Old-time musicians

The solemn and dark piano sound under Fan Ning's fingertips continued to hang over the symphony hall.

Like thunder in the dark clouds, a frenzy about to hit, or a dormant volcano ready to explode.

"Could it be that it's a piano overture that brings out the orchestra? 4 bars or 8 bars?"

"For example, something like the opening of his "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor"?"

A group of music critics, including Yetus, editor-in-chief of "Theoline Cultural Weekly", and Ferrege, senior reporter of "Hoffmann Gramophone", listened to Fanning's performance, and the first thing they thought of was " Pull two”.

In this case, it is really innovative...

Many people with a sense of scrutiny have felt from the beginning that this is by no means a cliché.

Instead of copying the sublimated formula of the master's late symphony, he added a chorus to a genre similar to a piano concerto?

Just when everyone thought that the piano "prelude" was about to lead the band to the beginning, they found that they had guessed wrong again.

Master Xilins still stood with his hands behind his back.

Miss Sheeran, who was leading the entire orchestra, still had her violin propped upright on her lap.

After the piano's four column chords rose and fell repeatedly, Fan Ning's right hand did not stop, and brought out a passing sentence composed of third double tones in the high range.

They fall in a roundabout way, like light and melancholy sighs.

Then Fan Ning released the pedal, leaned over and carefully touched the keys, letting them turn into repeated sound patterns in the midrange.

The tone is light and short, with a slight sense of pace:

\\/xi\\/xi\\/xi\\/xi—. ""xi\\/re\\/xi\\/re\\/xi\\/re\\/xi\\/re\\/xi—. "

The repetitive sound pattern of tick-tock alternates, the left and right hands click against each other, and the gray minor-key harmony gradually reappears.

Hesitation and torture, although the volume is not high and the color is not strong, it has hints of tragic heroic temperament.

Regardless of any attempts or tributes, if the music itself starts like this, can't it still be called great?

In less than ten bars, the audience was already deeply moved by Fanning's performance. The old lady Hamilton tightly held the armrests of her seats with her hands, tears glistening on her wrinkled face.

The second time, Fan Ning's right hand played in thicker octaves, while a descending triplet group appeared in his left hand.

The sudden extra notes disrupt the neat rhythmic correspondence, and a strange sense of urgency comes over you.

The intensity of the sound group increased all the way, and the hands moved farther and farther away in rapid movement.

"Winter! Winter! Winter!" At the end of the phrase, Fan Ning exerted strength with both arms, stepped deeply on the pedal, and once again played a major chord that started with an octave bass.

The distantly related E major modulation brings a strong contrast to the colors. Amidst the thumping sounds of SF and FF throughout the piece, the columnar chords gradually collapse and decompose, and Fan Ning's left and right hands fly up and down, bringing out pieces of coldness. Arpeggio sound group.

"This... is actually a performance by him alone!"

"Don't talk about the chorus! Even the band... after almost three minutes, the band didn't show up!

"Did he write an entire piano solo?"

Those who were thinking about how piano and chorus should be included in the band in the early stage now got an answer that was completely different from their expectations, but extremely touching and in line with the aesthetics. They suddenly felt fascinated and admired.

If nothing else, during a symphony concert, after listening to so many elegant orchestral dances, suddenly a long piano solo with shimmering cold light was presented. This is very refreshing, right?

"Casual, so casual, a completely eclectic creative approach! I suddenly realized that its title was not only 'Choral', it was 'Choral Fantasia'. It was simply too full of fantasy, and it was Classical fantasy temperament with tragedy as its core! ”

Master Schillings, who was standing solemnly on the podium, had already walked on stage with Fan Ning several times, but with the in-depth performance on the stage at this moment, he discovered many different feelings.

Fan Ning raised his left hand to lift his wrist away from the keys, and his right hand played a long series of ups and downs of cadenza at a casual speed, and rushed to the high C in the third group of small characters in a chromatic manner.

A series of loud vibratos brought out the "hesitant pace" of the previous left and right hand responses again.

New material appeared. In the repetitive double-note rhythm in the high register, Fan Ning's left hand joined in with the sudden strength of SF, playing a motive fragment that combines long and short notes, like a declaration and a call.

But in the process of modulation and development, the painful tapping sound of Fanning's right hand became louder and louder, and the register became higher and higher.

"The world is in great trouble! People are living in great pain!" He shouted from the bottom of his heart at the beginning of "Initial Light" to inform the audience.

