The world's number one pianist

The two quickly arrived at the Imperial Hotel. Barenboim walked to the front desk. Before he could speak, a staff member quickly walked forward, bowed slightly to them, and took the two to the hotel restaurant. Google search reading

This is how a top pianist in the world is treated. The service staff already knows him before he speaks.

After the two arrived at the restaurant, Barenboim picked up the menu and took a look at it, then handed the menu to the staff next to him and said casually.

"Mine is the same as before. Give this gentleman a Wiener Schnitzel."

"OK!"

The staff nodded without any surprise, took away the menu, poured two aperitifs for He Shen and Barenboim, and left first.

Barenboim looked at the backs of the staff as they left, couldn't help but smile softly, raised the aperitif in his hand, took a sip, and spoke to He Shen.

"He, I listened to your performance, but I didn't listen to your overall interpretation. I heard from my friend, a music critic in CBB classical music magazine, that one of your works is In fact, the one-handed work is not particularly amazing, but your overall work is very amazing, isn’t it?”

He Shen nodded, facing Barenboim without any feeling that he was inferior to him. He just nodded slightly, took a sip of the aperitif, and said slowly: "Yes."

“What I want to show in my Beethoven sonatas is an overall form. I observe Beethoven’s music from Beethoven’s perspective, take Beethoven’s growth line as my own direction, and focus on timbre. Processing, compartmentalization of overall emotions.”

Barenboim nodded thoughtfully, reached out to pick up the cigar cutter placed aside, and cut the cigar in his hand.

Lit it, take a deep breath, and spit out a cloud of smoke.

"Growth of music as a whole? Interesting idea!"

"Your idea is very interesting. After listening to your music, especially your Beethoven Pastoral Sonata and Beethoven's Dawn Sonata, I can clearly feel the relationship between these two works."

"You used a small comparison between the two, paying special attention to the common parts of the two, and showing a sense of evolution in the different parts of the two."

"This feels very strange!"

"Because in your works, there are enough musical hints in certain places. I like this kind of musical hint very much."

"but……"

However, the words that follow are generally not particularly good.

Barenboim looked at He Shen, his eyes locked tightly on him, and took another deep breath of the cigar in his mouth, spitting out the disgust in his mouth.

The smoke condensed in the air, and then slowly drifted away, not to He Shen.

Apparently, Barenboim deliberately avoided He Shen in case He Shen didn't like the smell of cigarettes.

He looked at He Shen and continued to speak.

"But I think your playing is still a little rough!"

"Obviously you can sit better, you should be able to reach a higher level, be perfect, without any flaws, but you don't..."

"I don't know if you don't like that perfect feeling, or if you think it's unnecessary. When I listen to your music, I always feel that something is missing..."

"Of course, I know that the most important thing about your music is the interpretation of the whole. You attach great importance to the expression of the music as a whole, but in your music, the details are still missing a little bit."

"It's just that little difference that makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"As soon as I felt uncomfortable, I came to you and wanted to tell you about this!"

"I feel like there is no harmony in your music!"

After saying that, Barenboim put down the cigar in his hand, held it between his two fingers, leaned back on the chair, looked at He Shen, and waited for He Shen's response.

He has already told He Shen that there is no concept of harmony in He Shen's music. Now it depends on how He Shen feels about music.

Because this concept without harmony may be a deliberate ambiguity, deliberately making the concept of harmony vague and closer to the direction of the overall story.

It is easier for the audience to feel that this is Beethoven telling his own story rather than a musical work.

He Shen did not answer immediately, but looked at Barenboim, touched his chin, and thought slowly.

Why did Barenboim say there was no concept of harmony in his music?

When I play music, the most important thing I pay attention to is harmony!

Music begins with harmony and ends with harmony.

Whether it is music within early harmony or music outside late harmony.

In all these musics, there is a concept of harmony.

Why did Barenboim say that there was no harmony in his music?

This statement is strange.

This is not a statement that would be made under normal circumstances.

He Shen hesitated for a moment, looked at Barenboim, and said slowly: "Baren..."

"Daniel, just call me Daniel!" Barenboim stretched out his hand to reject He Shen's address and motioned for him to call his name.

Naturally, He Shen did not refuse. After reorganizing his words, he spoke again.

"Daniel, I didn't hear you clearly. Why do you think there is no concept of harmony in my music?"

"So what do you think is the concept of harmony? Or what is harmony?"

When Barenboim heard this, there was no strange expression on his face.

He was trying to guide He Shen.

He liked most of He Shen's interpretations of music, so as a veteran pianist who had played Beethoven for decades, he was not stingy in teaching He Shen about music.

He Shen looked at Barenboim, thought about it, and spoke hesitantly.

"I think it should be similar to the progression of chords. The feeling I need to play the harmony should be the feeling that must be brought when playing the harmony."

"For example, from the beginning, to the half-cadence, from the half-cadence back to the original position, and then from the original position to the full cadence, this is my idea of ​​harmony."

