Chapter 84
The power of Beethoven's final piano concerto, the 'Emperor', was very clear. It was the extreme "clarity" and "brightness" that was far from complexity and ambiguity. Sometimes, some wondered: 'Is the 'Emperor' really such an exceptional piece?'. It lacks the passion of the third concerto, and although it is said to be a magnificent piano piece, looking at the piano part, there are no particularly difficult techniques.
As Soo-hyun began to play, the red-faced old Beethoven came to mind.
"When I gifted this piece to Archduke Rudolph, my hearing had already deteriorated. I don't know what it would sound like if it were performed, or if it was ever performed in front of an audience. I only saw people talking in writing. My deafness had forced me into a concise language, and the 'Emperor' was the crystallization of his weakened hearing and the evasive measures he had developed. But I believe this song is the one that best shows my compositional technique of conveying a strong musical message through effective harmonic development using simple tonic and dominant chords in E-flat major and C minor."
Beethoven's voice echoed in Soo-hyun's head.
'Can you hear me, sir? Your music resonates with the audience. Even without complex orchestral techniques or obscure virtuosity, this piece is beautiful enough. The old man's method was correct. Even though I can't hear, his music is the best.'
The 'Emperor' Symphony by Beethoven in Soo-hyun's hands as he hardened his heart to send his message to Beethoven.
1st movement – Allegro is played.
A fanfare of the third note to signal the beginning. Almost simultaneously, Soo-hyun's hands played beautiful arpeggios, and various techniques such as free broken chords, trills, scales, and octaves unfolded splendidly along three chords.
Professor Lech, who was watching the orchestra begin, was curious about Kirill's words all along. Lech muttered as he watched the stage, where the harmony was perfect.
'The first movement is made up of the melody of the violin and the clarinet, and the solid profile is made by the percussion and the trumpet. How will the piano enter here?'
Soo-hyun played the piano with power, even though he had no difficult techniques. Then, the volume of the piano began to rise higher and higher. Kirill's baton was pointing strongly at the violinists. Twenty violinists played their violins with all their might, and the overall volume of the orchestra doubled. The audience, including the judges, looked surprised. The orchestra was heading towards a sea of emotions that made their hearts pound.
The piano, which appeared in a faint ascending chromatic figure, instead of continuing quietly, created a huge wave that seemed to swallow the entire orchestra. In the parts where the piano and orchestra should create contrast, the piano tried to dominate the entire piece.
Professor Lech gripped the armrest of his seat tightly.
'No! If you do that, the symphony will lose its balance! That's not the right way to do it, Soo-hyun! You're making the wrong choice! This piece shouldn't be played like that!'
Professor Lech's eyes seemed to see a huge wave rising from Kirill's baton, and a great tsunami occurred on Soo-hyun's piano. And the high waves of the orchestra that counteracted it crashed in the middle, and together they crashed into one with perfect volume, bouncing towards the audience. An illusion of a unified wave crashing into them.
Professor Lech clenched his fist.
"Ah… ah…!"
The music moved from the introduction to the development section. As the piano solo concluded the exposition with a chromatic scale, the orchestra played the first theme forcefully, and this time the orchestra attacked first. It was as if a giant bear were raising its sharp claws and tearing everything apart. The moment a melancholy melody was played by the woodwinds, a fierce piano strike! It seemed as if a tiger suddenly appeared in front of a rushing bear and struck its head with its sharp claws.
Not only Professor Lech, but also the professors sitting on the judging panel, instead of talking to each other, kept their eyes wide open and stared at the stage as if they were determined not to miss a single moment. Chairman Park Ki-jun, who was sitting on one side of the audience, also looked at the stage with a surprised expression.
"This, this song is not this kind of song…"
Professor Lee Chan-ho said with a bitter smile.
"I said the same thing. Then Soo-hyun said this."
"What did he say?" Chairman Park Ki-jun quickly turned his head and asked.
Professor Lee Chan-ho spoke weakly as he looked at the stage.
"This piece was never composed by the original composer, Beethoven. It was just the musicians who interpreted his music that way. If he had repeatedly heard the orchestra perform his music that way, he would have been furious. That's what he said."
Chairman Park Ki-jun looked at the stage with a bewildered expression.
'What on earth is this? Does it mean that Soo-hyun studied directly with Beethoven?'
The struggle between the two beasts on the stage continued fiercely. The orchestra performed the first theme and the piano the second. When the orchestral part stopped being played with a fanfare, Soo-hyun's inserted phrase, consisting of arpeggios and ascending scales, replaced the cadenza in the space that was originally supposed to be blank. It seemed as if two fiercely fighting beasts were staring at each other for a moment to catch their breath. But that only lasted for a moment, as Soo-hyun's piano played the major third and its dominant chord as broken chords with the heavy touch of his left hand in unison, unleashing a fierce and passionate attack. Not to be outdone, the strings led by Kirill created the climax of the piece by harmoniously changing the first theme.
After the first movement, which was like an erupting volcano, silence fell. Professor Hermann said with an excited face after seeing the end of the movement.
"Did you see that, Professor?"
"…"
After hearing the music, the question was not whether he heard it, but whether he saw it. Professor Hermann also had the same vision as Lech.
'I saw a battlefield where two emperors were biting and fighting each other, they weren't beasts! Is this what Kirill was talking about? This is not just a competition, but a stage where Beethoven's own music is reinterpreted! This will be remembered in the history of music!'
Professor Lech put his hand to his forehead, which was covered in a cold sweat. He knew it too. This would be a major issue. Soo-hyun was moving further and further away from him. Perhaps he had already surpassed him. Professor Hermann, who didn't know Professor Lech's speed, clenched his fist.
'The most Beethovenian performance! Soo-hyun has already reached the level of interpreting the 'Emperor' Symphony, which has been performed hundreds of times by great musicians, in his own way. Kirill recognized it! Maybe, maybe… I wonder if Beethoven's 'Emperor' was originally like this. I think we, no, the entire music world, may have been interpreting this piece incorrectly.'
Meanwhile, at the same time, among the journalists who were watching the scene on a large TV in the press waiting room, the French journalists were the first to move. French reporters making a hasty phone call. Korean reporters murmuring, surprised by the fierce fight on the stage.
"This song… was it the original?" "I felt like I was watching a battlefield." "What's wrong with those French reporters? Does anyone speak French?"
One of the journalists, who was fluent in French, said he heard the French reporters shouting on the phone.
"The French reporters are making a fuss, saying they should write a special article about Nam Soo-hyun. The problem right now is not Kim Junwoo. Do you know what they're saying?"
"What are you saying?"
"Revolution."
"Hmm?"
"It's a revolution! A revolution has occurred in the music world! The true performance hidden in Beethoven's 'Emperor' Symphony, which has lasted for centuries! It is said to have been recreated by Nam Soo-hyun! What they're saying is that the interpretation of the 'Emperor' Symphony might have been wrong. They're saying that the musicians who performed Beethoven's music instead of Beethoven, who composed the music but passed away without ever having heard it, might have been mistaken until now!"
The Korean press was stunned. Did it make sense? Beethoven died on March 26, 1827. It was understandable that his music, which passed through the hands of countless musicians for nearly 200 years, had been misinterpreted. But was it possible that a fourteen-year-old pianist could correctly interpret the music that all of them were performing incorrectly?
A boy starting the second movement, Adagio un poco mosso - attacca, on the VTR. The boy with the handsome appearance began the next war, his hair waving under the stage lights, turning silver. The reporter, who was looking at the boy's face with a blank expression, muttered.
"If this is true… everything Nam Soo-hyun has said so far is not news… Ugh, this is not the time! Contact Korea soon!"
The hands of the Korean reporters moved quickly, guided by the first reporter who came to his senses. The second movement did not feature the same fierce battle as the first. As if to relieve the tension, an elegant melody flowed between the strings, and the piano solo dominated it with a soft note and began to sing calmly. It was almost like saying, 'Should we stop fighting for a moment and make peace?' But Kirill, who was conducting the orchestra, did not let his guard down for a moment. And soon, the piano solo exploded into a new variation, playing a somewhat higher melody. The piano changed the melody by linking the chords of the previous phrase to a trill without a clear distinction, in a free variation, as if inducing a letdown and then biting the vital point.
Kirill passed the baton, which had been pointing strongly at the string section, to the wind section. A melancholy melody began to flow through the obbligato of the wind instruments. The piano's emotions reached their peak as it unleashed powerful attacks, while the wind instruments produced the sad voice of a beast whose neck had been bitten. But soon Kirill moved the string section and twenty violins counterattacked. A tense fight that you couldn't take your eyes off for a moment.
The audience could see Kirill's back, soaked in sweat. Since Kirill conducted in a simple shirt instead of a tuxedo, even during formal performances, the sweat was even more noticeable. That could also be seen in Chairman Park Ki-jun's eyes.
"Is the captain of the great ship called the Berlin Philharmonic… soaked in sweat like that?"
It wasn't just Kirill. Every time the violinists strummed their bows with a violent movement on their violins, which they held firmly by their chins, beads of sweat would splash from them, reflecting in the stage lights. And Soo-hyun, the culprit of all this, was also soaked in sweat with his eyes closed. And soon, without a break, the final movement of the fight began, the third movement: Rondo. Allegro.