Just when everyone's minds seemed to be about to be crushed by ruthless fate——

The hero's power finally broke out, and he rose up with a fighting attitude. The horn-like left-hand motive suddenly turned into a pouring descending thirty-sixth note, which was even more dense than the original transformed triplet!

The audience was horrified to find that Fan Ning's right hand was still striking the harsh and dangerous octave pattern, while his left hand was already flying at high speed. The two forces were fighting hand to hand, and the fight was fierce and bloody. The sound of the piano It resounded throughout the symphony hall like a volcanic eruption!

"boom!--"

Finally, like a giant object falling to the ground, dust rose up, and a heavy dominant seventh chord in the key of C minor was violently smashed down by Fan Ning's hands.

As his hands flew up and down, decomposed arpeggios came in waves like a tide. This extremely virtuosic and tragic cadenza that Beethoven improvised on that winter night in 1808 finally came to an end.

The piano solo lasted nearly four minutes, but in the end, it was a wavering color, an incomplete ending, and an ending without a result.

The hero's questioning lingered in the air for a long time.

The audience seemed to have a premonition of something, and the curtain finally opened.

The right hand of Master Schillings on the podium had been raised without knowing when.

In a moment of perfect tacit understanding, Fanning released the pedal and directed the landing point. Almost at the same time as the reverberation disappeared, Luo Yin led the entire cello group to play a bass melody in C minor "inquiry motive" with weak pp.

The length of 4 and a half bars, short bowing, and dotted rhythm... The melody under Luo Yin's bow first moved upwards with a tentative meaning, reflecting the characteristics of actively seeking answers, but then fell back as if hesitantly afraid of difficulties.

So Fanning raised his hands again and played a melody with recitative characteristics in the high pitch, answering with a warm color of consolation and comfort.

The second time, it was still the "inquiry motive", and it was transferred to F minor, and the viola and the second violin were replaced. Fanning also responded and encouraged by raising his wrist and pressing the keys.

The subsequent addition of the double yellow pipe, bassoon and French horn made the timbre warmer and more textured. These melodies with the characteristics of recitatives were intertwined with the "inquiry motive". Finally, the wind instrument blew the fifth double tone with a slightly empty color. Among the large number of freely extended expression terms, it seemed that something new was brewing.

Finally, in the 53rd bar, Fanning took over the double tone percussion with the piano, and then presented the "joy theme" of the core of the work for the first time with the accompaniment of the French horn, which was similar to the "Ode to Joy" in the final chapter of "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony".

Behind the filthy skin of the world, there is such a light that transcends all heterogeneous colors, sometimes cracking the skull, sometimes piercing the darkness and pain, and dripping into the mud of distorted colors in the world.

Under the accompaniment of Mozart's semi-broken chords, the "joyful" melody composed of regular eighth notes appears simple and warm, and the piano cadenza inserted in it is like a cheerful and lively ballad.

The "joyful theme" born from suffering is particularly precious, and no audience is willing to savor it hastily and then abandon it.

They naturally long for the musicians on the stage to fully explore its pleasure and fragrance in the form of variations.

Fanning played the accompaniment column chords, and on this basis, the flute began the first round of variations, with sixteenth notes in the high pitch area. Joan's elastic and light articulation seemed thin and clear, as if responding to the lively temperament of the previous cadenza.

Then the piano accompaniment became a thinner left-right hand alternation, the flute left the stage, and two double yellow pipes entered the stage, and the second variation was carried out in parallel three degrees apart. The swinging sound pattern, bouncing posture, crisp and bright timbre...all kinds of humorous musical personalities made people laugh.

During the third variation, Fanning withdrew with both hands raised. He had a short break. At this moment, he sat in front of the piano with a comfortable smile, shook his head easily, and appreciated the performance of the woodwind trio.

The bassoon has a simple and honest timbre in the dark, and the harmony of two single yellow pipes. They show a high degree of fusion under the accompaniment of the same background, and at the same time they are consistent with the singing of the theme piano solo.

In the fourth variation, the woodwind trio was replaced by a string quartet. The violins uniformly wove a mellow and dense texture, with occasional humorous dialogues between two people.

The music gradually increased in intensity and seamlessly connected to the fifth variation played by the whole orchestra. Then the "joyful theme" finally ushered in its first highlight moment. The symphony hall was shining, and the sound of praise resounded in every corner!

After the orchestra played vigorously, the piano reappeared without a trace. Fanning's left hand played a warm triplet, and his right hand played a brilliant melody with cheerful tremolo, which combined with the orchestra's brilliant pillar chords to make a phased summary of the entire presentation.

