Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1119 379. Nonsense Xiao Sai! A little shock from A Lin
This is a competition, a piano competition.

It is not the Xinhai Cup, but the Xiaoxiao Competition, the full name of which is the Chopin International Children's Piano Competition.

The origin of this Xiaoxiao Competition is actually not that complicated. It is because its father is called the Chopin International Piano Competition, and then this competition came into being.

There is actually not much to talk about regarding the Chopin International Piano Competition. Among various classical music competitions, this one is probably the most well-known among the public.

Some people got to know some pianists because of this competition, and some people got to know this competition because of some pianists. In short, they are both very popular.

Simply put, this is one of the highest level piano competitions in the world.

Held every five years, with direct funding from the Polish government, the event brings the world's best young performers to a stage. The most authoritative people in the competition are also invited to serve as judges. Everyone goes on stage to play and see who wins the judges' favor in the end.

Of course, it is not necessary to gain unanimous favor from the judges, which is why the Chopin Competition is the highest-level piano competition in the world.

Because even if you get the highest score, you may not necessarily get the final gold medal. The gold medal is like a special honor.

It can only be awarded to the contestant with the highest score, but whether it is given or not depends entirely on the judges' mood.

However, one thing is very important: although the highest score may not necessarily win the gold medal, it will definitely get the largest prize money.

In addition to receiving generous bonuses, the highest-scoring contestants will also receive various invitations to endorsements, advertisements, records, concerts, various commercial activities, etc. In other words, if you get the highest score in the Xiao competition, you will directly leap into the ranks of world-class pianists and become basically financially free.

Winner takes all applies here as well.

Some friends may be a little surprised. How come this feels like a pure competitive game?

Yes, the Chopin Competition has become more and more pure.

As for whether the competition has been over-commercialized, it is really unnecessary to say considering the current dying situation of the global classical music market.

If the market is given a shot of adrenaline every time a gold medal winner of the Chopin Competition is produced, then there may be tied gold medals in the future.

I've gone off topic, but this is pretty much what the competition is like.

Very powerful and very classy, ​​yet very far away from the masses.

It is indeed amazing.

As a competition that has been developing for nearly a hundred years, it is no longer a simple piano competition, it has become an international cultural event.

It has to be international.

Why do we say it is international? Let me give you two unreliable examples.

First example.

According to existing historical records, Chopin should belong to the Polish nation.

Chopin publicly acknowledged this on several occasions, especially during his time in exile.

But the French also believe that they own an important part of Chopin.

Not to mention that Chopin was half French.

Even though Poland had already perished at that time, it seemed that Chopin had no choice but to join the French citizenship. He couldn't have joined the Russian citizenship.

Once we join, we join. The French say we have never treated Chopin unfairly.

Chopin lived in France for half of his life. He lived a pretty good life and finally found a French female writer.

Chopin also publicly stated many times that his music was deeply influenced by French culture, and that he only ate chocolate produced by a candy workshop in southern Bordeaux.

Second example.

In the second Chopin Competition, the first prize went to a Russian again.

Not only did the Poles fail to hold on to their second place in the first session, the only two Polish players selected in the top fifteen came third and thirteenth respectively.

The Polish judges were extremely frustrated by this, which was really like the old lady's New Year, with each year getting worse than the last.

"The Polish team not only lost miserably, but also showed the art of Polish pianists and the Polish Chopin style in the worst possible light."

"The result of this competition represents the failure of our piano education in Poland."

These were the exact words of the Polish judges at the time.

It was from this time that orthodox Polish Chopin studies, far from being questioned, attracted the attention of pianists from all over the world.

Why did the Russians take first place again?

Can I do it too?

Everyone wants to go and see it.

So in the following years, groups of world-class pianists flocked to Poland every five years, and in this way, the Chopin Competition was pushed onto the truly international stage.

As for what flavor of chocolate Chopin liked and who owned it more, there is no need to argue about it anymore.

Chopin already belongs to the world.

The previous Chopin Competitions were truly exciting, because the contestants were truly first-class pianists at the time.

Any one of the top ten could have been a great figure at that time.

How can a fight between gods not be interesting?
It looks good, but it also has some drawbacks.

The performances and competitions between contestants from various schools and styles can really let the audience feel what it means to be so outstanding.

This is very interesting. Our Mr. Fu commented:
“The audience can see the different emphases of different schools of thought.”

