Old-time musicians

1894, early summer, Berlin.

The first three movements of "Symphony No. 2 in C minor" premiered under the baton of Richard Strauss, and the music reviews were almost all criticism and abuse.

At the end of the same year, Mahler personally conducted all five movements. During the period, he felt unwell and fainted after the performance. There was less fierce opposition to this concert. Although a large number of music critics still refused to attend, the attendance rate was certain. Promoted, the audience responded with polite cheers.

The plot is very unscripted. Strictly speaking, this symphony did not attract much attention for at least fifty years after Mahler's death. It is absolutely impossible to write the protagonist in this way. It is okay for the author to fill in the role.

"Old Musicians" has been written for more than 8 months now, and the second volume spans 35W-118W words.

Logically speaking, the book cutting rules for authors like me who have started to rush into the market, in addition to around 15-25W before and after they are released, the other peak period should be during this period.

Anyone who has written a book will know that this is absolutely a law-level law. Now I have personally experienced it, especially around the 70th chapter of the second volume.

How to describe that state? That is, as soon as you sit in front of the keyboard, the whole screen and your mind will be filled with "write you mb".

There are many master-level authors who say when sharing their experiences: "Don't read reviews when writing a book, just read the data."

I know how they would criticize people in that situation: "You are so fierce, but the subscriptions are getting higher and higher. You can teach people to write books and not give them away."

But my comment style here sometimes looks like this:

"You wrote it like this, no wonder the data is so bad."

What the hell can I say?

Gossamer.

My Writer's Assistant has been uninstalled to this day, except for a few brief reinstallations when I was revising the article, which alleviated a certain amount of the blow.

However, the writing experience of two volumes has given me a more valuable practical gain:

"Choose a good preface and let it become the spiritual support for completing the volume."

When I was first designing the preface of the second volume, it was easy to think of finding it in the lyrics of Ma Er’s chorus, but I struggled for a long time as to which line to choose.

If you look back at the premiere movement V, you will find that each of the eight stanzas has its own tear points.

From the perspective of the characters in the book, when they are afraid of death itself, they will care more about one and eight; when they have suffered major changes and are afraid of losing what they have, they will care more about two; when they are in frustration and adversity in life, they will care more about them. Care about four; when suffering from illness or aging, you will care more about five, six, and seven

But in the end I chose the third verse:

"Believe it:

Your birth was not in vain!

Your survival and suffering are not in vain! ! "

For the minor characters in the book who doubt "the purpose and value of existence", they will care more about hearing this sentence, and then it is also for a young author like me.

I am able to write this now. First of all, I would like to thank myself for choosing this preface.

Maybe, I can still use this method to persist in the future, maybe.

Let’s share some of the true mental journey of writing, and then let’s get to the point and summarize the plot.

…

In terms of syllabus design, the second volume is already the longest. It was originally estimated to be about twice as long as the first volume to correspond to the huge length and organization of "Symphony No. 2 in C minor". Of course, the actual length still exceeds 10W. Character.

My treatment of the dual main line structure in the "Resurrection" volume is not as obvious as in the "Giant" volume. In fact, the parallel relationship occupies a more prominent position.

Of course, I have never written a book before, so I am just trying based on my feelings.

The most important node in the structure of the second volume is the five sections of death, which correspond to the stages of Fanning's creation of the five movements of "Symphony No. 2 in C minor".

The first movement is Vierne's birth to death. Its creative prototype is French organist Louis Vierne (1870-1937). It may be very unknown, but I chose it intentionally.

Because the talent, willpower and influence of artistic masters are close to gods, beyond the reach of us ordinary people, and also beyond the reach of the protagonist who was a young composer at that time, so I want to lower the level of his admiration.

In fact, every musician has a life of struggle. It is not just people like Beethoven, Chopin or Brahms, but more musicians are tributaries in the long river of history, and their artistic careers are equally tragic.

