Almighty painter

Chapter 973 The True Musician
"What did you discover? Perhaps Ms. Sarah came specifically for me?"

Gu Weijing shifted his gaze from the distance back to Viktor opposite him.

Victor shrugged; he thought Gu Weijing had told a very funny joke.

“I’ve realized it might be time to stop torturing yourself. Take my advice, you’re really not cut out for this.” He raised his chin, picked up a finger breadstick from a small tube on the table, and mimicked a violin-playing motion with remarkable realism, then said—

"I don't care if that guy was just putting on a show in front of everyone, trying to lick the judges' asses, but dude, that... sorry... that's real music."

The music in the hall has never stopped since they sat down at the table here.

Several male and female college students dressed in formal attire sat quietly at a wooden table covered with a velvet tablecloth. One of them was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window halfway up the mountain in the resort hotel, playing the violin towards the Elbe River flowing into Hamburg.

The piano music was quite different from Gabriel's.

Gu Weijing used to only say things like, "You played well, you played great, your performance was top-notch."

After Miss Elena's recent intensive music training, Gu Weijing could barely tell that the two people's piano playing and performance styles were two completely opposite emotional styles.

Gabrielle liked to play music, usually with a melodious, delicate and graceful tone.

Perhaps it's because of the music.

The music played by the performer in the hall would be even colder, with a severe and solemn style reminiscent of the Arctic.

With Gu Weijing's musical appreciation skills, these were the only differences he could hear. The similarities were that both musicians' playing was equally moving, and... they both played well, played wonderfully, and performed superbly.

Even if you caught a cow on the street, it could immediately tell the difference between what other people were pulling and what Gu Weijing was pulling—the difference was so obvious.

Conversation room.

The student had just finished playing the piece when he turned around and bowed gracefully to all the teachers and students in the room.

"This is a piece of music that I just improvised, inspired by Sibelius's Concerto in D minor, with a simplified narrative structure. The theme is a soloist on a boulder in the wilderness. I hope everyone will do well in the upcoming interviews."

Soft applause immediately filled the hall.

"Pretender."

Viktor munched on a breadstick, clapping as he commented, "It was an impromptu piece. If he hadn't prepared this piece for three days and three nights, I would have gone up there right now and performed eating bread through one nostril."

"It was indeed very good."

Gu Weijing said honestly.

“You’re a very good painter too. But we can’t just set up a canvas here and paint a watercolor for everyone, can we?” Victor said worriedly. “That’s the advantage of music school students; they carry their equipment with them and can easily win people over just by practicing their instruments.”

He glanced at Sarah, who was smiling and had clapped, seemingly applauding the performer.

"This is a restaurant at a resort hotel, not his private concert. Be careful, or the waiters might come knocking on your door and kick you out!"

It is said that what you keep in mind will eventually come to pass.

after a while.

As everyone was returning to their rooms from the restaurant, a waiter did indeed come over and stop him. It wasn't, as Victor had hoped, a guest's complaint that he was being kicked out of the hotel.

It turns out the hotel owner was also in the venue. He had taken a photo while the other person was playing the violin and specifically asked if he could have it developed tomorrow so he could get an autograph.

in exchange.

The boss gifted him a VIP hotel package.

The reason I know this so clearly is because there was another person who was invited to sign autographs by the hotel's very business-minded owner.

Gu Weijing.

They were the only two students in the entire room to receive such "honor".

Gu Weijing is usually quite low-key. After all, he won a gold medal at an international biennial before even starting university, and his influence is still evident even after a year and a half of keeping a low profile. Not only did the performer attract everyone's attention, but when he was chatting with Viktor, students from other schools were also pointing and whispering about Gu Weijing, casting curious glances at him.

During their casual conversation, Gu Weijing learned quite a bit about the violinist.

The other person's name is Williams, and his classmates at the Hamburg Conservatory of Music affectionately call him "Willie." He is a four-time winner of the International Youth Violin Competition and a gold medalist at the Paganini International Violin Competition. Before even graduating, he already has a contract with the Berlin Philharmonic.

"APPLE Classical Music, a featured artist on the cover of the classical music trend, with two albums released by record companies..."

Viktor looked down as he searched for his artist's name on Google.

The more he investigated, the more serious his expression became.

It was as if I saw a lion suddenly emerge from the arena.

"Judging from his resume, he is probably the most outstanding student among us—" Viktor said. "Damn it, on the day his violin album was released last year, one of the pieces actually reached number 46 on the music listening charts."

"46 people."

Gu Weijing said.

"What do you think? It's terrifying, okay? This is a pure classical violin album, not some pop rock. I didn't know... there are so many people in the world who listen to classical music."

Victor said.

"That's amazing."

Gu Weijing commented.

Looking at Gu Weijing's "unambitious" appearance, Victor was too lazy to say anything. He could only sigh with disappointment.

some things.

Do you think things will just fall into your lap if you don't try to earn them and show them what you're capable of?

That "Willie" student has already achieved such brilliant success, but he still has to "show off" a bit more.

Victor thought.

Among the more than 30 students from different schools present, if anyone could stand up to Mr. Williams based on their resume, that would be a good match.

There may only be one: Gu Weijing.

The youngest gold medalist in the history of the International Biennale—a title no less prestigious than the gold medal at the Paganini Violin Competition.

The two of them can have a real, real competition.

However, after entering university, their life trajectories diverged drastically. Williams signed with an arts troupe, released albums, and even signed with a top-tier management team. He seemed destined to become a future "Mozart" of the music world.

Williams practices the piano very hard.

Gu Weijing.

