God of Piano

In retrospect, in composition class he always got simple A’s without much effort. Although I didn’t think deeply about him because I thought it wasn’t his way.

After deciding to compose, the first thing Rowoon looked for was, of course, Chris. Because he was the most knowledgeable person in composition around him.

— You suddenly want to compose?

– huh. What should I start with?

— Um… Panic?

Chris added with a smirk.

— and discouragement.

He was right. It was a completely different story to compose a formal song to win points and to compose a song that everyone would appreciate. Every time Rowoon faced the music paper, his mind went blank, and his hand holding the pen hardly moved.

Of course, if you press the keys hard and hard, you’ll get results no matter what, but there’s no way you can satisfy Beethoven with something like that.

Rowoon pondered over and over again. However, at the end of that thought, there was only one answer that Rowoon could get. It was that there was no answer. How can a person who has never been interested in composing in his entire life produce a song that satisfies Beethoven? I had to let go of my greed.

Of course, that didn’t mean giving up. Rowoon made up his mind to continue to study composition diligently. It used to be that I couldn’t handle a single performance, so I didn’t have time to devote to composing, but that’s not the case anymore.

After all, music is a path to walk throughout a lifetime. If so, wouldn’t it be right for him to lay the groundwork for making his own music, just as the great musicians of old did?

It was a strange thing. As I laid down everything and ate at ease, melodies that hadn’t come to my mind began to come to mind one by one. As time passed, the empty staff paper began to hold more notes one by one, and I thought that if I continued like this, I might be able to compose my own song even briefly before entering school.

It was around that time. Rowoon was contacted.

Aiden Hahn.

His professor wanted to see him.

#

As a piano professor, Aiden Hahn was expected, but not in the spotlight. That’s also true, it’s only been a few years since he became a professor, and until then, he lived as a pianist.

Of course, not as an ordinary pianist, but as an extraordinary pianist.

Thanks to that, his name was still less hot than other professors’ names. It was only natural that it was the name of a star pianist who hit the stage all over the world, including Europe, until a few years ago.

‘······His nickname is Korean Beethoven.’

Rowoon had also heard of Beethoven himself. Especially when I heard him play his Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Vienna Philharmonic…

‘Why did you retire?’

There must be many stages that are still calling him to resign from the front line and become a professor.

With curiosity, anticipation, and excitement, Rowoon went to meet Han. As he knocked on the office door and entered, a middle-aged Asian man was looking at him through round glasses.

“hello. professor.”

“okay. You came early.”

Aiden Han, no, Han Seok-hoon was a difficult man to deal with in many ways. He tended to have few expressions, and through his expressionless face, people would find out the mind and emotions that had never been in him, or pass by without even noticing the thoughts he was trying to hide.

However, Rowoon did not feel any pressure while facing such resentment. Right now, Rowoon was always living with people he couldn’t even see, weighing their thoughts and feelings. Just being able to sit face to face and talk like this made this place with Hangwa much more comfortable.

“I just heard the story. I heard that the professor is guiding me from now on… is that correct?”

“That’s how it is. I know you are of Korean descent, are you comfortable speaking Korean? Or English?”

“Um… sometimes I’m comfortable with English, sometimes I’m comfortable with Korean. I moved over with my mother when I was in elementary school.”

“Well, then mix it up.”

Rowoon said it was her mother, not her parents. Even with that short word, he could guess the drama that was hidden in Rowoon’s past to some extent, but Han didn’t care. Originally, if you want to find a drama, you can find it even at a street pizza restaurant. Han has already lived long enough and is old enough to react to each such drama.

“I called today because I wanted to get to know you to some extent before the semester started. Looking at it, I didn’t have a lot of awards in competitions or things like that. Why? I don’t think it’s because of my lack of skills. Do you have tournament anxiety?”

“No, it’s not like that… It’s just that my skills have improved a lot lately. Should I say that I have crossed the wall a bit… I feel that way.”

Rowoon had no choice but to explain it that way. Fortunately, Han did not take issue with Rowoon’s poor explanation. What he wanted to know in the first place was to know whether Rowoon was strong or not strong at competitions.

“I don’t know if you know, but compared to other professors, I tend to teach competition-oriented lessons. Do you know what that means?”

“Let’s aim to enter the competition, isn’t that what you mean?”

“Of course, all students somehow end up going to competitions. However, there are different types of competitions. There are competitions that are formally aimed at entering graduate schools or pros…”

Han stretched out his index finger. Long fingers, like a pianist’s hand, were pointing straight at Rowoon.

“There are competitions that you go out to make yourself known to the world.”

Which of the two will you choose? should you choose Every pianist is bound to stand before that question at one time or another, and had to come up with an answer. And Rowoon had already given an answer a long time ago.

“・・・・・Do you have any competitions in mind?”

“There are many contests. However, I haven’t yet decided what level of competition is right for you.”

“How can I get the professor to make a judgment call?”

“Let’s ask one before that.”

Han looked at Rowoon. His eyes seemed to have sunk calmly, without any desire, but at the same time they gave that impression. Perhaps there is a burning ambition in it that is too great to bear the eye. A flame that cannot even be compared to the openly revealed passion may lie dormant, that kind of impression.

“What is your dream?”