“Some of the emphasis is on how to play the piano.”

“Some of it is the ability to find color.”

“Some focus on brilliance.”

“Some focus on the more delicate emotional side.”

No one can decide how many sides Chopin has and which side he belongs to.

Even what the judges say doesn’t count.

There were too many disappointments in the final competitions of previous sessions, but we just didn’t dare to give double gold medals before.

Unlike the previous sessions, the judges didn’t know why they gave a silver medal, which made people feel uncomfortable.

Why did it fail in the middle? It’s because the previous sessions worked too hard.

The shock left behind was too great, the tone raised too high.

Furthermore, the identities of the contestants were constantly declining. It started with a fight between gods, then slowly became a fight between macho men, and finally it dropped to a fight between little kids.

Alas, Xiao Xiaosai was born.

It is of course also international.

It has all the necessary links, from the global auditions to the final Warsaw finals, it has multiple levels of screening, making it quite formal.

The contestants must play a sufficient number of Chopin's works and also play designated Chopin works.

In order to ensure fairness, the organizing committee has strict age group divisions.

Although the championship title of Xiao Xiao Sai has nothing to do with the championship title of Da Xiao Sai, but in the world of children, Xiao Xiao Sai is already enough.

It is sacred in the hearts of many older generation piano educators.

They think this is a real race worth participating in.

This is a competition, a piano competition.

What are we comparing? Chopin's works.

What the Chopin Competition is about is also Chopin's works.

Both father and son competed on Chopin's works.

Since the competition is based on the works of a certain composer, there should be a standard. For Lao Wei, the standard of Chopin's works is a set of inherited traditions, which is the mark left in Lao Wei's mind by the years.

So the question is, where did this tradition come from?

It started from the time when Chopin became a friend of the world. The tradition that was passed down was determined by how those great Chopin players played Chopin at that time.

Old Wei was very confused, really confused.

It was not like this when I heard Xiaoche playing "Puppy Waltz" in the exam room on Monday. How come Xiaoche played it like this in just one week?

What exactly happened this week?
Lao Wei just thought that it might be because Ang Lee told Xiao Che something about his research on one-handed piano teaching, but the two things really cannot be connected.

Lao Wei didn't say that Xiao Che's performance just now was bad, he even said that he thought Xiao Che's performance just now was perfect.

If it were a personal concert, playing a set of music like this would definitely be worthy of the audience.

But the problem is, this is a competition.

The risk of such a game is too great.

Or has he been eliminated by the times? Old Wei looked at the master and disciple standing in front of him, and for a moment he didn't know what to say next.

So his tone just now was a bit negotiating. He was wondering if Xiaoche could control the emotions expressed in the music.

"Lee An."

"Teacher, just say it directly."

Lao Wei pondered for a moment, and seeing that Li An still wanted the car to stay here, he did not avoid it. He decided to make his own suggestions based on the game itself, "It's too risky to do it this way."

Li An smiled: "Teacher, please continue."

Old Wei looked at Xiaoche again and said, "Linlin, tell me, the Mazurka you just played, was it your teacher who taught you to play it this way, or did you just want to play it this way?"

Xiao Che bared his teeth and said, "I want to play it this way, and the teacher agreed after listening to it."

Fang Yongbo sighed inwardly when he heard this, and the smile on his face became even more meaningful.

Xiaoche went on to say, "The teacher told me many stories about this piece, and I asked the teacher many questions. When I was in the summer camp, Professor Anna and Grandpa Charlie also told us about the Mazurka dance. When I combined the two, I had a feeling for it, but I didn't dare to play it like this at first. It was when I played the piano in the restaurant that day that I suddenly became bolder, and then I played it like this. After I finished playing, the teacher said, "Oh, it's not bad, hehe."

Xiaoche's shy and playful laughter immediately amused the two old comrades.

Lao Wei: “Can you tell me how you feel?”

Xiao Che thought for a moment and said with difficulty: "That's right, this piece doesn't necessarily have to sound completely real or fake. I've heard many versions, and I think most of them are too dull. The teacher said that first of all it is a dance, and a dance must have solid movements."

As he spoke, Xiaoche seemed to gradually organize the feelings in his heart.

"For example, if a person wants to perform a sad dance, in order to let people know that he is going to perform a sad dance, he may deliberately create a sad feeling in his costume and makeup, and then focus on the delicate and gentle dance movements, and then match it with sad music. This is not right. I don't know if Master Fang can understand what I mean."

