Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1145 405. Playing the game with my mother [Twenty-four]

The conference room is not small, but the conference table is not big.

A group of foreign judges standing diagonally opposite Chen Wenchang were communicating with the translator.

It can be seen that some foreign judges are puzzled by such a result.

This was in stark contrast to the fleeting surprise that flashed across the faces of some of the Chinese judges.

The difference between surprise and confusion is that the former happens in an instant, and it only takes one or two seconds from processing the information to smiling knowingly.

The latter will focus on a constant state of confusion or perhaps a cognitive block.

Novak is in this state at the moment. He is very surprised by the scoring details of player No. 01.

If he was not mistaken, contestant No. 01 received a total of six full marks.

There was no way he could have seen it wrong. Even if he didn't understand Chinese or recognize Arabic numerals, he could see the six numbers marked in red on the score sheet of contestant No. 01.

Every judge present knew what the red number represented; it represented full marks.

The maximum score for this competition is 10 points, and the players in Group C in this round received a total of six full marks.

Just by moving your eyes again, you can count fifteen red numbers on the projector in two or three glances.

There were 21 judges and 15 contestants, excluding 5 teachers and students who avoided scoring, and a total of 310 valid scores were collected.

Of the 310 valid scores, only 15 were full marks.

Contestant No. 01 Che Lin scored 6 full marks alone, and the remaining 9 full marks went to the other three contestants.

The first place, No. 13 Xiao Jingchen, received 3 full marks.

The second place, No. 09 Sun Wenjun, received 2 full marks.

The third place, No. 05 He Jiaming, received 4 full marks.

Fourth place, No. 01 Che Lin, received 6 full marks.

That's right.

Professor Chen Wenchang from Chengdu Conservatory of Music was not wrong.

Young Mao from St. Petersburg was not wrong.

Mrs. Katarzyna from Krakow was not wrong.

Mr. Ken Yoshikawa from Okayama pushed up his glasses again.

Even Alex from Warsaw had never encountered such a situation. Having served as artistic director of the Chopin Competition twice, he was puzzled by the score in front of him.

Why not understand?
Because I've never seen it before.

Even the score sheet for the third-round qualifying round in 1980 wasn't so bizarre.

The highest score is -2, the lowest score is -2. The instructor does not give any scores. The scores are rounded to two decimal places. The final scores of all contestants are as follows.

First place, Jamel Xiao, average score 9.71, highest score 10, lowest score 8.8.

Second place, Sun Wenjun, average score 9.62, highest score 10, lowest score 8.9.

Third place, He Jiaming, with an average score of 9.53, the highest score was 10, and the lowest score was 8.6.

Fourth place, Che Lin, average score 9.50, highest score 10, lowest score 8.5.

Fifth place, Chen Yutong, average score 9.45, highest score 9.85, lowest score 8.7.

Sixth place, Tang Haoran, average score 9.42, highest score 9.9, lowest score 8.6.

Seventh place, Zhao Xinyi, average score 9.38, highest score 9.7, lowest score 8.8.

Eighth place, Han Xueqing, average score 9.35, highest score 9.6, lowest score 8.65.

Ninth place, Xu Tianyu, average score 9.31, highest score 9.65, lowest score 8.6.

Tenth place, Yang Ruolin, average score 9.28, highest score 9.4, lowest score 8.65.

Eleventh place, Li Ruoxi, average score 9.25, highest score 9.35, lowest score 8.7.

Twelfth place, Liu Yiyuan, average score 9.2, highest score 9.45, lowest score 8.5.

Thirteenth place, Feng Junjie, average score 9.18, highest score 9.4, lowest score 8.4.

Fourteenth place, Wu Yating, average score 9.15, highest score 9.3, lowest score 8.45.

Fifteenth place, Huang Sirui, average score 8.85, highest score 9.25, lowest score 8.5.

Contestant No. 01, who accounted for 8.6% of the full marks, was able to get a low score of 8.5 even though most judges set the minimum score at .

