After Junichi Minamino arrived, players from other major competition areas also came to Liao Yuan's lounge one by one for cordial and friendly exchanges.
After all, based on the strength revealed at this stage, God A of the Chinese Division is the only player who became popular on the entire network during the game.
Many of the works he played in the competition, such as "Castle in the Sky" and "Streets Where the Wind Lives", have been circulated around the world, especially the "War Rhapsody" series, which has been played many times on the banks of the Danube River in Vienna.
, highly praised by pianists.
Therefore, whether it is strength or popularity, God A is undoubtedly in the first echelon.
Even if there are no accidents, it is a sure thing that God A will win the final championship.
The champion of the first tournament was an American, and the winner of the second tournament was a Japanese. Now, in the third tournament, it is also the most promising year for the Chinese Division to win the championship, and many domestic media are also rushing to report on it.
, attracting national attention.
This event has become even more popular because of this.
At 6:30 in the evening, many contestants in China who followed the One Emperor and Four Emperors International Piano Competition immediately turned on their computers or Donghai TV to watch the live broadcast.
Ten minutes later, the global finals of the third One Emperor and Four Emperors International Piano Competition officially began.
The first to appear are the top ten judges.
They come from all over the world, and there are even music masters who hold positions in the five major concert halls.
Of course, they also belong to the same organization, the International Association of Musical Arts, which belongs to UNESCO.
Because the One Emperor and Four Emperors Competition is held every year, its popularity and prestige have gradually surpassed that of the Chopin International Piano Competition, especially with the emergence of players like Liao Yuan who can play "War Rhapsody" and other series of works.
causing turmoil throughout the industry.
Not long ago, Asian great pianist Naoki Ando expressed his appreciation for A-God's work "Castle in the Sky" through Twitter, saying that the sound of the piano is as pure and beautiful as the sky.
The special performance for Asian musicians to be held at the Golden Hall also extended a performance invitation to Liao Yuan.
These news spread like wildfire among everyone and completely established Liao Yuan's reputation in the industry.
Liao Yuan has also become one of the representatives of the current Chinese piano industry, having the same status and popularity as young pianists such as Lin Weiyin and Meng Han.
After the top ten judges made their appearance one by one, the Royal Orchestra of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw also played several pieces of classical music to the audience before the competition officially entered the main topic.
Five players appeared one after another.
Liao Yuan still wore the mask that the audience was familiar with, and became the most eye-catching one in the audience.
The audience applauded thunderously, but there was no scene like a concert with whistles and cheers.
In the gesture of contest host Phil, applause is almost forbidden.
After the five contestants were introduced one after another, the audience fell into silence.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Royal Concert Hall of Amsterdam. I am the host Phil Coulson. Now, I will introduce to you the rules of the finals of the One Emperor and Four Emperors Competition."
Under the explanation of host Phil, the audience quickly understood the rules of the competition.
Just like the situation in the finals of each major competition area, the competition still adopts a points system. The player who wins each PK event will receive one point in total. The first player to get four points will advance directly.
In other words, a player must defeat four other opponents in a row to directly win the championship.
According to the order of the draw, the first player to take the field is Lennie James from the wild card division.
Lenny is the only black man among the five players, but he is wearing an off-white tuxedo. He is already thirty-two years old. For ordinary pianists, his hand speed and reaction speed are already relatively slow, but Lenny
But there is no overall weakness at all.
The main genre of music he plays is jazz piano, which is a music genre evolved from jazz music and is also a creative category that many black pianists are good at.
Therefore, the piano piece he brought to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw was still the jazz music he was good at, but it was a rather difficult pop piece.
After bowing to the audience, and when the applause died down, Lenny's hands began to fly on the keys.
His fingers look thick and long.
But every finger could hit the keys appropriately. The moment he played the piano, a rich and full bass appeared, as if there were two sexy dancers twisting their willow-like waists next to them, attracting the attention of the whole audience.
This song is called "Dancing Girl". Just like its name, it makes people want to dance jazz after listening to it.
