The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 23
Only Krnovel
23 One Hundred Dan of Notices
* * *
Professor Yuhan Kang’s performance has ended.
Everyone held their breath and waited for the piano’s echo to completely disappear.
During this time, no one made a sound.
The performance that Professor Kang Yu-han showed a little while ago had no choice but to make everyone do that.
Feeling overwhelmed.
A pianist usually has to be able to fill the stage by himself.
Like monophonic instruments such as the violin or cello, the piano does not require accompaniment.
Therefore, only a pianist can be called a professional pianist if he or she knows how to create a stage on his own.
Professor Yuhan Kang demonstrated this in person.
He created a performance here with only ten fingers and 88 keys.
The breathtaking silence that seemed to continue was broken when Professor Kang Yu-han got up from his chair.
He smiled brightly and spoke to a student sitting on a chair behind the stage.
“It’s definitely a romantic song, right? It also makes my heart sink. But there’s no need to make that many changes. In this part, it is more important to make sure the melody connects well. and···.”
The student who was listening to the story rushed over and sat down on the piano chair. She diligently took notes from time to time with the notebook she was holding in her hand.
After Professor Yuhan Kang finished his explanation, the student began playing the piano again as instructed by the professor.
After a student plays, briefly evaluate the performance. It also suggests a way forward for the performance.
“okay. This part was impressive. But don’t stop pedaling. Then the audience will definitely notice that the flow has been interrupted.”
“No matter how free the song is, the beat and timing must be accurate. “It’s the minimum courtesy to the score.”
“yes! It’s much better than last time. But it has to be more beautiful and grander than this. more. little bit more. “That’s always the most important thing.”
A class in which several students gather in one place and all sing the same song.
However, the lesson content was different for each student.
I once saw a baduk player playing a map game on TV. It was impressive to see one professional player playing and teaching several amateur players at the same time.
Professor Yuhan Kang’s class was similar. He alone teaches more than ten students at the same time.
In short, this class was similar to a masterclass.
‘I didn’t know I would see a master class here that I couldn’t participate in in Singapore…’
Anyway, as I live 12 years of life (+3.5 years), all sorts of things happen.
“Thank you for your effort!”
“Thanks for the map!”
“professor! “A little bit about the lesson schedule scheduled for the end of this month.”
“I will see you next week!”
When class was over, the students dispersed in groups of twos and threes.
Only then were we able to meet Professor Yuhan Kang. Teacher Park Ha-seon personally introduced us.
“This is the student Han Seo-jin I told you about. The people next to you are your parents. And this person, like I said…”
A simple statement followed by a simple statement.
After shaking hands with my parents, Professor Yuhan Kang extended his hand to me.
“Nice to meet you. “I heard a lot from Ha-seon.”
“hello. “This is Han Seo-jin.”
A handshake follows.
As soon as I held his hand, I couldn’t help but be momentarily surprised.
‘You have really big hands…’
Thick bone joints. Long fingers. Wrinkled hands. I wondered how far an octave could be played with fingers like that.
But it seems I wasn’t the only one who thought this.
“Your hands are still small.”
“ah···. yes.”
“I’m not saying anything. Instead, since this is the peak of growth, you should eat well and work hard to develop flexibility. I also exercise. Looking at your fingertips, it looks like you practiced a lot. “He’s a good kid.”
“······.”
Professor Kang Yu-han understands me like Sherlock Holmes.
He looked at me and tilted his head to the left. It was in the direction where the piano was.
“It’s a rare opportunity, so why not play here? The more stage experience you have, the better. “Almost all of my brothers and sisters have left. I think it would be better here than the small practice room.”
As Professor Yuhan Kang said, most of the college students had already left the concert hall.
And I guess this person called because he wanted to see me play anyway.
Teacher Park Ha-seon said that he was a person with an impatient personality…
There was no need for me to take it out now.
“great. “I also like playing on a good piano.”
The piano in the Korea University concert hall was a Steinway.
The world’s top three pianos are Steinway, Bechstein, and Bösendorfer.
