In the corner of the contestants' bench, Duan Ran breathed into Qin Jian's ear in a very low voice.
Qin Jian smiled faintly, patted the back of Duan Ran's hand, and signaled the other party to continue listening.
...
Xiao Yi and Xiao Er, at first glance it seems that Xiao Er’s creation should be behind Xiao One.
But in fact this is not the case. Xiao Er was the first piano concerto composed by Chopin in 1829.
Xiao Yi's creation was in 1830.
However, the official release time of Xiao Er was in 1836, which was a full 3 years later than the release time of Xiao I.
So most people think that Xiao Er was created later by Chopin.
Chopin composed two piano concertos in his lifetime, and these two works should be his two most magnificent works.
In Liszt's words - 'Chopin did not have the ambition to create grand orchestral music, he was only satisfied with writing on the ivory tower keys.'
This is a great loss in the history of music, but also a great blessing in the history of piano.
Chopin, who lived in the Romantic period, was actually the guardian of classicism. He used piano creation to uphold this pure soil.
This must talk about the God in his heart - Bach.
Bach is Chopin's god.
Although Chopin's musical works have unique personal characteristics, which are consistent with romantic ideas, the classical music education he received has never deteriorated.
During his systematic study of classical music, he became obsessed with Bach.
Even ten years after studying Bach, he could still play Bach's well-tempered piano music in its entirety just from memory.
This deep-rooted worship also directly affected Chopin's creation.
Chopin wrote 24 preludes [op28] based on Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. This set of preludes has witnessed Chopin's immortality.
There is no doubt that the concerto is a mountain for every composer.
Being able to write a piano concerto means that a composer has stood on the top of the mountain.
At the age of 19, Chopin started composing his first concerto with the spirit of Bach——
The first time in life may be like this, with a certain emotion and a certain mark on it.
This is the birth of Xiao Er.
In Chopin’s Concerto No. 2, people can easily find the shadow of Bach.
From the orchestral instrumentation to the textural shape and harmonic flow of the lead piano melody.
The direction of the bass line and the unique counterpoint of the whole song indicate that this work can actually be played in two ways.
One is Chopin-style romanticism.
The other is a classical Bach-style performance.
Fred's performance on the stage at this moment is extremely natural, he is profound but not sentimental, and he is serious as if he is playing the most orthodox Xiao Er.
He was so devout that he seemed to be playing faith.
After listening to his three movements, people seem to recall that this German young man has been playing in this style since the preliminary competition.
Never changed.
Some emotions from the audience appeared in the warm applause. They thanked Fred for his performance in this Chopin Competition.
...
"very nice."
Qin Jian wiped the corners of his eyes. It looked like he couldn't get rid of this problem.
Of course Duan Ran would not laugh at him.
Xiao Pang Duan also gave Fred a round of applause. She was also the performer of Xiao Er, and she knew that this piece was no simpler than No. 1.
Fred bowed.
As soon as he returned backstage, all reporters' cameras were focused on him.
Reporters from the German media rushed to him excitedly and asked some questions.
Fred didn't have too much restraint this time. He wiped his sweat and answered the reporter's questions with a smile on his face.
At the end of the whole game, he felt so much more relaxed.
When a reporter asked him what his expectations were for his performance, he was shy again:
"The last one is acceptable."
The people around him who understood the situation burst into laughter, and Fred made a better impression on them.
In another corner of the noisy backstage, Marek was already chatting with the second contestant.
Xia Shu's English is only better than that of Qin Jian and Zhao Yu, but luckily he is accompanied by a translator.
Today, Master Fang did not appear in the background. Accompanying Xia Shu was a beautiful woman with a peaceful face.
Others can recognize this as Natsuki's mother at a glance.
Accompanied by her mother, two teachers and important people watching from the audience, Aso Natsuki told herself that she must try her best today to leave her performance on the final stage of this Chopin Competition.
She always knew her purpose for coming here, to stand on the highest podium.
The words of Nobuyuki Toshii were always ringing in her ears——
'But so far, we have never stood on the highest podium.'
'But I have never been discouraged'
'I think one day we will have a trophy of glory that belongs to us.'
'It may take a long time, but I believe this day will come.'
'Because there are still you.'
Representing Japan's third generation of classical pianists, she knows what she should work hard for.
With lofty faith, she has reached the last step before the championship trophy.
Now, what awaits her is the final battle.
...
As the bell rang again, Marik stretched out his hand to Natsuki.
After shaking hands, Marek stepped onto the stage
There were cheers for contestant No. 1 in the background.
Ten seconds later, Natsuki took a deep breath and hugged her mother.
Her mother's encouraging eyes made her feel that she had found her best form.
"I'm about to go on stage, Mom."
"Go on, kid, your dad asked me to tell you that you have always been his pride."
Xia Shu's pupils trembled and she nodded vigorously.
Turn around.
Admission.
“Wow——————————————”
...
Today's second contestant was called out with enthusiastic applause.
Dressed in a bright red dress, Natsuki Aso looks a little more heroic today.
bow.
Take a seat.
moment.
The whole place was quiet.
When Marik noticed Xia Shu's gaze, he raised his hand and waved it down.
The prelude to Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 is played.
With the courage to move forward, Aso Natsuki pressed the first note of the piano with a decisive gesture.
"Dang!——"
Bright, thick chords foreshadow her determination.
Xiao Yi, who belongs to Natsuki Aso, starts.
...
Like Fred, Natsuki showed his experience playing with many symphony orchestras in his concerto performances.
She is quite in control of the situation.
Three bars before the second theme of the first movement, she made a wrong note.
This wrong note was not obvious under the cover of the orchestra, and it did not have any impact on her subsequent performance.
After entering the second theme, she began to surprise the audience.
She handled this paragraph purely and openly, giving people a particularly confident feeling.
This is a rather rare emotional expression, and Europeans prefer to make some shy expressions here.
Her directness means that the lyrical phrases do not need to be implicitly transitioned, and the extension of the phrases allows the audience to feel the words she wants to express more directly.
She created an image of Chopin who spoke directly.
This is very interesting and worth thinking about.