When the song ended, the audience burst into applause.
The technique and texture of the music are up to par, but for many people, it seems to lack some of the amazing feeling.
Soon, the second player, Billy Brodeur, came on stage. Billy came from the European Division and had returned three times. The pressure on Billy was still extremely huge.
In the end, he appeared with a song adapted from Chopin's "Winter Wind", but the number of votes was far lower than that of "Dancer".
"I will mention that the competition will probably lean more towards original pop music."
After the game, one of the judges spoke up.
After Lenny won, he accumulated one point, and the second player was Christopher Grace from the North American Division.
Christopher, like Billy, has participated in the One Emperor and Four Emperors Competition. However, last year he was ranked among the top ten in the competition. However, this year Christopher's piano skills greatly improved and he continuously passed the competition in the North American competition and finally won the title.
Tickets to the finals.
But everyone standing on this stage is the first in their respective divisions, and no one is weaker than the other.
Even Liao Yuan can't guarantee that he will win. Therefore, during this period of time, he will take time to practice piano. Even after arriving in the Netherlands, Liao Yuan will still take time to practice seriously in the hotel.
However, in this competition, in addition to competing on piano skills, it also pays special attention to the creative abilities of the contestants.
But creation was Christopher's shortcoming. Therefore, in the second game, the black player Lenny scored a point again.
This surprised many people secretly, but when they saw the next contestant, everyone smiled.
God is coming!
"What is the piece you want to play?"
Host Phil looked at God A's mask and asked with a smile.
Liao Yuan replied: ""river-flows-in-you"."
“I’m really looking forward to it after hearing the name!”
Phil said excitedly: "Please."
Liao Yuan walked onto the stage and took Lenny's seat.
After the applause from the audience gradually died down, he raised his hand and gently pressed the keys.
Lenny was in a daze watching Liao Yuan play the first key in the audience. Within three seconds, the sound suddenly entered his ears and entered his hands.
Immediately, he sighed.
Lost.
No comparison.
Listening to some music for just three seconds can make a real pianist imagine the melody behind it.
As those ten fingers flew, light overflowed, followed by the clear sound of the piano like raindrops.
This piece of music is not very difficult. It is the closing music of Liao Yuan's previous life in the university library. In addition to smoothness, it also pays attention to the fullness of emotion. The speed of such a piece of music is very regular, and it exceeds the rules.
At the speed outside, it sounds a bit out of place.
Liao Yuan once played this piano piece at the opening of the Academy Awards in his previous life, and received mixed reviews. But now, his hands can easily play the music he wants. He knows that no one can fail to play such music.
like.
The whole place was silent, and many people's eyes flashed.
Even the judges kept nodding. Although they did not speak a word, they showed their enjoyment while listening.
Stunning?
No.
Some are just warmth, strength, independence and other beautiful emotions.
It is fundamentally different from Lenny's jazz piano music. It seems more fresh and natural, like a wisp of spring breeze blowing through people's new houses.
After the song ended, Liao Yuan stood up and gave a gentleman's salute to the audience.
The applause was thunderous.
Lenny walked onto the stage step by step. The moment he passed by, he stretched out his hand to Liao Yuan and showed his white teeth: "It's a very nice song."
Liao Yuan was stunned for a moment, then finally reached out to hold each other and said with a smile: "Thank you."
Lenny sat at the piano.
He looked a little nervous, with his hands on the keys, seemingly at a loss.
What kind of music should be played to achieve victory?
In just a moment, Lenny thought a lot, but what finally landed on the keys was still the jazz he was familiar with.
He didn't dare to risk playing other types of music, he only played the music he liked best.
Soon, a song "Wheat Field in May" with a strong jazz style was played.
Although there was constant applause from the audience, during the voting, out of the 2,037 votes in the audience, 1,673 voted for God A. Lenny only received more than 300 votes.
This kind of strong crushing was definitely not seen in the first two games.
This shows how popular and powerful Liao Yuan is.
There was sweat on Lenny's forehead, but the result was determined. He accumulated two points and lost the game in the third game.
