but Brahms’s ostentatious lyricism nonetheless suited Heather well in many ways.
Heather did too. When playing, she loved the feeling of conquering people’s hearts with her hands, as much as the feeling of being one with the piano.
A friend of mine once said to her: