King of Classical Music

The wind blew into S City from the dark east seaon February 6th, 2016. Due to this sea breeze, the temperature wouldn't evenreach zero degrees, and everyone felt thestreets were cooler than usual——

This was the damp cold of the south.

Even in this weather that chilled everyone tothe bone, there were still several women down from one car after another inbright, thin layers of clothing. On the arms of their male companions, theywalked into the S City Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.

There were a total of 1200 invitations issuedfor the centennial celebration. In addition to world-renowned musical masters,many other guests with outstanding talent in various fields in Huaxia wereinvited. Out of these 1200 invitations, except for a handful who did notrespond, the majority were gathered here tonight waiting to experience thisgrand concert.

Of the guests who came tonight, most could beconsidered at the pinnacle of the classical music world.

From the world's four greatest conductors, thechief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Min Chen, and DresdenSymphony Orchestra's conductor, Master Farrell Louis, were present.

Additionally, Bella Keim, known as Queen of theAmerican Violin, and the Canadian natural treasure composer, Spencer Rice, andBai Ai's concertmaster, Christi Mensa. . . allof these famous international musicians were gathered at this magnificent hall.

The S City Symphony Orchestra's concert hall wasone of the top concert halls in Huaxia. This suspended building featured a1200-seat main auditorium and a 400-seat chamber hall.

The main hall had an open design. But,regardless of whether it was a golden architectural style or acomputer-calculated scientific design, it was exceptional. One could not helpbut appreciate the grandeur of classical Huaxia music.

There were two VIP lounges and ten preparationrooms backstage. Qi Mu and the other young musicians were waiting in the tenprivate rooms. The backstage was busy, butthe S City Symphony Orchestra continued to play.

Qi Mu made the final tuning of his E String inhis prep room when he heard the high-pitched sound of a sad erhu coming fromthe stage. With the orchestra's cooperation, this 《Er Quan Ying Yue》 wascompleted successfully and won the audience's applause.

——Obviously, this was an excellent start.

Once the erhu song ended, there was 《Moonlit Night》 onthe zither and 《Overlord Unloaded》 on the lute. . . When Qi Mu took his violin to the lounge, he sawa young man walk past him toward the stage, hands clenched into fists.

It was Wang Zheng.

The thunderous applause in the hall had yet tostop, and Qi Mu saw sweat on Wang Zheng's forehead. He frowned slightly andreached out to grab Wang Zheng's arm. The latter turned to eye him strangely.

He saw Qi Mu lick his lips in hesitation thensmile, tone mild, "Wang Zheng, yesterday. . . whenI talked to Min Chen, he said he was looking forward to your performance today.He watched your video at Xiaosai, and hethinks your level is good."

Wang Zheng jerked in surprise and didn't knowwhat to say.

He believed that Qi Mu wouldn't tell such a lie.After all, there were media reports about the Sea Music Festival in Hong Kongthat showed they had participated in it. It was proof they did know each other.

Wang Zheng swallowed subconsciously, and his heart jumped a little. "You. . . areyou telling the truth?"

A light flashed in Qi Mu's eyes, and he noddedcalmly, "Yes. Min Chen is sitting at the side of the stage now. He saidyesterday he believed you would be able to perform well today."

Qi Mu paused then said, "Wang Zheng, you earnedthe approval of Xiaosai. It shows you have the strength to perform well. Do notworry, just like the rehearsal over the past few days, remember not to focus onjust your performance. You have an orchestra, you must listen to all theirvoices."

Wang Zheng was older than Qi Mu, but in front ofthis youth, he felt a bit immature. Of course, he did not realize it himself.But after listening to Qi Mu, he nodded seriously.His pale face, originally due to stress, was replaced with a flush ofexcitement.

Qi Mu watched as he turned to the stage.

After shaking hands with the conductor, WangZheng sat on the bench. After a moment, the gentle melody of a piano emerged.The first movement passed, and the second, then the final, and once that lastmovement came to an end, Zhu Wen Jun quietly sighed. Qi Mu smiled and noddedbut did not speak.

Wang Zheng had the ability. Some people justbecame nervous once they made a mistake. Therefore they became increasinglyprone to errors. Error, nervousness, more mistakes, more nervousness. . . there was no way to escape such a viciouscycle.