Liao Yuan accumulated one point and began to defend the ring.
Minami Junichi looked very ugly.
He was not sure of winning, especially after seeing the 47-second "Flight of the Bumblebee" with his own eyes two days ago, and now seeing an emotion-based pop music like "River-Flows-in-You", Minamino Junichi
Suddenly my heart was pounding with gongs, drums and thunder.
He thought of a popular saying in China: "When you start an army, you will die first if you are unlucky, and it will make the hero burst into tears."
Minami Shunichi shed tears of regret in his heart.
Why didn't I participate in the first and second competitions back then?
Why do you have to compete with God A on the same stage?
Although countless messages surged in his heart, Minamino Junichi remained calm on the surface. He walked to the stage, thinking as he walked.
What to play?
Minami Junichi was a little embarrassed.
He found that God A seemed to have no dead end in his body. Whether it was the emotional expression of the work or the technique, God A almost completely crushed everyone present.
This is almost the level of a grand pianist!
Thinking of the young and handsome face under the mask of God A, Minami Junichi gritted his teeth and finally decided to come up with his unique skill "Sanada Maru March".
This is a piano piece comparable to "Flight of the Bumblebee". It is beyond the professional level of difficulty, has an owner's performance level, and is a palace-level piano piece. It is also a piano piece that my cousin Minamino Shuichi has always admired.
It is precisely because of this piece that he has the confidence to win the championship on the world stage.
The word Sanada in Sanada Maru refers to a general named Yukimura Sanada during the Neon Kingdom and the Warring States Period, and "maru", also called "Kurun", refers to the stone walls in the Japanese castle.
It is surrounded and divided into areas by earthen ramparts.
To put it simply, this song tells the story of General Sanada leading the military and civilians in the built outpost, waiting for the upcoming invasion war.
The whole piece is majestic, fierce and fast, and the most important thing is hand speed. Even last year's competition champion Minamino Shuichi had a very difficult time playing this piece, and it was difficult to guarantee that he could pronounce it correctly, let alone express it.
Musical emotion.
But Minamino Shunichi is different. Because he has practiced this piece of music for many years, he has developed muscle memory. When playing this piece of music, not only can he not miss the note and fully express his emotions, he can even close the music when he feels good.
Eyes flicked silently.
"What song are you going to play?" the host Phil asked with a smile.
Minami Junichi said seriously: ""Sanada Maru March"."
So, in front of everyone's attention, Minami Jun bowed to the audience, and then, he suddenly woke up from his sluggish state, and seemed to be invigorated in an instant.
Soon, he sat upright in front of the piano, his hands flat on the 88 black and white keys.
Under people's gaze, he took a deep breath, and then his hands seemed to turn into a hurricane, playing frantically on the keys.
"Ding ding dong dong dong ding..."
It sounded like a howling wind, but the specific scale could no longer be heard clearly.
Those hands were almost invisible at this moment.
No matter how well-educated he was, at this moment, the audience couldn't help but exclaim in low voices.
Liao Yuan also suddenly sat up and carefully observed all the conditions of Minamino Junichi.
Different from the large-scale playing movements and exaggerated expressions at the public piano the day before yesterday, Minamino Junichi was extremely serious at this time. His eyes were staring straight at the piano keys, without blinking, and his waist was bent as much as possible.
When he got down, his face was almost lying on the piano keys.
And those hands were flying left and right on the keys very quickly.
Liao Yuan looked solemn.
He could see that Minamino Junichi's playing method relied entirely on pure muscle memory. Even because he was too fast, in order to produce more accurate and perfect scales, his two wrists were sometimes too high or too low.
Play the piano with your wrist.
As a result, he seemed to have two more fingers than ordinary people.
This speed also shocked the ten judges instantly. They all looked at each other with a little heat in their faces.
The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead!
Even though they are all grand pianists registered with the World Music Association, they could not play at such a speed even when they were young.
What's even more commendable is that not only is the hand speed fast, but the emotion of the entire song is also performed perfectly.