Among them, the piano that is overwhelmingly loved by pianists is by far the Steinway.
The price of that piano alone was well over 200 million, so it was not a piano that I could easily play.
Professor Yuhan Kang looked at me and smiled.
“Are you already greedy for equipment?”
“I usually only practice on the electric piano at home, so it felt a little stuffy.”
“······Electronic piano?”
“yes. “Then can I play it right now?”
“haha. okay. “I guess so.”
I walked quickly and sat down on the piano chair. I adjusted the height of the chair to fit my height. I wiggled my legs and checked the distance between the pedals.
I turned my head and looked to the right, and I saw a dark audience seat. Because of the lights pouring on the stage, my field of vision became narrower. Who is in the audience? How many people are there? I couldn’t see anything like that.
I turned my gaze to the keyboard. Just looking at the shiny, shiny keyboard made me feel good.
I took a deep breath and let it out.
Calmness came quickly.
The silence that I felt when I was living on an uninhabited island fell.
At night, where there was nothing to do, I memorized sheet music with Uncle Miller.
When Mr. Miller sang first, I recited the name of the song.
As the carefully managed embers flickered about to go out, when we looked up at the sky, a bright light illuminated us.
A group of beautiful lights that silently protected us all night.
I started playing while remembering that situation.
A song we commonly call ‘Moonlight’.
Beethoven – Sonata No.14 Op.27 “Moonlight”
The first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14.
* * *
A heavy sound falls.
The first theme of ‘Moonlight’ unfolds above c♯ minor.
Beethoven added the instruction sostenuto to the score to indicate that this piece should be played with as much emotion as possible.
Sostenuto.
Instructions to continue playing while keeping the sound intact.
Young children find this performance very difficult because you have to step on the pedal sufficiently to get the feeling of sostenuto.
No, to be exact, it’s not that they find it difficult, but they just don’t want to implement it.
Children at that age usually pay more attention to melody.
But it’s bound to come back to haunt me someday.
You will have to reinvest a really long time into pedaling practice that you neglected.
however.
“······.”
This kid’s playing was very heavy from the first note. Proof that you are using the pedal clearly.
Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ is a song that was composed while imagining the moonlight shining at night.
The child presses the piano pedal all the way down, creating a quiet and gloomy atmosphere.
A reproduction of Beethoven’s Moonlight.
The repeated rhythm of the left hand and the melody of the right hand create one harmony.
Even though he is clearly playing the piano, a static and quiet atmosphere is created.
The boy acted as if he already knew what he had emphasized to the students just moments ago.
With emotion.
In a instinct.
But faithful to the score.
It’s easy to say, but even for Professor Yuhan Kang, who has played the piano his entire life, this was not an easy task.
So, every day, we analyze scores, study techniques, and explore the composer’s life.
But this boy…
Seojin was trying to put all of this into his performance.
He performed based on solid fundamentals.
Just as the Chinese characters for Yeonju mean, he was showing his all.
Of course, Seojin’s performance was not technically perfect.
Maybe it was because my hands weren’t fully grown yet, or maybe there was some other reason, but sometimes there were gaps between yin and yin.
However, the mistake was so small that it was not even noticeable.
Like Professor Kang Yu-han, someone who has been involved with music all his life, and who does not teach students all day, would have overlooked it without even thinking about it.
But regardless of such minor mistakes, Seojin clearly understood Beethoven’s music.
There are students preparing for college entrance exams without any emotions and just practicing just enough to not have points deducted during the entrance exam.
So, when gifted children come to see Professor Yoohan Kang, 9 out of 10 are unable to escape this cycle.
Because most of them were gifted students according to the ‘Korean entrance exam’ standards.
Suppress your emotions as much as possible and reduce mistakes as much as possible. Then people call them geniuses.
Like machines, children play according to the rules of the entrance exam.
What Professor Kang Yu-han always lamented was the aspects of the Korean music industry.
But Seojin looked different.
He didn’t care about small mistakes and seemed to care about how to express the entire music.