Wang Zheng exited the stage with an excitedexpression on his face, and Qi Mu smiled. They gave each other a hug, and Qi Mutook a deep breath. Then he stepped onto the stage for his turn.

There were at least 1100 people seated in the1200-occupancy concert hall. The stage was in the center and surrounded on allsides by the audience. With listeners on both the first and second floors andthe numerous watchful eyes that missednothing, many newcomers would panic.

Illuminated by the ceiling's dozens of lights, ahandsome young man walked from the backstage with a smile. He extended his handto Zhu Wen Jun, and they shook hands,then he turned and bowed to the audience.

Under the gazes of more than a thousand people,Qi Mu lifted his violin to his shoulder and readied himself. Just as he wasabout to turn to Zhu Wen Jun, he saw a man sitting in the third row look up athim.

Qi Mu stilled. He smiled and turned to Zhu WenJun.

Then a passionate《Violin Sonata in D major》 filled the air.

In the third row of seats, Daniel stared at theyouth on the stage. Even through a lens, his gaze, which seemed capableof peeling flesh from bone and swallow QiMu directly, could not be disguised.

Especially when at the end of the firstmovement, Qi Mu's violin blended perfectly into the deep resonation of thebassoon. Even Daniel couldn't help but smile. In his heart, he added yetanother level of potential value to this young man.

Such a nice seedling, ah! If they could sign himonto Bai Ai, that would be great!

On stage, Qi Mu had no idea that someone in theaudience was looking at him. . . "like a tiger."

He and Zhu Wen Jun had played dozens of 《D major》 over the past month.Whether with the orchestra, an ensemble, or a solo performance, they could saywith absolute confidence that there would be no problem.

This wasn't just for his confidence, but alsofor Zhu Wen Jun's, and the S City Symphony Orchestra's.

Naturally, the development of things would notlet him down. From the fiery passion ofthe first movement, through the slow pace of the second, over the andante cantabile of the third movement, andinto the fast allegro of the last.

The twenty-minute 《D major》 came to an end. Qi Musighed a little and came back to himself from such fierce music, but before hecould relax, he heard a familiar, magnetic voice——

"Bravo!"

Warm applause filled the concert hall, almostenough to raise the roof.

A few listeners turned to the man who spoke.They were surprised not only by the sudden breaking of Min Chen's silent,introverted nature but also by how hesupported such a newcomer in such a high-profile manner. Most critically——

The track played by this newcomer was his own 《D major》!

Playing a piece of music and getting a "Bravo"from its composer was an honor for any musician.

Therefore, the people who noticed Min Chen nowlooked at the young man on stage more seriously. They wanted to see what kindof person he was, to garner such a high level of praise and appreciation.

However, Qi Mu did care about the audience'sserious gazes. He turned to Zhu Wen Jun, andthe two men nodded. Zhu Wen Jun lifted his baton, and the flute group's melodybegan.

Many Chinese people may have not heardBeethoven's 《Destiny Symphony》 or Mozart's 《Marriageof Figaro》, and perhaps not even Min Chen's song. But——

《Liang Zhu》?Almost every Chinese could hum a few notes.

Not just in Huaxia, this 《Liang Zhu》 often echoed in majorconcert halls across the world. It resonated with Europeans and Americans. Theymay not understand the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's love, but they would know it was called——《Huaxia's Romeo andJuliet》.

People were most familiar with the violin piece.It was well known to the public, and evenpeople on the street could sing along with it. In fact, many music laymendidn't know that 《Liang Zhu》was over twenty minuteslong.

The difficulty wasn't high, but neither was itlow. Especially in the launching of the wedding, the demands on the violin werevery high. Many amateurs couldn't practice this piece without training forseveral months.

After his display of the extremely difficult 《D major》, the audience naturallybelieved he could play this song.

Child, the question was. . .

Could he really portray the complex and profoundemotion behind 《Liang Zhu》?

Translator(s): Bet

Bet:

Aaaaaaaah. I did it! Don’t tell me how bad it is. (//^\\) Shower me in love and affection. I’m working on the next four chapters so we can stabilize our update schedule, but aaaah. I feel like I didn’t do this justice.