"The feeling of harmony runs through the whole music. There is a little bit of the feeling of harmony in every place!"

"This feeling is very important. I also attach great importance to this feeling of harmony in music. I don't quite understand what you mean..."

Barenboim looked at He Shen without saying anything. He just looked at He Shen with a hint of surprise and hesitation in his eyes.

Then, it was thinking.

He was immersed in thinking and couldn't extricate himself.

The two of them fell silent for a while.

Just when He Shen was struggling whether to directly explain the harmony in his music to Barenboim, a staff member came over.

He handed a fried pork chop to He Shen, and handed Barenboim an appetizer, salad, and steak.

"Mr. Barenboim, your steak is ready, and this gentleman, your Viennese pork cutlet is ready, please enjoy."

"Come, try your Viennese pork cutlet, it tastes good, I will recommend this dish to everyone who comes to Vienna for the first time!" Barenboim suddenly smiled, temporarily gave up thinking, and pointed at the pork cutlet on He Shen's plate.

After that, he cut a piece of steak on his plate and chewed it without waiting for He Shen to move his knife and fork.

He Shen looked at the pork cutlet in front of him after watching Barenboim start eating.

Viennese pork cutlet is very similar to the fried chicken cutlet in China. This pork cutlet is made by beating the pork hard into a thin layer of meat paper.

The overall taste is strong and not very soft.

After beating, it is the traditional Chinese method.

Apply egg liquid, wrap with bread crumbs, and fry in a pan.

The children next door are crying with greed!

And this is the main method of Viennese pork cutlet.

After trying a few times, He Shen nodded.

The overall texture of the fried pork chop was very smooth, the crust was crispy, and it didn't look bad.

There was very little oil, a bit like tempura, not too oily.

Especially when paired with a glass of aperitif, the taste was simply amazing.

The two of them ate quietly, and when they were almost finished, Barenboim spoke again.

He looked up at He Shen and spoke in a very serious tone.

"He Shen, I thought about it for a long time, and I realized that the harmony you understand is not the same as the harmony I think of!"

"The harmony I think of is the harmony of an orchestra! It is the harmony in the entire concert hall, and the harmony you think of is mostly the harmony brought by the music itself."

"The two are not the same thing."

"What I want to show is the existence of the piano as an orchestra, not a single instrument!"

"My previous statement was not particularly accurate. I think what you lack is the sense of orchestra!"

"The kind of orchestra that uses the piano as an orchestra and shows it in front of everyone!"

"You don't have this feeling!"

"Of course, if you are willing to learn, then I will teach you!"

After that, Barenboim quickly swept away the dishes on the plate and stood up to record the accounts.

After completing the accounting, he returned to his seat, looked at He Shen, and spoke in an extremely serious tone.

"Do you want to learn? It's just right to digest after dinner tonight!"

"Okay!"

He Shen put down his knife and fork without any hesitation, stood up directly, and followed Barenboim downstairs.

The two followed the special car and returned to the Vienna Golden Hall again. The concert hall had not been closed yet, and there were still some staff inside doing the final cleaning.

After Barenboim greeted the staff, he took He Shen to the backstage of the concert hall.

In the lounge, there was a small grand piano for the next performers to warm up.

The piano used on the stage had been pushed back, and the door of the concert hall was locked.

Even if Barenboim was a top musician, it was not easy to force the door open.

But anyway, the grand piano was enough for He Shen!

Even if it was just a practice piano with standard pitch and ordinary sound.

Barenboim sat on the piano without any hesitation.

Without any model or preparation, he slowly pressed the keyboard in his hand.

Ding...

Ding...

Ding...

This is still Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata, a pastoral sonata that He Shen has played countless times.

Gu Yi

Barenboim played it again.

The overall feeling is completely different from He Shen, but it is hard to say where it is different.

It is just a feeling that the two people play in completely different styles.

Barenboim did not finish playing all the music directly, but stopped when he played 30 or 40 bars, looked at He Shen, and asked him with extremely serious eyes.

"Do you understand? The difference between you and me?"

"..."

He Shen was silent and did not answer.

He felt different, but he was still a little confused about where the difference was.

Suddenly, he suddenly remembered what Barenboim had said before, the sense of the band.

This sense of the band made He Shen instantly grasp something, grasping a very important feature of Beethoven's sonata.

This feature, a feature that he had never shown before.

He Shen couldn't help but close his eyes and think about Barenboim's music.

Barenboim looked at He Shen with his eyes closed, and didn't feel strange, just said it casually.

"Where does music come from, where does it go, how should the music sound be expressed, the logic within the music, and the relationship between music and philosophy."

"Music itself is not a simple sound, the logic and philosophy that music itself wants to show are very strong."

"Why does this music start from this place, and why does it return to that place."

"How should the expressiveness of music in the orchestra be."

"You should think about all these, and you should consider why I play like this?"

