“well. I tend to eat a lot.”
#
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Compared to other songs, this song was relatively slow to rise. Rowoon wondered if that part was influenced by the fact that he didn’t actually work together with the orchestra members. In the end, this song was written based on the concerto, and to that extent, if he played alone, there was a feeling that he could not hold the core of this song properly and had no choice but to go.
Even so, it was a situation where I had to meet Rami more often, but there was a limit to that. Thanks to that, Rowoon had to find another way, and that was to use a virtual performance program.
The computer reproduces the orchestra parts entered into the program as they are, and Rowoon puts them together. Of course, the computer had limitations as it couldn’t match the beat to Rowoon, but I could still get a sense of what it would feel like to actually play with an orchestra to some extent.
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 consisted of three movements. What Rowoon is focusing on right now is the first movement. Originally, the first movement was the most important for this type of song, and even at a later audition, if the first movement was thought to be lax, there would be no opportunity to showcase the second or third movement.
[ okay. Do it. ]
[ No, this part should focus more on the little finger than the thumb. ]
[ not bad. But it’s not good either. ]
Rachmaninoff was a blunt man in many ways. But that doesn’t mean his words were harsh or anything like that. On the contrary, compared to the likes of Beethoven and Chopin, there was even a kinder feeling. Because he never said anything negative to Rowoon.
From noble mtl dot com
‘Is it because you’ve been burned by critics?’
As far as Rowoon knows, Rachmaninoff is now a recognized master without great likes or dislikes, but at the time, critics said that his reviews were divided. It is said that his depression was also caused by his Symphony No. 1 receiving harsh reviews from the critics, so it was understandable that he couldn’t say anything bad about it.
‘I want to get the composition journal soon.’
I want to look into Rachmaninoff.
I want to know what kind of person he is.
I want to know how you wrote this song.
Rowoon played with that kind of heart every day. Of course, I want to stand on stage. I want to win a header. It wasn’t that he didn’t have such basic desires, but Rowoon no longer put those desires at the center of his heart.
“Your face has improved a lot lately.”
Those were Gregor’s words. Rowoon said while dipping nachos into a tostada salad with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
“okay? Is it because I am not worried?”
“Did you feel comfortable after winning the LA competition?”
“No, I don’t think it’s because of the results of the competition… let’s just focus on music that we can enjoy right away.
“You haven’t been meditating lately, have you?”
“Did you hear it?”
Rowoon deliberately trembled. However, Gregor’s reaction to this was spectacle.
“Oh, are you really doing it?”
“······no. What if I believe it again?”
“My personality has changed so much lately that I wanted to do something.”
“It’s really nothing. It’s just a change of attitude.”
“Well, the attitude isn’t bad.”
“Did you say you were only preparing for a solo recital this time?”
“huh. I also wanted to do something at the music festival no matter what it was. It’s kind of like not doing anything.”
“It’s not like that. Who is singing?”
“Goldberg and Liszt’s La Campanella from the audition.”
“Ah, Liszt has a good personality.”
“······Huh, who would think we were having a great conversation?”
“Always sharing…”
ding!
yeah, conversation. It was a moment when I was trembling. Rowoon lowered his head at the sound of the notification on his phone and looked down at the screen. And seeing the notification that Starbook’s follower has increased by one, he looked at Gregor again.
“Anyway, both Goldberg and La Campanella, I think you can beat them all. I know from the old days that your ride is clean…”
ding! Tiding! Ting Ting Ting!
“…Isn’t this an urgent contact?”
“No, it’s not contact… what is it? On Starbook, I suddenly gained followers all at once…”
Rowoon muttered and looked down at his phone. It was strange. Has your account been hacked? no Then there would be no reason to increase your followers.
Rowoon turned off the notifications. I wanted to focus on my conversation with Gregor for now. We’ll find out what’s going on later. Thinking so, Rowoon put the phone in his pocket.
“What is it?”
“No, I just suddenly got about a dozen or so followers on Starbook.”
“what? Are they advertising or something?”
“I don’t know. How far have we been talking?”
“Ah, I was talking about preparing my solo song.”
“right. That was it. Anyway, if you need feedback or anything like that, let me know. Because I am always ready to become a listener.”
“I am grateful. I’ll go to your practice room later too.”
“okay.”
It was after I ended the conversation while flirting like that. After breaking up with Gregor, Rowoon took out the phone he had sealed in his pocket as if he had suddenly remembered. and immediately frowned
“······what?”
The number of Starbook followers increased by 300.
