With less than 24 hours left before the Bells International Music Festival, Qin Jian walked out of the Qinfang canteen unsteadily.
He didn't plan to practice the piano this afternoon. He patted his belly and walked towards the old Harlem's residence.
It should be no problem to visit at this time.
...
Qin Jian's visit made the old couple particularly happy, especially Mrs. Harlin.
As soon as he entered the door, the old woman made him a cup of coffee, and then prepared some fruits as a treat for him.
As the male head of the family, Old Harlin naturally had to ask Qin Jian why he was here. He did not believe that this boy who practiced piano all day long would have time to visit him specifically.
"I want to talk to you about the question I had yesterday afternoon, about the second movement of the B flat minor sonata."
Qin Jian told the truth.
After listening to Qin Jian's words, Old Harlin twitched his snow-white eyebrows and curled his lips with an expression of 'I knew this was going on'.
"Come on little one,"
As he spoke, he picked up the pipe on the table and led Qin Jian into the back room, a study-like place.
As Qin Jian expected, there was indeed a piano here.
"this?"
At this moment, all Qin Jian's eyes were focused on the piano's label. It was his first time seeing a silver-labeled Steinway.
Seeing Qin Jian's expression, Old Harlin said in a proud but not boastful tone, "I was just like you when I first saw it, but then I collected it. It's a 33-year-old guy, and you are
You can give it a try, but be gentle."
Qin Jian clicked his tongue and raised his thumb. This piano was older than his grandfather. It was really an antique.
"sit."
Old Harlin motioned Qin Jian to sit down, "I can give you some other people's experiences regarding Chopin's Sonata No. 2, because I am not good at playing the piano."
Qin Jian nodded and sat down, not disappointed by what the other party said, and then waited with an expression ready to listen.
Old Harlin thought for a while, "Let's talk about Rubinstein first. I heard the B flat minor sonata many times next to Arthur."
Qin Jian's eyes widened instantly!
Artur Rubinstein!
I’ve heard it from him many times!
This amount of information is really too much. You must know that Rubinstein is the person in history who is generally recognized as the person whose performance is closest to Chopin.
As for the various other honors and titles, it goes without saying that the old man's recording is regarded by many as a reproduction of Chopin's works, although Qin Jian has reservations about this.
Old Harlin was not surprised by Qin Jian's reaction, and continued: "Artur once told me such a description of the Second Piano Sonata in a private chat."
"He said - 'Every time I play the Second Piano Sonata, I have a strong sense of mission. I feel that I have a heavy responsibility to convey a certain spirit. I hope the audience can be infected and immersed in it. I hope someone can
After listening to my performance, he can tell me that when he listened to the funeral march, he not only heard death, but also felt rebirth, which means that I have completed a high-quality performance.'
Qin Jian didn't need to think too much, "It's a very unique insight."
But from a piano player's interpretation, Rubinstein's words are too difficult to achieve. He believes that Rubinstein can use a movement with a single structure to play the feeling of rebirth in death, but at least he cannot understand it yet.
How to play this feeling, let alone how to operate it.
"Yes," Old Harlin sighed, his trembling eyes filled with an unspeakable sense of reminiscence, "He seems to play very casually every time, but most people don't understand him."
"He was the most adventurous pianist of his time."
After a pause, "You should have heard his special concert in Moscow in 1962."
Qin Jian shook his head. 1962 was too long ago for him, and he didn't know there was such a concert.
Old Harlin waved his hand, "Go back and listen. You can find audio information everywhere. Go and listen to how Rubinstein played the four movements of Chopin's sonata in that concert. Young people, sonatas must build on each other. Keep in touch, this is a rule set during Bach’s time, don’t try to destroy anything.”
Qin Jian nodded, regardless of what Old Harlin said later. He would definitely find this concert to experience it when he went back today. He would maintain reasonable doubts about the rest.
However, "You and Rubinstein?" Qin Jian wanted to clear up a small private doubt first.
Old Harlin smiled, "According to what young people nowadays say, I should have been his 'personal' tuner at a certain period, but the personal status here is limited to his contract with Steinway. You know, everyone Every Steinway piano artist has a personal tuner."
"You are really awesome."
Pure Chinese, pure praise.
The shock in Qin Jian's eyes was enough to illustrate his mood at the moment.
Suddenly he felt that he was sitting in front of a piece of glorious piano history.
Rubinstein's former personal tuner. With this title alone, Harlin Sr. can be regarded as a living fossil in the world's existing piano tuning industry.
It is not difficult to get another clue from this. Before, he only knew that Old Harlin was from Hamburg, but now it is certain that Old Harlin has worked at Steinway for a long time. It is estimated that the old bartender should also have worked at Steinway.
There is also Liao Linjun. Shen Qingci said that Liao Linjun interned at Steinway in his first year abroad.
After sorting out this piece of information, Qin Jian probably made a guess about the relationship between the three people. The three of them should have some kind of master-disciple relationship in the area of piano tuning.
"Okay, let's talk about Pollini's Sonata No. 2."
With Rubinstein in front of him, Qin Jian was no longer surprised by the appearance of the three words Pollini. However, as his favorite Chopin player, he wanted to hear what the old Harlin thought of Pollini's performance. .
Old Harlin: "The first time I heard him live was in 1960."
Qin Jian sensitively grasped the time this time and interjected: "You mean the 6th Chopin Competition?"
Old Harlin coughed and laughed twice: "Yes, in the 1960 Chopin Competition, Rubinstein, as the honorary chairman of the jury at that time, had to play Brahms' Second Piano Concerto at the opening ceremony. I went with him that time. I went to Warsaw and was responsible for checking his piano before he went on stage, and also watched the Chopin Competition that year."
"That year, Pollini played Sonata No. 2 in the third round. I admire this Italian very much. You must be well aware that he won the gold medal this time, as the first non-Slavic person to win this award. , he knows too much about moderation.”
"He almost completed the Second Sonata with every note under his fingers."
"You won't hear any extra notes in his playing. He can control every note to appear exactly where it is needed most in the music."
Qin Jian agreed with this statement. Indeed, Harlin the Elder said that Pollini's Chopin had superb attainments in this aspect.
Old Haring continued: "Listening to his sonatas, you can almost feel what he is going to do in the rest of the whole song after ten bars of the first movement."
Qin Jian took a hissing breath, and Old Harlin's wise eyes sensitively captured this scene. He smiled in a guiding tone: "Think about it, is it like this?"
Qin Jian had to say yes.
"That's what makes Pollini irreproducible."
Old Harlin raised his finger and pointed at his temple.
"If you want to be an excellent pianist, you not only need to use your brain, but you also need to learn how to use your brain."