Seojin was giving a piano recital here.
In Beethoven’s sonata, which lasts just over 6 minutes,
He clearly depicted moonlight.
* * *
‘There were about two mistakes…’
The performance ended with a bit of disappointment.
Still, I can’t do it. The Steinway, which I had only played a few times at competitions, was very soft. Thanks to this, his hand slipped a couple of times.
‘Looking at it this way, the feel of the electric piano is definitely not that good.’
To be precise, I would say that electric pianos are a bit creaky.
The old upright piano at the piano academy was not without its drawbacks.
It was a little disappointing, but it was my mistake anyway.
Even if the opportunity is lost because of this, there is nothing I can do about it.
This is probably my limit right now.
I guess I can practice more in the future.
I only had two days to practice ‘Moonlight’ and I didn’t want to make excuses because of the piano.
As I was thinking these thoughts alone, I heard Professor Yuhan Kang’s voice from behind.
“It was a really great performance.”
“ah···. thank you.”
“I’d like to have a quick chat with the adults, but would you mind going down to the lower audience area for a moment? “Don’t finish the story right away.”
Now that I think about it, where are my parents and teacher Ha-sun Park?
After looking around for a while, I saw him standing at the entrance to the stage waiting room. My parents look at me and give me a little wave.
I told Professor Yoohan Kang that I understood and went down the stage.
There was a sound of the waiting room door squeaking shut behind me.
The audience seats, which seemed dark, began to become visible little by little as our eyes adjusted.
But at that moment.
Suddenly a lot of people attacked me.
“Hey! How come you play so well? I was really surprised!”
“and. It’s been a while since I heard Moonlight, and it reminds me of my entrance exam. “It’s a song I played at a competition when I was young.”
“He captured the emotions really well! Is that why Professor Yuhan Kang called him? “By the way, how old are you?”
“Just looking at him, he looks like he’s not even in middle school yet. Elementary student? “They must be taking the entrance exam to the middle school.”
“Do you want my sister to give me some candy? “You were nervous about performing on stage, right?”
“Do your eyes still hurt? Wait a minute, try winding and opening like this. “It will get better soon.”
“······?”
Where on earth was he hiding?
College students were crowding around me.
First, I took Chupa Chups and took it with me. Yum. I thought it was impossible, but I guess I really ran out of sugar. As soon as I bit into the candy, I suddenly came to my senses.
The college students looked very lively.
Maybe it’s because I played Moonlight a little while ago, but I’m talking a lot about Beethoven.
I took advantage of that opportunity and asked what I was curious about.
Admission to art middle school, arts high school, and arts college.
Aren’t college students at Korea University’s College of Music living proof of this?
Fortunately, my older brothers and sisters responded kindly to me.
After about 15 minutes, the stage waiting room door finally opened.
Teacher Park Ha-seon was seen looking around the audience with frowning eyes. He quickly found where I was and motioned for me to come.
“I’ll just go. Thank you for answering the questions I asked about my brothers and sisters regarding entrance exams. oh. And candy!”
College students laughing for some reason.
I said hello and took another piece of candy, then walked to the waiting room.
In the waiting room where we arrived, Teacher Park Ha-seon was talking with Professor Kang Yu-han.
As soon as the professor saw me coming in, he immediately spoke to me.
“That’s cool. He’s a very talented kid. “It will be worth your hard work.”
“······ thank you.”
From what I secretly heard from teacher Park Ha-seon, I heard that Professor Kang Yu-han is a person who doesn’t like to say empty words.
His personality is impatient, honest, and direct.
In that case, the statement that he had a lot of talent could be seen as a positive sign.
But then.
“I have a question for you. “It’s just an old man’s curiosity…”
Professor Yuhan Kang, contrary to his benevolent expression, asked me sharp questions.
“Have you ever been taught by a pianist other than Teacher Ha-sun Park? I can sense a unique ethos in your performance, as if you learned it from a virtuoso… “I’m a little curious about who that is.”
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