Ironically, he also practiced the piano very diligently.

Please, please, Gu Weijing, can you please clear your head? He's a violin major at the music academy, and you're a watercolor major at the art academy.

They're practicing art.

What are you practicing? Gu Weijing is practicing performance art.

This is far too abstract.

Victor always felt that Gu Weijing was constantly wasting his time, his talent, and the artistic resources and attention he possessed.

Gu Weijing was not a student with poor grades in school.

On the contrary. His grades were good, and his form and line drawing skills were astonishing, which is why Viktor felt sorry for him.

Gu Weijing achieved such results with very little effort devoted to his schoolwork. And he... seemed satisfied, content to measure himself by the standards of an ordinary, outstanding student.

He... he was qualified to reach very high peaks.

Victor was once thrilled to have such a roommate, but he squandered it all with an irresponsible attitude.

Countless stories in art history of suddenly winning major awards and then fading into obscurity over time are unfolding around him.

Take today's incident as an example.

Victor felt that if this had happened a year and a half ago, during the summer before they enrolled in school, the hotel owner would have approached Gu Weijing first, instead of becoming just another byproduct in printing Williams's photo.

A gladiatorial contest.

Thirty men arrived at the arena.

Five people will receive applause, and one person will gain freedom.

There were originally two magnificent lions in this arena, one of which, through undisciplined indulgence, turned itself into a cat.

……

In the pastures on the outskirts of Hamburg.

August sniffed and cautiously made his way up to the second-floor corridor.

It lay on the ground, its nose pressed against the earth, slowly crawling forward. The entire floor was filled with the smell of that fat dog, making August's nose itch.

August strolled slowly past the cat tree placed in the corridor.

glance right and left.

well.

There wasn't a single cat on the shelf.

August strolled past a huge, ugly porcelain basin. Thinking of his own exquisite utensils, a strong sense of superiority made the Springer Spaniel straighten its back, raise its head, and its large ears, with fur as thick as satin, twitch twice.

Ah.

August stood there, hesitated for a moment, and finally barely managed to resist the urge to lift his front paws and roll around on the cat tree, or lift his hind legs to relieve himself in the litter box and mark his scent.

As a sufficiently intelligent dog, a true gentleman in the canine world.

It decided to make overall plans—

Go eat your fill first, then come back and sneak off to poop.

August made up its mind and continued walking forward. When it got close to the feeder, it slowed down again, looked left and right, and made sure that its target was not there.

It stretched out its paw, reaching towards the feeder.

Suddenly, a powerful cat meow rang out.

August suddenly raised his head.

Just above the cabinet, a fluffy cat ball came crashing down on it.

"Meow!"

Has anyone ever heard of a cat falling from the sky?
“Don’t you find it strange, Willie, that so many of us students are gathered here? I’m participating in the Menzel Turner Master of Excellence Program, while the Hamburg Conservatory’s program is called the Beethoven-Sibelius Master of Excellence Program—”

"—In fact, the curriculum and music arrangements for students from our two schools are vastly different. Yet we are competing for the same awards."

in the afternoon.

Holiday villa.

The judges' interview session has already begun, and it's just Viktor's turn.

The students who came out of the room earlier all had stiff, ashen faces and gloomy expressions, as if it were a "haunted house" from an Edgar Allan Poe horror story.

A perfectly healthy person walked in.

After emerging, its soul was drained by the demon, and when it emerged again, it had completely changed its appearance.

Viktor drew a prayer cross on his shoulder and forehead, looking as if he were preparing to die a heroic death, as he walked into the interview room.

Gu Weijing waited outside and saw Williams and his classmates.

Thinking back to what happened before.

So Gu Weijing took the initiative to walk over and greet the other person.

Williams seemed to recognize Gu Weijing. He tilted his head and stared intently at Gu Weijing's face, scrutinizing him without saying a word.

"Hey. Hello, you must be Gu Weijing, I've heard so much about you."

A woman wearing round glasses walked over and warmly extended her hand to Gu Weijing.

"I wanted to say hello this morning. It's so nice to meet you. I've mentioned your name to Willie many times before. Ms. K's painting? That 'Old Church on a Thunderstorm'... To be honest, I really cried when I read the article in 'Painting' magazine. It was so touching, wasn't it?"

“I think you and Willie are the two most talented people in the entire arts program. When the two of you meet, you’re sure to create some amazing things. Believe me, you’ll become good friends.”

“Gu Weijing, this is Willie. Willie, this is Gu Weijing.”

Even though Gu Weijing had already greeted Williams, the woman reintroduced them and patted Williams hard on the back.

This time.

Williams slowly extended his hand and shook hands briefly with Gu Weijing.

"you are?"

"Sorry, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Willie's personal agent..." The woman handed Gu Weijing a business card.

Gu Weijing saw the CAA logo on it.

The art industry is relatively niche, and artists all have their own agents, but it's more like a makeshift operation.

However, the music industry will become more mature.

For example, CAA.

This is a true talent agency giant, with assets worth tens of billions of dollars, a history almost as long as Hollywood's, and coverage across film, music, and sports. Its status is comparable to PricewaterhouseCoopers or Deloitte in the accounting world.

After the two shook hands.

Williams looked away, staring blankly at the clouds outside the window.

The agent was a little embarrassed.

She smiled at Gu Weijing.

"Regarding your question, it's actually like the Grammy Awards' general categories. Pop, rap, classical, country, instrumental... there are so many genres, and the range of music in each category is extremely wide, yet everyone is still competing for the same award."

"This matter should be similar."

(End of this chapter)