Even contestant No. 03 Feng Junjie, who had a series of major stage accidents, had the lowest score of only 8.4.

Of course, everything is clear on the score sheet.

The judge who gave Feng Junjie a score of 8.4 was Zhou Lihua, director of the piano teaching and research department of Tongyin High School.

The judge who gave Che Lin a score of 8.5 was Xu Jianbin, a professor from the Piano Department of Jiangyin Conservatory of Music.

The two low scores did not come from the same judge.

Looking more closely, none of the judges gave outrageous scores.

All scores given by Chen Dawei, director of the Keyboard Research Institute of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, ranged from 9 to 9.3.

Young piano teachers from the Affiliated High School of the West Conservatory of Music generally gave higher scores, between 9.5 and 9.9.

Although the scores given by the two teachers are quite different, it will not have a significant impact on the final ranking of each contestant after the total score is entered.

Most of the judges gave scores similar to those given by the above two judges.

There was no case where a judge gave high scores to some contestants and low scores to other contestants.

The only score that caught everyone's attention at first glance was from Ivanov, who is also from Russia. This old man gave 01 points to the fourth-place contestant No. 10 Che Lin.

The second highest score from his players went to fifth place Chen Yutong, with 9.8 points.

Xiao Jingchen, Sun Wenjun and He Jiaming, who got the top three in the total average score, only got 9.7, 9.65 and 9.5 respectively from Ivanov.

In other words, in Lao Mao's ranking, contestant No. 01 Che Lin should be ranked first, followed by Chen Yutong, and then Xiao Jingchen and the other two.

There is no problem at all, as Ang Lee said, each judge has his or her own scoring system.

This comes from different personal experiences and cultural backgrounds, etc.

Some people eat with knives and forks, and some people eat with chopsticks.

Some people like the rapid and violent touch of the keys, while others like the strong and weak phrases with coherent themes.

Some people like new styles, while others are loyal defenders of the academic school.

Therefore, only by gathering such a group of judges together can the competition appear more objective and fair, making the piano competition more attractive.

It was precisely these people's seemingly flawless scores that caused the contestant who received six full marks to be eliminated from this round.

If you take a closer look at the reasons behind these six perfect scores, you will find something even more interesting.

Of the six full marks for contestant No. 01, four came from foreign judges and two came from domestic judges.

Among the four foreign judges, two are university professors and the other two are pianists.

Of course, all 21 judges sitting in the conference room at this moment can be called pianists.

The prerequisite is to downplay the professional attributes of the pianist.

The only two pianists present gave full marks to contestant No. 01.

I have to admire the excellent matching mechanism of the Slavic region, and I also have to admire the charm of music.
A Russian and a Pole, they actually found resonance in a 13 and a half year old Chinese girl.

Two Chinese judges also resonated with them.

How could these two Chinese judges be ordinary people?

Simply put, they are Wei Sanwan from Yanjing and Li Qing from Tianjin.

In their respective chassis, one of them is the eldest brother and the other is the second brother.

This is one of the reasons why Chen Wenchang, the third brother from Chengdu, feels mixed emotions.

Seeing that even Zhao Weilin gave Che Lin full marks, Chen Wenchang felt very regretful.

Why did he hesitate so much at that time? What if he just gave Che Lin a full score!

He clearly thought that Che Lin's performance deserved a full score from him, and he clearly gave all the contestants what he thought were the fairest scores.

But in the end he only gave Che Lin 9.9 points.

Because he is from Chengdu, and Che Lin is also from Chengdu. Although he is not Che Lin's teacher, the outside world knows that he and Lao Wei have a close relationship. Lao Wei is Ang Lee's most proud student, and Che Lin is Ang Lee's most proud student. If he gave Che Lin a full score, it would be equivalent to Lao Wei sitting here and giving full scores to his grandson, and Ang Lee giving full scores to his apprentice.

He has no control over this kind of joint grading that occurs in other regional colleges and universities, but it is not allowed in Chengdu.