It was a sudden question. Several answers instantly popped into Rowoon’s head. Recognized by Beethoven. Through the Walkman, they extract their essence from all the saints of music. I will become a world-class musician. I want to win the Chopin Competition. I want to leave my name in history…

However, the fact that there were many answers also became a story that the answer could not be decided. Therefore, Rowoon’s silence had to be prolonged, and Han did not wait for Rowoon.

“Some say that their dream is to be a university professor. And those with bigger dreams say they want to become a professor at a better university. But isn’t that the dream of a pianist, not the dream of a member of society?”

It wasn’t something he said as a professor. However, Han continued to speak calmly.

“If you want to be a professor, I will do my best to help you become a professor. I’ll make you an irresistible professor at any university in the world. But the reason I can say this to you now is because I saw you play.”

“My playing?”

“Your seat is a stage. That you are a person who plays the piano for the sake of playing the piano. Am I wrong?”

In the first place, even at the audition where it was decided whether or not to join the university, Rowoon did not play to pass, but to express the song I understood. Han paid more attention to Rowoon’s attitude than the performance itself. And decided.

I want to raise Rowoon.

“…”

Rowoon did not answer right away. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to answer. I was grateful and happy that I gave him such a high score for that one stage. And that’s why I didn’t want to answer this question so easily. I checked the answers that had already reached my throat over and over again, reviewed them, and only then slowly chewed them up and spit them out.

“No, that’s right.”

“good. Then choose one of these and prepare it before school starts.”

Han wasn’t even surprised, as if he knew Rowoon would say that. Instead, I handed him some papers. Rowoon accepted the document. All of them were instructions for a piano competition held in the area.

Han asked.

“You probably wanted to take a little break before school starts, right?”

“No way.”

Rowoon answered without hesitation this time. Rowoon smiled brightly.

“I like homework.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but put on a strange expression for a moment. I didn’t expect a lukewarm response, but I didn’t really expect such an excited response. Han answered in a slightly but trembling voice.

“······good. Then you can go now. Look forward to seeing how ready you will be.”

“yes. have a good day. professor.”

“Yes, you too.”

Rowoon left the office while holding a stack of papers. There was a lot of homework. While not being negligent in studying composition, now I am preparing for the competition even before entering school.

But why? It’s not burdensome. No, rather my heart beats. The boy who couldn’t do anything is becoming a pianist who can do anything. No, maybe a little bit.

‘It’s a competition…’

Rowoon looked down at the papers in his hand. And soon smiled.

If there is someone who puts your expectations on you, then you just have to respond to them.

It’s a competition, composing, and I have to chew on them all.

Don’t be shy, keep it tight.

＜ Private Tutoring (3) ＞ End

＜ Strange freshman (1) ＞

What do you think of the contest?

When this question is asked, the answers musicians will give will vary greatly. “It’s an opportunity. A person who can show off the sound he has honed and polished so far.” If there is someone who will give back an answer like this, “It is a bad habit that has reduced music to an object of evaluation rather than a means of expression. Concours should disappear.” There will also be an opinion called.

Rowoon had no objection to the competition. Some people deny the value of the competition itself, arguing how art is scored, but even so, it was because they thought that it was not necessarily so impure for musicians to compete by comparing their sounds.

Look at Bach or Beethoven right now. When they were young, they also had numerous improvisational competitions. Even the father of music and evil were like that, but he pretended to be lofty and said, ‘Music is not a means of competition.’ could you say the same thing?

‘If I have to fight, I have to win.’

The competition was a battlefield for musicians. development potential. Talent. effort. skill. Their value, which was expressed in all sorts of ambiguous words, instantly becomes a number at the judges’ fingertips, and that number divides their ranks.

Rowoon hadn’t been close to the contest in the meantime. Most of the contests that he could win were not recognized properly, and it would be difficult for him to even be a bridesmaid at a contest that was supposed to have some authority.

That situation has now changed. If it was a competition that gathered monsters from all over the world, such as the Chopin Competition or the Tchaikovsky Competition, Rowoon still felt lacking, but the list of competitions Han handed to him this time was not.

‘LA Piano Competition.’

That was what caught Rowoon’s eye. Despite being the most prestigious competition in California, the preliminaries requirements appealed to Rowoon.

Allegro part from a sonata by Beethoven, Haydn or Mozart.

And a virtuoso (focused on technique) etude (practice).

If these two songs do not fill the 25-minute playing time, you can add one song at your own discretion.

First, there was nothing to worry about. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 2 somehow became the song that he can boast of the most excellent skills. In addition, after the performance score exceeded 70 points, it became a situation where I could directly ask any question to Beethoven.

The second moment made Rowoon stop. Virtuoso. It can be seen as a term used to describe the technique-oriented playing style that was popular among pianists in the era of romanticism.

As a musician representing such virtuoso, there was Franz Liszt, famous for his ‘transcendent technique’. Liszt was an indispensable name when discussing the virtuosity of the piano.

He was also a musician who had never been close to Rowoon.

‘······That’s why I think I should give it a try.’

Rowoon’s weak point has been pointed out since before was his hand movements. Even if he was able to do emotional things as well as others, his hand movements were always somewhat slow and unnatural compared to the amount of practice.

The virtuoso style of playing, that is, the style of playing that boasts of technical skills, was the most distant from Rowoon. So Rowoon felt even more greedy. It is important to make use of the strengths, but it is also necessary to fix the weaknesses.