Li An smiled: "Just say it."

Fang Yongbo smiled: "Go ahead."

Lao Wei smiled: "Speak boldly."

Xiaoche continued, "I think true sadness is not expressed externally. It only happens at a certain moment on the stage, whether it is dance or music. Maybe it is a look from a dancer, or a sentence in the piano. As long as it appears, it will affect everyone's emotions. It doesn't have to be at the climax."

"And he can only appear once. If he appears a second time, the performance will fail."

"I think this Mazurka should be played with slightly more powerful notes. It is neither sad nor happy. In my heart, it is like a person who is short of oxygen. Every breath needs to be taken with force to keep the music moving forward."

As Xiaoche finished speaking, Lao Wei and Fang Yongbo looked at each other, and both saw some unrest in each other's eyes.

Xiaoche's words show more than just his musical talent.

Lao Wei was a little excited. At this moment, he had already forgotten the result of the race. The result really didn't matter. What the car needed now was just time.

"Commander Fang, please tell us what you are talking about." Old Wei had nothing else to say.

Fang Yongbo smiled and took over the conversation: "Linlin, why do you feel that this piece is like a person who is short of oxygen?"

Xiao Che scratched his head: "When I first heard this piece of work, this picture appeared in my mind, and I don't know why."

Fang Yongbo nodded: "Very good, very delicate feeling, what is your goal for this competition, can you tell me?"

Speaking of goals, Xiaoche looked at the teacher a little embarrassedly.

Li An raised his hand and touched the back of Xiaoche's head, "Tell me about it, I also want to listen."

Xiao Che grinned again, then put away his smile: "The goal is to play every piece well."

Li An: "Uncle Fang and Master are not outsiders, just speak up."

Xiaoche: "Really, teacher! I just want to play every piece well."

Li An continued to provoke: "Don't you want to go to Poland for a visit?"

Xiaoche: "Of course."

Li An: "That means we want to strive for the top three."

Car: "Yeah!"

Fang Yongbo replied: "Would you feel bad if you didn't make it to the top three?"

Xiaoche smiled: "Yes."

Just as Lao Wei was about to speak, Xiao Che continued, "But I am also very happy, because the teacher promised me that I can continue to practice 740 after the competition. I have been particularly fond of Czerny recently."

Fang Yongbo: "Okay, okay, let's put it this way, Linlin. Uncle Fang wants to make a promise with you. If you make it into the top three this time, I'll give you a gift. If you don't make it into the top three, you have to do me a favor, okay?"

Xiao Che didn't even think about the logic behind this statement and simply refused: "Thank you, Uncle Fang, I don't need any gifts. I will help you with anything you want."

The three adults laughed again.

Fang Yongbo: "Okay, then I'll tell you when you come back from the game."

Xiaoche: “Okay!”

Fang Yongbo: "Okay, I'll just wait and see your competition. Just play boldly when the time comes, and don't think about anything else."

Xiaoche: "Yes! Thank you, Uncle Fang!"

Lao Wei: "Linlin, what do you rely on to make the upward fade out?"

Dolly: "Ring finger and pinky finger!"

Lao Wei grinned: "Okay, Commander Fang, please continue to add your comments. This is the end of my comments."

Fang Yongbo originally had something to add, but it seems that it is no longer necessary now.

When Lao Wei said that this was a competition, he wanted to add that, from his point of view, what the market lacks now is precisely this kind of playing method that is different from the traditional processing.

Young people today are too accustomed to things in the past, and it has to be said that this is indeed an insurance strategy.

But by avoiding risks, you may also miss opportunities.

That's why Ang Lee came into his field of vision.

Fang Yongbo saw the shadow of Ang Lee in the car. He believed that under Ang Lee's guidance and company, the car would never take an ordinary path in the future. He was waiting for that day.

"I don't have anything else to add. Let's listen to our teacher Li."

Li An also has to go to class today.
-
An hour later, three adults and two children waved goodbye at the door of piano number four.

Lin Qingfeng picked up Fang Yongbo, and Li An drove the three of them back to Rongyuan.

Another hour later, on the tablet computer on the dining table, the live draw for Group A for tomorrow ended.

It was the first time that Xiaoche saw this way of drawing lots, and his curious expression clearly showed that he was still a child.

(End of this chapter)