＜ Bucket List (3) ＞ End
＜ California Music Festival (1) ＞
‘what?’
I felt bewildered. The number of followers has almost doubled. For Rowoon, there was no way he could guess.
But the trouble didn’t last long. The answer was contained in his Starbook messenger.
[ Hi, Rowoon! Watch the competition performance and contact us! Nothing special, just wanted to let you know that your fan has increased by one! ]
[You play Mazepa very well, can you tell me some tricks? ]
[Congratulations on winning! I heard you play well! ]
‘Ah… it seems that the performance video has finally been uploaded.’
After thinking about it, Rowoon went on YouTube and searched for videos of him playing. And soon I couldn’t help but feel genuinely bewildered.
‘······20,000 people? Did I see a lot more than I thought?’
Reaching 20,000 views with classical music was never an easy task. Even more so, looking at the video, it was uploaded less than a day ago.
It was unknown how many tens of thousands more people would join this clip, but one thing was for sure: the response was much hotter than expected.
‘Is it because of Heather? or not······.’
Maybe it’s because of that article. It is said that Modern Classic, to which Alice belongs, is quite a major magazine among classic fans.
Rowoon swallowed his saliva. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had been exposed to the public. What will they think of Rowoon as a pianist? What review would you like to leave? At first glance, it seems that almost all the people who sent messages through Starbook were friendly, but…
‘Let’s check.’
Rowoon clicked on the comment window. I wondered if this might be the first time in my life that I experienced those malicious comments, but my curiosity was greater than my fear.
And soon, numerous letters began to be engraved on Rowoon’s retina.
Jane Ellen: Oh, this dude’s thing? I heard that Heather Hong and Anton Kozlov were pushed out, so I was wondering what kind of friends they are… This is enough.
└ Andre Sittard: I was a little surprised too. They wondered why a friend like this had never been in the spotlight.
└ TheMusicLife: @Jane Ellen But honestly, it’s Anton. I also watched the header video, and to be honest, it was ridiculously good.
└ S’more: @TheMusicLife Heather He hears things like that every time he goes to competitions. Even when I won the runner-up in the Chopin Junior, many people said that it was actually a feeling of winning. But honestly, it’s worth it. No matter how much you like playing your own way, there are rules for competitions. If you make your professional debut later and promote as a soloist, then you will truly shine.
S’more: First of all, this friend’s characteristic seems to be that he plays Beethoven like Beethoven, Liszt like Liszt, and Chopin like Chopin. But even in the midst of that, it’s hard to see that you don’t have your own style, so I think that’s what makes it more distinctive. I guess this guy will win a lot of prizes in the competition in the future?
Tony Smith: Nice playing. First of all, I really like the expression Rowoon makes while playing. It’s obvious that you’re enjoying your music?
└ CC: Oh, I felt that too! Well, immersion is what all pianists of a high level do, but apart from immersion, they seemed to be very happy. So, apart from the mood of the song, I also felt really good.
PIANOSTYLE: I heard you were from the same California Institute of Music as Heather Hong, is that right?
└ Juan Estrada: Yeah. As far as I know, the two of them are close to best friends?
└ PIANOSTYLE: @Juan Estrada Oh really? You’re playing with each other too.
‘······dae, why are there so many comments?’
There were sixty comments alone. Was it because he showed such a good performance?
My heart was pounding. Even though the stage had already ended a long time ago, it felt like the excitement and joy of that time were coming back. And then I felt it. How do professional pianists who live on stage every day feel?
‘You should also go upstairs. Beneficial.’
I wish I could live and survive, and be able to greet new comments every day like this. I thought so.
‘Well, to do that, I have to practice first.’
Rowoon put the phone in his pocket. It felt like every single comment was a reason for him to continue playing. At this rate, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too much to practice staying up all night.
However, the video did not end with simply motivating Rowoon.
“Hey, did you see this?”
“What?”
“I heard that a freshman from our school entered the contest this time and won, and a video of him appeared in the contest. But the reaction is really good.”
“The reaction is fine… then it means that the performance is fine too, right?”
It was like that. Rowoon’s name began to speak here and there. As for the LA International Piano Competition, it was a fairly weighty name in the area. Not to mention the students who belonged to the piano department in particular.
“I knew Heather Hong because I’d heard her name a few times… but you beat that friend?”
“After listening to it, I can understand why he won. It’s ambiguous to say that he played better than the header promotion… From a competition point of view, it’s better, but from other aspects, I think Heather Hong is better.”