The world's number one pianist

"Professor Wu Chuan, can you please give me some guidance to know my full picture of romantic music? And how should I go to class later?"

He Shen spoke to Wu Chuan very seriously, and Wu Chuan was not surprised at all. He smiled at He Shen and gestured with his hand.

"Okay, then you follow me for a walk first. I have to say that the green grass in this school is very good. It is very comfortable to walk under it. Looking at these trees, the whole person will become much happier. You can also go shopping more when you have time in the future."

Wu Chuan carried a thermos cup in one hand and put one hand behind his back. He walked downstairs slowly, crossed the large square between the conservatory of music and the teaching building, and then passed the lobby downstairs of the conservatory of music. After saying hello to the aunt in the piano room, he walked directly to the path in the grove next to the school.

There were already some fallen leaves on the path, and the sun shone through the gaps between the leaves on the ground, making people who passed by feel warm.

Perhaps because it was noon, many students had already gone to eat. Looking around the grove, there were not many people. Those who could be seen were basically in a hurry, without the slightest intention of staying.

Wu Chuan walked slowly on the path between the trees, neither hurried nor slow, and He Shen followed closely behind Wu Chuan.

As they walked, Wu Chuan suddenly spoke.

"He Shen, how do you understand the music of the Romantic period?"

"The Romantic period began with Beethoven. His music gradually led the music of the Classical period to the music of the Romantic period. The most important performance feature is Beethoven's mid-to-late works. Many composers have absorbed his ideas." He Shen said honestly.

Wu Chuan shook his head, walked casually to the side of a stone bench, sat down directly, raised his head slightly, closed his eyes to feel the sun, and spoke casually.

"This is written, and to be precise, the beginning of Romanticism should be 1813, when E.T. Hoffmann discussed Beethoven's romantic spirit."

"So, how do you understand the music of the Romantic period?"

Wu Chuan repeated his question again, with a slightly heavier tone, and He Shen instantly understood what he meant.

This is not a test of one's proficiency in knowledge, but to let oneself discuss one's thoughts on this lesson of piano music appreciation in the Romantic period.

He Shen also sat down, took out a lollipop from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and slowly thought about it. After a while, he spoke.

"Harmony and Self."

"The music of the Romantic period paid more attention to diversity, which further developed harmony and was also reflected in the works of many composers. They boldly used some harmonies that were not allowed before, vigorously promoted semitones and seventh chords, and enhanced the sense of conflict between music."

"In addition, they no longer simply gave the works a serial number and key signature. They began to use labels, or titles, to guide people's imagination of music."

"This kind of guidance allows the audience to more clearly feel the composer's mastery of music and the beauty of the music. This is a starting point."

"But similarly, there are still many untitled pieces of music in the Romantic period, so the focus of this class should be on those untitled pieces, rather than titled pieces, such as the ballades, preludes, nocturnes, etc. that I talked about before..."

"All of Chopin's works are piano works. This is my starting point. Starting from Chopin, I radiate to all his friends around him, such as Liszt. From Liszt, I continue to extend. Five months, five composers?"

Wu Chuan did not answer, but continued to bask in the sun. When He Shen was a little nervous, he spoke.

"Less."

"Less?"

"Well, there are fewer composers. Your direction is too focused. It is not good to talk about one composer until you are old. What we should teach students is the whole, the overall appreciation of Romantic music. Do you understand?"

Wu Chuan sighed and shook his head.

"This is an undergraduate course, not a graduate course. What we need to do now is to improve all students' aesthetic appreciation of music and guide them to appreciate music. A thorough analysis of a composer should be conducted after a comprehensive understanding of most composers, such as graduate students or doctoral students?"

"After all, graduate students are considered entry-level..."

Speaking of this, Wu Chuan glanced at He Shen and immediately added.

"Oh, yes, you are not the kind of perverts who have studied music since childhood and compete for awards all over the country and the world. I am talking about most students."

"I understand." He Shen nodded.

Wu Chuan continued.

"So you don't actually need to talk so deeply. This is too deep and not suitable for the growth of students. However, there is nothing wrong with your logic. You can continue to lead students to appreciate those music, such as Liszt, Brahms and the like. This idea is very good."

"What you need to pay attention to now is to add many composers. Since you start with Chopin, you can completely compare and analyze other romantic musicians with Chopin's composition ideas, and then return to the integrity of romantic music. Your strength can do this, but can you?"

He Shen nodded without any doubt.

"Can!"

"In that case, then you should go back and prepare for the course. You will be in class next week. Remember to show me the lesson plan in advance so that I can see if there is any problem with your overall thinking."

"If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. If nothing else, I know Romantic music very well."

After that, Wu Chuan stood up, patted He Shen on the shoulder, and walked away leisurely with his thermos cup.

He Shen looked at Wu Chuan's back as he left, touched his chin, and thought about something.

Indeed, he was too focused on one composer, trying to raise the understanding of the entire Romantic music with a single composer.

However, he completely overlooked a very important point.

Compared with raising one composer to Lv10, and then slowly raising the understanding of other composers, it is better to raise the understanding of all other composers to around Lv5-Lv6 first, and maybe it can give Chopin a new understanding.

It is the times that carry everyone forward, not one person who carries the entire era!

So...

He Shen stood up and walked towards the library. He was going to start to seriously make up for his shortcomings.

In this way, when he teaches other students in the future, maybe he can understand this music more deeply?