Then the piano played the deformed "Hesitation Theme", and the pitch range rose in the uneasy and anxious atmosphere, and once again turned into a series of passing phrases like soft sighs.

Suddenly, Fanning narrowed his eyes, and his left hand played the alternating i-v degree C minor chords with the strength of ff. A gray melody like a storm appeared from the right hand, opening the sixth variation at the beginning of the development section.

The orchestra camp embraced it with fierce competition. Under the instruction of Master Schillings, the musicians played the bows and strings, and the wind instruments sounded together. The embodiment of fate and suffering was played by the piano. Fanning was surrounded by a solemn spiritual aura. Every neat wrist lift and every sharp touch of the keys led to a tremor from head to toe.

The extremely dramatic interpretation brought about a stormy and fierce confrontation. This round of conflict turned into a soft passage in B major and ended in the not-so-bright A minor.

But soon, the semitone rise of do opened the meditative A major A minor of the seventh variation.

So the audience found that the pianist who had created a sound full of danger and violence, in an instant, sent out a gentle and blurred melody from his fingertips.

Fanning raised his cheeks, smiled and closed his eyes, and gently stroked the keys with his right hand. Every finger turn, finger crossing or finger change of the same note carried the love for the lover. In the accompaniment of the band, the ballad filled with a hint of sweetness flowed in the high pitch.

The sun was shining, the swing was swaying, and the boys and girls whispered affectionately in the spring light. At this time, the "joy theme" was magnified in its joy and intoxication. This is not the final answer, but it is beautiful enough and enough to indulge in.

The right hand of the piano played a long vibrato that stayed on the dominant e of A major, and the left hand struck a bell-like dotted rhythm. Then the bassoon, French horn and flute imitated and responded one after another, turning into the sonorous and passionate eighth variation. Army march.

The majestic rhythmic form, the energetic repartee between the piano and the band, and the free and easy modulation technique, the development part disappears in a beautiful brilliance.

At this point, the entanglement of suffering and hope, the preliminary discussion of the "joy theme", the dialectical relationship between fate and struggle... have all been fully demonstrated. Any outstanding composer can reproduce it with repetition and change. This beautiful work has come to an end, which cannot be said to be unreasonable, but the great master obviously will not fall into this cliché.

The audience, who had experienced suffering, struggle, contemplation and joy along the way, suddenly felt something in their hearts and became more and more excited.

Master Schillings on the podium gave a prompt to shoot.

The cello starts, with a dotted rhythm, and the short and playful bow movement, which is exactly the "motivation of inquiry" that mixes exploration and hesitation when the band enters the stage.

"Bang!

——”

This time Fanning's response was not a comforting recitative in the high register, but a head-on thump of a diminished seventh chord, and a set of rapid arpeggios whizzing from low to high.

"No, it's not that. We have new joy and new strength." The piano seemed to answer.

The string section was thoughtful, starting from the cello and viola's retelling of "Inquiry into Motives", and the first and second violins joined in one after another, welcoming the new force with a more positive and open attitude.

"Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong..."

Fan Ning smiled slightly and played a series of radiant, continuous and undulating background sounds in C major with endless movement.

"Pleasurable and cute!"

Suddenly, from the left channel of the stage, where the fans could not see, three melodious female voices came.

The original German text sd hold abbreviated by the poet Kuffner in "When Love and Strength Become One" was adapted by Fan Ning into the Guchov that conforms to the original meaning and syllable distribution of words, and is more elegant. Man language.

"Pleasurable and cute!"

As if in reply, three more men's deep responses came from the darkness of the right passage.

The great joy that can serve as an answer and a destination has finally arrived!

The body of the old lady Hamilton shook as if she was electrocuted. Similar to her, countless music fans instantly experienced the almost trembling feeling brought by great joy!

After two responses, Marquess MacAdam, who was dressed in a red dress, and Miss Elizabeth Yin, a choir partner in a white dress, and Miss Lausanne, a young composer, slowly walked to the stage. With noble smiles on their faces, they spoke A melodious female trio singing with the melody of "Happy Theme":

“The harmonies of our lives sound pleasant and lovely;

Once the beauty is restored, the flowers bloom forever!

Peace and joy fly side by side, like the ebb and flow of waves;

Everything that was cruel and hostile was transformed into sublime joy! "

"Infinite surprise, I guessed wrong again!" Music critic Don Yetus laughed and shook his head at his seat. "I thought the children in the choir were going to stand up, but I didn't expect that Carolne Van... Ning actually arranged such a plan, he was really able to keep his composure... That's right! Why didn't I expect that those singers hadn't shown up yet?