This place is far from Fan Ning's era, but it aroused his leisurely fascination with his musical inheritance, aroused his desire to think and explore the "view of death", and the proposition was initially proposed.

This line of Vienne was laid down at the beginning of the second volume. The mysterious aspects of the connection include the appearance of interpersonal relationships it leads to, the reentry and positioning conspiracy used by the apostle, the secret door of the original site of the Turner Art Museum and the small town of Vatznais, The possible purpose of Miss Purple Bean Cake, Miss Scarlet and Vincent going to the Harvest Art Festival

So writing about those experiences is really not a word count. Even if you are not interested in the artistic career and fighting spirit of musicians, it is still the main mysterious plot. Also, the ghost train incident is not endless, the secret door exploration is not a forced ending, and the renovation is not Si's provocation and making enemies are not forced intelligence reduction, and the protagonist forgetting to bring his keys when facing Mr. F is not a low IQ. Please stop complaining. I deleted some comments. I'm sorry, but I'm really sad.

The second movement is the death of the poet Bassani. Although he is the original text author of the "Ode to the Resurrection" in the plot, the creative prototype is not just the poet Klopstock (Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, 1724-1803).

When I was writing this part of the plot and Bassani's artistic career, I was also thinking about Kuffner (1780-1846), the author of the choral text "When Love and Power Unity" in Beethoven's "Choral Fantasia". ), I thought of the mystical poetry of William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), and also thought of the "Duino Elegy" of Rilke (Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926)

As Fan Ning said, for him, this was a character who died well and admired from a distance, which avoided heartache and left only a touch of sadness or haze.

——This kind of "reminiscing" state of mind is very conducive for artists to explore humanities, to explore the divinity of "Gothenburg Variations", to explore the judgment of artistic works in the long history, and the relationship between serious music and poetry and literature.

Just like Bishop Mill's evaluation of Bassani in the article: "Everyone must follow the inner free will to produce the truth again and again, otherwise he will wither. Bassani pursues the truth throughout his life, even if it is not the ultimate truth, but at least It will not be judged as disqualified by history.”

The choral thing is too serious an art, because almost every musician who writes a vocal symphony has been influenced essentially by poets, writers, and philosophers, almost every one of them, in their outlook on life.

If in a different world, an artist added a chorus to a symphony, he would have to explain where the profound humanistic soil came from, where the creative impulse in his heart came from, and what social trend of thought he understood from. Philosophy, how he thinks about the relationship between literature and music, rhythm and rhythm, rather than simply being inspired or copying everything.

So I can’t write Bei Jiu, at least not within the current framework. My understanding of Kant and Hegel is very superficial, and I have very little exposure to Schiller’s poetry. Without my help, the protagonist will be in front of outsiders. If the circle cannot come back, it is extremely unreasonable for me. Moreover, the pollution characteristics of the "old days" are destined to cause trouble when Fan Ning copies a work of Bei Jiu's level (someone has already guessed it from the hint).

If you have any books that feel better about Bei Jiu, you can recommend me to study them, because if you can write about Ma Ba in the future, you can learn from how they set the stage and explain it.

The mysterious side plot related to this stage is the setting of the "grid" at the core of the book, as well as the setting of the relationship between the Seeker and the gnosis, the spread of the abnormal zone and the artistic career...

The death in the third movement is the Santa Ramburg subway accident, which has no specific prototype. Although there are some specific minor characters, such as the death of Mark, Huxley or Sternikai, it is mainly used to depict the confusion and loss of control of the group.

Fan Ning discovered that death is completely impermanent and has no additional meaning. As the saying goes, "Life is small and death is random." He began to try to find an answer that "can not only redeem the dead, but also comfort the living."

Hence the candlelight dinner at St. Overney Manor, and the discussions he and Roy had about "a deeper narrative perspective."

