Right now, isn’t Rowoon also here to understand Hanong after all?
As the church members began to leave one by one, Rowoon sat down in front of the piano in the church. Then, slowly, he started practicing Hanon’s Etude. There were quite a few people who turned their heads to see what song the famous Lee Rowoon would play, but even Rowoon couldn’t hold them back with Hanong’s monotonous melody.
Still, it wasn’t that there wasn’t anyone left by his side.
“theory! This, this, uh, um…… Why is this steaming high?”
was a child My name is Lina. is three years old As for his characteristics, he had limbs chubby like sausages, small teeth, brown hair and green eyes. A child who would always sneak up on Rowoon while he was playing the piano and stare blankly at his fingers.
Ron responded by stroking Lina’s forehead with his thumb.
“huh. to practice.”
“…This is a monga… a monga… it’s pretty.”
“what?”
“Yeah, it’s fun… It’s not fun, but it’s fun!”
“Oh, yes?”
Rowoon laughed. Rina looked back at Rowoon and raised her hand. When Rowoon sat her on his lap, she gazed at the piano with a reverent yet serious expression, like a maestro on stage somewhere, then slowly stretched out her fingers.
And after a while, he cried.
“Lina Thorne… you’re too good. what to do How are you?”
“I must grow up. many.”
“……sad.”
Rina became sullen and lowered her head. What the hell were you doing? Then, suddenly, I became curious and asked.
“By the way, Lina.”
“yes?”
“What do you mean? It’s fun, but it’s not fun.”
“Oh, that! Fun ups! But let’s have fun!”
“why?”
“Uh, uh… I was bored just listening to it, but after listening to it, uh… I was saddened to hear it all the time.”
Lina shook her head and smiled. Looking at Lina like that, Rowoon made a strange expression. There’s no way a child would say something he didn’t mean, and he felt something funny in Hanong’s song.
If so, what fun would that be? Is it the fun that regularity brings? Or is there something Rowoon missed? Rowoon immediately asked Hanong. And Hanong replied with a laugh.
[There is a saying that only those who are like children can enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s right. ]
[You’d better learn from him. ]
[Because she knows pure music more than anyone else. ]
[What you lost. ]
‘……Is it just that it’s fashionable for everyone to speak in a difficult way?’
I asked again for an easier explanation, but Hanong never responded. In the end, it meant that thoughts were up to Rowoon.
Rowoon continued to practice. He practiced and practiced, trying his best to make better use of everything he was given.
And it was around that time.
The California Conservatory received a strange phone call.
#
The director of the California Institute of Music is quite iconic in many ways. He grew up in California, received his master’s and doctorate at the California Conservatory, and later taught.
Kaplan. People called him Mr. Kaplan.
“Mr. Taylor.”
Kaplan called out to Taylor in a quiet voice. Taylor smiled quietly and replied.
“yes. Mr. Kaplan.”
“Did you hear the story? It is said that the number of tourists decreased by about 1% compared to the previous year at this music festival.”
From noble mtl dot com
“……yes. It is a story that no one knows among professors these days.”
“One%…….”
Kaplan raised his index finger and stared at it. and muttered quietly.
“Someone might say. It’s only 1%. Don’t dwell on such trivial figures. But it’s not just this year. The previous year, the year before that, whether by 1% or by several percentage points, the numbers have always gone down steadily. Do you know what this means?”
“Isn’t that a story you all know?”
Taylor shrugged.
“Classics are dying. If there is no support from the upper classes, it would be no wonder that the culture would disappear immediately. It makes me wonder how they are holding up this far.”
“And the California Conservatory is dying too.”
“……I won’t bother asking which one I regret more. out of courtesy.”
Kaplan laughed at Taylor’s mischievous joke. And he clenched his fists.
“Mr. Taylor. I don’t want to accept it. The dying of classics is not a natural change of the times. No, it’s okay to say it’s a natural change. I want to be outraged. I want to see all the public, young and old, looking at and loving classical music, even just once in this world.”
“…….”
Since he has never belonged to the mainstream culture, his longing for him is bound to be greater than anyone else’s. Kaplan groaned.
“I gave diplomas to countless students with my own hands. Among those children, there were countless children who deserved to shine in the world’s attention. But among those kids, only a handful of them are called stars.”
“The kids will be delighted too. If you know that Mr. Kaplan thought of us that much.”
“But I cannot be satisfied with that.”
Taylor looked at Kaplan in silence. Despite being of the same age as her, there was still a young man burning with passion inside Kaplan. Years only made him more stubborn, but did not teach him the weakness and flexibility to give up his dreams.
“I want to do something. I don’t want to watch as I slowly strangle myself to death as if it were natural. I don’t want to tell students to devote themselves to music without doing anything to change the world. How could I?”
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“……I have an offer.”
Saying so, Kaplan handed Taylor a stack of documents. Taylor, who took it lightly, soon put on an expression of interest, and later on, even a slightly uneasy expression.
“……Are you saying let’s proceed with this?”
“Will it be difficult?”
“Seeking the president’s consent is also asking, but is this really the way for this conservatory? In a way… it might be a way to undermine tradition.”
“Isn’t it better to abandon tradition for the sake of the future than to preserve the tradition and abandon the future?”
“……I understand what you mean. But it is also true that it is difficult for me to say anything easily.”
“i know. I understand. Decisions will not be made here. Do not worry. One thing is certain, this is it.”
Kaplan turned to Taylor.
“As educators, as adults, as seniors, we have to do something.”
I need to finish winter.
Even for spring to return.
＜ Spring Breeze (1) ＞ End
＜ Spring Breeze (2) ＞
“…a TV show?”
Donatti couldn’t hide her absurd expression. Taylor nodded.
“okay. They say that only the media can revive the dying music world. Same with the conservatory.”
“······Words are going to ruin. In fact, a genre that has not always been popular historically is still holding on to the same position, right?”
“But Mr. Kaplan can’t accept that.”
Taylor smiled bitterly.
“Actually, Massimo, you are no different, are you? You are the music we have dedicated our lives to. But the fact that it continues while maintaining only an uneasy state of not knowing when to stop breathing… isn’t it natural that you can’t help but hate it in many ways?”
“I know. But is it realistic?”
Donatti sighed.
“The second question is whether broadcasting becomes an issue. Even if it becomes an issue and attention is focused on classical music for a while… you know. That kind of popularity is fleeting. People will go back to just the scenes that appeared on the air, and they won’t try to find out about the classics again.”
“Even so, the name of the California Conservatory will become more famous. It’s a business with nothing to lose.”
“… if you put it that way, yes.”
Donatti pursed his lips as if he was suddenly speechless, then looked down at his hands. The pianist’s hands.
“It’s sad. It’s not that I’m unpopular, do you think that the music itself, to which I gave my life, isn’t loved?”
“Mr. Kaplan wants to resolve that sadness.”
“Maybe?”
“well. Wouldn’t you have to try it to know?”
Taylor smiled as she placed her hand on Donatti’s.
“Have you already done enough of doing nothing?”
#
“A broadcast?”
“okay.”
“······Can I go on the air now?”
“It depends on your choice. i just let you know You got an offer like that.”
“Why me?”
“well. I don’t think it’s that difficult to judge whether you’re an attractive performer or not just by looking at one video of your raccoon performance.”
“Thank you for saying that, but…”