"

Fanning was delighted by the ladies' singing, and the keys under her fingertips played alternately, with the left hand decomposing octaves and the right hand decomposing sixths.

So under the instruction of Master Schillings, Master Nieman, who was wearing a brown formal suit, led the permanent conductor Mr. Kaplan and the famous composer Mr. Virgil in a black tuxedo from the other side of the aisle.

“When music dominates magic and speaks magical words;

The great glory appears and the night and storm turn into light!

External peace and inner happiness rule the lucky man;

However, the spring of art makes both of them shine! "

The piano and the band resonate with an increasingly positive attitude, the gentlemen smile elegantly, and the "Joyful Theme" trio becomes deeper and more touching.

Seeing Mr. Capron, whom she had just met, singing loudly on the stage with a smile of happiness and joy, the old lady Hamilton could no longer restrain her inner emotions, and crystal tears fell from her wrinkled face. Roll down.

We are connected together, and we are about to break through the shackles of this physical world and fly to the kingdom of freedom...

The sufferings, struggles, and hesitations that started the story have all been comforted and resolved at this moment, and turned into ultimate joy.

More and more listeners began to have sore noses, moist eyes, and even cried with joy.

"Dupont, who guest-starred as the principal tenor, I always felt like he couldn't sit still..."

Fan Ning's fingertips were still flying happily, but he raised his head and glanced at a high place in the distance with a smile.

Master Schillings raised his left hand while he was swinging the racket, and the choir behind the symphony orchestra suddenly stood up and opened the music book in their hands!

In the collective strong performance of the piano and the band, under the leadership of six singers, the symphony hall finally broke out into a dazzling and brilliant chorus! ——

“When greatness enters the soul, beauty and new life bloom;

Once the soul takes the stage, there is always a spiritual chorus that responds!

Then your beautiful souls will happily receive the gift of this wonderful art;

When love and power are united and married, divine grace will sweep over all mankind! "

"Ding ding dong ding ding dong ding ding dong ding ding dong..."

During the breathing interval, Fanning's left hand produced a warm triplet again, and the brilliant melody with cheerful tremolo in the right hand arrived as expected.

"Value! ————"

"Grace! ————"

"Beautiful—art! ————"

The human voice shouting interspersed between the piano melody and the brilliant column chords of the orchestra burst out one after another.

"Then your beautiful souls will happily receive the gift of this wonderful art;

When love and power are united and married, divine grace will sweep over all mankind! ”

In the final aria, the orchestra and chorus poured out all their strength, so the volume and texture were pulled to full capacity, and various techniques such as free variation, canon imitation, close connection and response accelerated the chorus' journey, and hit the final climax without hesitation.

"Then your beautiful souls will happily receive the gift of this wonderful art;

When love and power are united and married, the divine grace will sweep all mankind!"

The orchestra and chorus sang loudly, and Master Schillings swung his racket vigorously, with sweat flying on his forehead.

"When love and power are united and married, the divine grace will sweep all mankind!"

All things have leaped to a higher level, temporarily transcending everything in the tangible world, and blooming with the supreme light of glory.

This is the light from the will of the world, the "initial light" that makes music sublime, where there is no new color, and no turning and wandering shadow.

"Power-power! ————”

When the singers and the choir shouted out the original German word “kraft!”, time and space seemed to freeze.

There was no theme, no motive, no rhythm, no harmony, only an extremely powerful E-flat major triad. Under the tonality of C major, its color not only looked strange, but also lasted for a full seven bars!

It exploded and then hovered, occupying the longest time value and the strongest force, and also completed the mission of "C Minor Choral Fantasy" itself, flying from the ultra-high range to the transcendental range!

"Boom boom boom——"

The rolling sound of the timpani finally brought the sound resounding through the Huita back to the world.

"Divine grace will sweep over mankind! ——"

"Divine grace will sweep over mankind! ——"

Fanning's heart beat violently, and his hands playing the piano were almost numb, particles flew, sparks flew, and the decomposed octaves and arpeggios with ecstasy shot out from his fingertips one after another.

"Winter!

! "With a burst of powerful stanzas, the music ended, and Maestro Schillings's beat-falling posture stopped in mid-air.

Fanning's raised hands hovered above the piano keys.

The rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other emerged from all over the symphony hall.

After the end of the performance, the first reaction of these audiences was not to applaud or speak out, but to think that they should stand up first and then think about how to express themselves.

Until more than 2,000 audience members stood up, editor-in-chief Don Yetus, who was standing in the front row, shouted alone:

"bravo!

"