From the teasing of desire, to the destruction of reason.
He sought neither beauty nor harmony.
He was creating a hallucination of frenzy.
When the final chord crashed down, in that moment, it was as if the world was shattered.
The reverberation from the piano lid echoed, and the flames of the candles trembled gently in the airflow, as if fearing something.
What followed was a deathly silence.
The kind of dead quiet that descends only after the smoke of battle has cleared.
The audience widened their eyes, seemingly afraid to breathe.
The noblewomen, who had just been immersed in the melody, held a hand suspended in mid-air, seemingly forgetting to applaud.
The resident envoys to England had their mouths half-open, yet could make no sound.
Only a few listeners, themselves musicians, Mozesales, Kramer, Novello, stood up involuntarily.
What broke the silence was not applause, but a sharp intake of breath.