"I used to be a conductor before, no, I am also a conductor now. The more I am a conductor, the more I feel the similarity between the piano and the orchestra!"

"Sonata and symphony also have a very strong connection!"

"Therefore, I hope you can think about this."

"Being able to think independently is very important!"

After Barenboim finished speaking, he stopped talking.

He Shen just continued to think.

After about a few minutes, He Shen slowly raised his head, looked at Barenboim, and spoke very seriously.

"Can I try?"

"Of course! No problem!" Barenboim made way.

He Shen sat on the piano and put his hands on the piano as Barenboim said before.

First of all, what should this bass start with, this D, be if it is placed in the orchestra?

Heavy, smooth, and rhythm guaranteed.

There are two possibilities, one is the timpani, presented in the form of a timpani.

Another possibility is the double bass.

Or...

The two are combined into one?

He Shen thought about it and pressed his hand slowly.

Dong...

Dong...

Dong...

The sound flowed out of the piano, and a feeling completely different from He Shen's previous timbre came out instantly.

It was obviously the same sound, but when He Shen consciously imitated the orchestra, the feeling of music was no longer a single piano.

But a band!

The bass drum and the double bass were pulled slowly.

Then, the timbre of the first violin and the second violin were inserted into it.

The main melody appeared!

After two repetitions.

He Shen raised his hand and did not continue playing.

He was thinking about how to interpret it after thinking.

Is it possible...

He Shen's eyes changed slightly. He thought for a moment, raised his hand again, and placed it on the piano.

Buzz...

This timbre is no longer the timbre of a violin, nor the timbre of any string instrument.

In this place, the timbre that He Shen gave to the high part of the piano is the timbre of a flute!

The flute was melodious, and then the timbre of the clarinet, oboe, and bassoon entered into it in a four-part harmony.

The second repetition, He Shen changed the timbre again.

Changed to trumpet, trombone, French horn...

He Shen looked at the piano in front of him, and his eyes couldn't help but open slightly.

The feeling changed!

The feeling of music changed!

He Shen felt that he was no longer playing a piano, but controlling a band!

He was the conductor of the band, controlling the overall progress of the music.

This feeling is very comfortable!

Everything is under his control.

He Shen suddenly looked at Barenboim beside him, looking at him with eyes full of disbelief.

He had played this music for so long, but he still couldn't get it.

Just because Barenboim randomly tapped him a few times, he improved so much in music?

Barenboim also looked at He Shen in surprise. He didn't expect He Shen to have such a strong understanding of music.

He just talked to He Shen casually, and didn't even say what part this place should correspond to in the band, but he sat down by himself!

And the feeling of doing it was not bad, and it even felt very good!

Except that there might be a little bit of details missing in the music.

Details of the band.

But this detail must be the details that the band conductors can notice.

After all, their ears are much better than those who only play the piano.

They pay special attention to the sense of balance in the orchestra itself.

Therefore, Barenboim spoke immediately without any hesitation.

"A little bit more, the flute you played, this instrument has a little more weight in the music, this weight is too much, people feel a little abrupt, and it doesn't match the atmosphere of the wind orchestra!"

He Shen played it again: "How about this?"

Barenboim shook his head: "The French horn behind you, the tone of your French horn is not perfect and round enough, you may need to listen to a little more symphony to enhance your perception of music."

He Shen: "How about this?"

Barenboim: "It's still a little bit short, look at this place..."

The two of them played again. After several attempts, Barenboim nodded with satisfaction,

"It's getting late, let's do it this way!"

"This is just your first attempt. How it will turn out depends on your personal ideas."

"If you can practice it like this, I think you can re-record a new version."

"Go back to the studio and take a good rest from your previous recording."

"I think you can do better!"

"You deserve better results!"

After that, Barenboim smiled and patted He Shen on the shoulder, ready to leave.

Suddenly, he thought of something, turned back to He Shen, handed a business card in his pocket to He Shen, and said indifferently.

"I will have a concert tour next year, a Beethoven-themed concert. I will play Beethoven's sonatas in the first half, and I can't find anyone to play Beethoven's concertos in the second half. If you are willing, when you are free, come and show me your interpretation of Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor!"

"I look forward to you giving me a better answer later!"

"If you can give me a better answer, then I will give you a more satisfactory result!"

"A result that satisfies all of us!"

After that, Barenboim smiled and turned away. When he left, he suddenly remembered something, turned around and joked with He Shen, smiling.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave, the concert hall is about to close!"

After that, Barenboim disappeared from He Shen's sight.

And He Shen, looking at the piano in front of him, his eyes gradually became extremely serious.

He had not made any special progress in this direction before.

The level of a single piece has been stuck at Lv10 and there is no way to improve it.

Now, he could clearly feel that his bottleneck was slowly loosening.

He felt that he had found the path to perfection.

What is perfection? Perfection is when everything is perfect!

He had lost too much in Beethoven's most important orchestral quality, so naturally he could not achieve perfection.

But now...

He had found the most critical key!