What Chen Wenchang really cares about is not his own reputation. What he cares about is the reputation of their Chengdu piano community in front of outsiders. The Little Golden Bell Awards will be held in Chengdu at the end of the year.

As someone who was promoted by Lao Wei, how could he not be aware of his old boss's temper?

Zhao Weilin clearly gave Rongyuan two judges' spots, but Lao Wei only sent someone else to come alone.

Why did they only send one? Why did they only send him and not Li Qing?
Chen Wenchang knew better than anyone that he was here on behalf of Lao Wei.

So as a friend of contestant No. 01, he really cannot give contestant No. 01 a full score.

But at this moment, looking at Che Lin who was only 0.04 points away from going to Warsaw, he thought of Cai Fengnian who lost in the game yesterday.

As Cai Fengnian's teacher, he actually knew that Cai Fengnian had no chance. But after hanging up the phone with Cai Fengnian's father last night, Chen Wenchang felt really bad. Cai Fengnian's father said that little Cai cried alone in the hotel bathroom for a while.

Compared to his mood yesterday, he couldn't even describe himself as uncomfortable at this moment.

He couldn't give Cai Fengnian a score yesterday. Even if he could give Cai Fengnian a score, even if he gave Cai Fengnian full marks regardless of everything, it could not change the result that Cai Fengnian could not advance.

But today was completely different. If he gave Che Lin full marks according to his first thought.

Then Che Lin's average score will exceed 9.53 and reach 9.54+, getting the last qualifying spot.

Obviously in his mind Che Lin's performance today was perfect.

Just because of his weighing of the pros and cons, he ruined his child's chance to go to Warsaw.

Looking at the bright red column of numbers on the projector, Chen Wenchang felt mixed emotions.

Another reason, and the main reason, that made him feel mixed emotions was that he might have to face a choice again.
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Everything happened so fast that only when the projector flashed the scoring results did everyone know the final result.

Some people are puzzled, some are surprised.

But no matter whether it is confusion or surprise, it is all because of the hard work in the circle to get to where I am today.

No one needs to say anything, because nothing can be done.

"How to do?"

Zhao Weilin asked everyone, what can you say?
The scoring sheet is out, what do you think we should do?
If you don’t know what to do, just announce the results directly!
If you don't announce the results directly, everyone outside will think that the results of the competition are controversial.

There could have been no controversy.

A competition is a competition, and there is nothing anyone can do if the difference is 0.01.

If we announce it directly and openly, people won’t think there is anything wrong with it, and the scoring criteria will also be formulaic.

It's better now.

All the judges, especially the Chinese judges, could understand and accept this meeting.

As for whether it is worth it or not, no one can say anything.

What makes everyone unhappy is that Zhao Weilin is now passing the problem to everyone.

You want to hold this meeting, but you don't want to offend anyone, so you want others to speak up for you.

What do you expect others to say?
According to the rules of the competition, the top three contestants advance, it's that simple.

A game is a game, and the facts are there.

But who dares to say this now?
If we don’t hold a meeting, no one will know anyone’s performance.

No one would have known that the score difference between contestant No. 01 and contestant No. 05 was so small.

No one would know that contestant No. 01 received six high-quality full marks that everyone knew about.

No one would know that even Chen Wenchang did not give full marks to contestant No. 01.

No one would have known that the two judges from Xinghai University and the Affiliated High School both gave full marks to contestant No. 05.

Now that everyone knows, what do you want them to say?

On one side is He Peng, and on the other side is the Chengdu Gang.

It would be fine if it was before, but the problem is that the Little Golden Bell Awards for the next three years were all in Chengdu.

The key point is that you gave full marks to both contestants. You didn't offend anyone, and no matter what the result is, you can still gain a reputation for being caring about humanity.

So we all have no humanity?

Then just advance, what else is there to talk about? Just tell me, if you tell me, Wei Hongjin and Li An will remember you well.