The mysterious plot related to this stage first uses the "disaster" to introduce a series of characters in the Special Inspection Hall, and then follows the "climbing path" settings of the seven doors, mobile phone text message prompts, Fan Chenxun's foreshadowing, and impressionistic paintings. The foreshadowing of the faction and the "Gate of Seven Lights", the hint of pollution in the "old days", the key clues of the "Gate of Lights and Shadows", the preliminary situation of other source gods, the further promotion of the apostle incident, etc.

The fourth movement is the death of Ms. Hamilton. The branch line of the labor case is taken from the first volume and then connected with her. The prototype of its creation is Alice Hamilton (1869), the pioneer of industrial toxicology and the mother of American occupational health and safety. -1970).

What "Primary Light" expresses here is not only the Gnostic mystical thought of "returning to the light", not only the self's lament for the world...

The sentence she recorded on the title page, "The world is in great trouble! People are living in great pain!" also contains more compassion for all mankind.

That’s why there is the “like rebirth” of music’s salvation, the “light and blood in life” of the Kodaly teaching method, and the “workers, farmers, prostitutes and gentlemen and ladies enjoying music together” through the popularization of art.

Fan Ning finally received the inspiration of "resurrection" at her funeral.

Maybe my humanistic care is not enough. Several people criticized the protagonist for not having empathy. Fortunately, after this branch line in the outline, there will be "Capron Art Fund", "Performance Theater Chain" and "Old Days". "Conservatory of Music", if you still insist on getting to that time, I will strengthen it.

The final fifth movement is Capron's Death.

Fan Ning had an "expected accident" on the eve of the premiere, and Capron took over the baton to complete the finale and gain redemption. This ending was decided at the beginning of the book. It really wasn't me, it really wasn't me. It's a complete mess. I apologize to those who don't like this plot. I was in a very low mood at that time and it was the most uncomfortable few days with a fever.

His creative prototype is Gilbert Kaplan (1941-2016), a business tycoon, money maker, and money-playing enthusiast. This amateur became obsessed with Mahler's "Second Symphony" and embarked on a musical path. As a conductor, he does have many anecdotes to admire or touching moments to remember.

For example, when he was in his 20s, he earned more than one million (USD in the 1960s) from "Institutional Investor", which he sold for a high price of 75 million US dollars 20 years later; for example, he took a plane to listen to Mahler everywhere, At the London Symphony Orchestra, the girl sitting next to him became his wife; for example, he bought all the Mahler manuscripts and historical materials he could photograph, studied them day and night, and paid for them to be reprinted and shared with the art and music circles; for example, A series of conductors have enjoyed his high-end financial services

The most awesome thing is that in 1998, this guy also visited China with the title of "Representative of the American Trade Mission"

Kaplan died of cancer 7 years ago. I think his biggest (and most unlikely) wish before his death was to hear Mahler's teachings in person, or even conduct the premiere of Mahler's music in person. "Second Symphony".

That's how this character came into existence.

When writing about him, I couldn't help but think of the completely deaf Beethoven who conducted the Ninth Symphony, the late Maestro Abbado who conducted the Chorus II at the Lucerne Music Festival, Master Arrau played Liszt's "Ballade No. 2" at the farewell concert, Master Seiji Ozawa conducted the "Egmont" overture in a wheelchair, and so on...

The emotions of this plot are almost enough in the main text, and they are relatively close, so I won’t describe it in any additional way. If you still want to recall it, you can search for stories about Kaplan (Kaplan) on the Internet, or listen to Listen to the Ma Er records he left behind during his lifetime.

There are two versions of the record, one with the LSO (London Symphony Orchestra) and one with the VPO (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). I think there are many unique features in the processing, and the orchestra is at the top level in the world, enough to be included. One of the authorities. But I actually don’t listen to it too much on a daily basis, especially the VPO version. The track separation is so painful that it almost makes me suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder ()

In fact, there should be a little more content at the end of the second volume, such as expanding the stories of 2-3 workers, because there are also many children in the choir who are running out of time. When they sang "Ode to the Resurrection" Psychological activities are also worthy of people's attention, such as the "aftermath" of the Special Patrol Office after Fan Ning left completely, the games with everyone, etc.

In order to ensure the emotional coherence of Kaplan, the former was eliminated, while the latter could only be written in the third volume.

Five stories about death and five different lives form the skeleton of the second volume "Resurrection".

This is the first time in his artistic career that Fanning explores death. He will do so again later, more prominently in the Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Symphonies, but strictly speaking, in every symphony All have his thoughts about life and death.

The halo of the protagonist in the online article will definitely make his life experience after the magic transformation much more enjoyable, but in fact, Mahler is a complete pessimist at heart. The proposition and shadow of death have troubled him throughout his life. He at least He witnessed five brothers and sisters die in childhood, he lost his parents in his thirties, his daughter died after marriage, his wife cheated on him, and the stigma of being Jewish made him live in a life of ostracism.

"I am a stateless man in three senses: in Austria, I am a Bohemian; in the eyes of the Germans, I am an Austrian; and in the eyes of the whole world, I am a Jew. I am considered an intruder everywhere. , not welcome anywhere.”

Don’t worry, the protagonist of the online novel cannot be so miserable. This is essentially a good novel. You will know it by looking at what I have done before.

However, Fan Ning will always have a wandering experience, with a sense of passing through and loneliness, and this will be affected by my own emotions as a creator.

In fact, after the chapter "Happiness without Regrets" in the second volume, everyone should have felt this emotion more or less in Fan Ning.

The summary of this volume is indeed a bit long, stretching out to four to five thousand words, probably due to the length of "Resurrection".

Seeing that I have recognized (xia) Zhen (ji) (ba) and married (che) so much, I asked for a relatively long leave. I guess you guys have already seen my mood and state. I have perfect attendance this month. I won’t take it anymore, I’ll just take a week off. In fact, if it hadn’t been near the end, I would have stopped updating for more than a week after I got pregnant. It was really uncomfortable.

But I have to thank some people.

Shoumeng was moved and smiled;

There is no good name for the alliance leader;

The leader of the alliance is the great divination pot;

The silly group of friends in the "Old Symphony Orchestra" book club;

I will follow the dozen or so book friends who posted comments along the way. Your IDs are all very familiar to me. I will use the reader app to check them a few hours after each update. I am very happy when I see so many comments;

There are also many book friends who are silently diving. Although I don’t know your IDs, it has been a hard work to keep up with the updates.

You should know that there is a common saying that "if a new author has poor data, he should at least write about 1 million words and then speed up the completion and tell everyone the ending. This is how to build character." In other words, this is In fact, readers have already defaulted to not counting it as a cut-off book. In fact, at that time, there were very few newcomer fantasy works that were still being written at the same time as me.

But now I have not only written 118W, but I also have the motivation to continue writing the next volume and even the next volume.

Without your support, especially the support of the big guy Dongdong Qianxiao who is already half of the Silver League, it would be very difficult for me to persist in completing this volume.

I don’t know how long I can persist, but I will definitely write each next chapter.

It’s really shameless to ask for votes, but if there are book friends around me who like to read music articles, please recommend them to me.

The plot of the third volume is not very detailed in my mind yet. The outline has an ending, a tone, several foreshadowing intersections, some music I want to write, and several characters I want to write. However, I can already give a preview of what style Fanning will paint in this volume:

In the hot southern continent, a wandering troubadour, with messy long hair, tattered clothes, holding a guitar, singing melancholy ballads and love poems, or playing an old and dilapidated piano at a dilapidated station pier, crossing the wilderness, the coast, and the town, experiencing some people and things, experiencing different customs and customs, and secretly investigating various clues and doubts along the way

Maybe you ask for a ticket for a corner seat and go to a concert by the way, and find that the orchestra is playing your own symphony ()

Sorting out the plot, see you on January 18.

Oh, and the title of the volume.

The third volume, titled "Summer Noon Dream", is based on Mahler's "Symphony No. 3 in D Minor" of the same name.