How come you, the chairman of the jury for the Chinese competition area, don't have this much courage?

Aren't you worried that your proposal will cause disputes over qualifying places among various countries?
But we are worried too.

After all this drama, you actually want everything but don't want to offend anyone.

There were indeed some young and energetic judges who had to smile and brought their own ideas to all the judges on the scene.

But some judges have been thinking about the best solution from the beginning.

In the eyes of these judges, no matter what Zhao Weilin's motives were, at least he gave contestant No. 01 another chance.

Looking back at the performance of contestant No. 01, it may be hard to say if we look at it from the perspective of participating in international competitions.

Because not everyone was staring at Zhao Weilin, more judges were still paying attention to the six perfect scores of contestant No. 01 -

Two thirds of them are from international judges.

At this moment, Professor Li Shuyuan from the Ocean University broke the silence of the conference room.

"I suggest that everyone advance."

Professor Li Shuyuan from the Ocean University of China broke the silence in the conference room.

Seeing such an influential senior speak, everyone followed suit.

For a moment, the conference room seemed to come alive, and Alex and other foreign judges looked directly at Li Shuyuan who was speaking through the translator.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Weilin formally submitted an application to Alex. However, he had no final say in this matter and needed Alex's approval.

After listening to the translator's message, the international judges fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Alex shook his head, then started chattering with a serious look.

Translation: "This does not meet the requirements of the competition. We have six regions around the world."

While the translator was translating, Novak tried to speak several times but failed to interrupt the teacher.

Translation: "If we open more seats in the Chinese region, the competition will no longer be fair. I can't do that."

Zhao Weilin seemed to have expected Alex to say this, and then asked the translator to convey: "Can we learn from the sixth rule of the Chopin Competition? Contestant 01, like Contestant 05, is an excellent young performer. You have seen it, and you also gave Contestant 01 a high score. She deserves to go to Warsaw, and I believe the Warsaw stage also needs her."

For a moment, Zhao Weilin's righteous words made some young judges who were originally dissatisfied with him inexplicably feel an indescribable emotion.

"And I would like to point out another point. The playing style of contestant No. 01 does not belong to the mainstream school in our country. We have not even seen a child of this age who can have such a playing style in the competition."

“So our judges were hesitant in giving scores, and this is something we need to reflect on.”

As the translator translated Zhao Weilin's words word by word to the international judges, senior judges including Feng Hanlin and Li Shuyuan kept nodding their heads.

The young judges also seemed to reflect on themselves.

At this moment, it seems that there is no distinction between factions in the country. As a leader sitting in the top chair in the domestic academic community, Zhao Weilin, no matter what he has done in the past, these words at this moment are indeed moving.

No matter who says this in China, it carries no weight.

"So I implore the organizing committee to consider that artistic judgment needs to find a dynamic balance between technical specifications and rule constraints."

"I think this is also something that all of us who work in the review and evaluation field should think about."

As the translator's voice fell again, all the domestic judges looked at Alex.

Young Brother Mao seemed a little excited, and the translator's voice was full of power.

This time Alex didn't refuse in a hurry. After thinking for a long time, he looked at the ranking list on the projector and sighed.

Then, under everyone's expectant gaze, he slowly opened his mouth.

The translator could only translate with regret: "I'm sorry, Chairman Zhao, I agree with some of your views. You are an excellent piano teacher, and I also admire all the Chinese contestants participating in this competition, but I can't help you. I will submit an application proposal to the organizing committee when I go back. Maybe the sixth rule will be added to the next Xiao Xiao competition."

Just as everyone showed a disappointed expression, the translator frowned slightly and said, "But I have the authority to add a fifteenth rule to this round of competition."

"When there is a dispute over the promotion of two players, if their score difference is relatively close, the judges can vote to decide whether to activate the fifteenth rule. If more than half of the judges vote, the fifteenth rule can be activated. After that, all judges must participate in the final vote to decide who advances."

"The rules do not allow abstentions."