Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1331, Section 551: Tiger is finally eating fine chaff! [Part 2]

Beethoven was born in Bern and moved to Vienna when he was young.

As a musical mecca in Europe, Vienna was the spiritual home of every musical dreamer at the time.

"He studied under Haydn to learn about the classical style and sought advice from Mozart on improvisation."

"He studied counterpoint with Altsberg and composition techniques with Salieri."

Every word of Grandpa Tang was imprinted in Wang Xiaohu's heart, even though to Tang Xiaoxing it sounded like Grandpa was just giving them a brief recap of Beethoven's early life.

"Beethoven's style was formed thanks to his early learning experience, but he never stopped moving forward."

The three children nodded in agreement. If Beethoven had stopped, there would be no later generations to praise him as "the pioneer of Romanticism."

"When he began composing symphonies in the early 19th century, his first symphony was recognized by the industry."

Wang Xiaohu whispered back, "C major."

Mr. Tang: "In C major, it bears the influence of works by Haydn and Mozart."

"Although Beethoven was influenced by Mozart and Haydn in the early stages of his creative career, he did not limit himself to their styles."

"When it came to the third hero, he made bold innovations, from the length to the composition. Wang Xiaohu just answered very clearly."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaohu licked his lips, somewhat embarrassed.

Mr. Tang: "And in the fifth book, Fate in C minor, he created an epic concept."

Tang Xiaoxing: "The Motive of Fate"

Mr. Tang: "This motivation is a further development of the heroic image he established in the third hero."

As he spoke, Grandpa Tang flipped open the score on the chair again. "In terms of form, it is more focused, compact, and unified than Heroes."

"It can be said that Fate is one of Beethoven's symphonic works with the clearest developmental logic."

"We can see this clearly from the score."

The two little girls nodded.

"From today's perspective, this work, full of anger and resistance, is undoubtedly one of the greatest works in the history of Western music."

"But in Beethoven's time, this work received a polarized response."

"At the time, no one could remain neutral about this work."

"Fanatical admiration or extreme aversion."

Wang Xiaohu frowned slightly, wondering if there were people who wouldn't like such a great work.
Mr. Tang smiled and said, "At the time, many music critics, including musicians, believed that Beethoven's work had surpassed the limits of music at that time."

Upon hearing the following sentence, Wang Xiaohu immediately understood the origin of those extreme aversions, because Beethoven completely broke with tradition here.

"The premiere of this work was at the Vienna Music Academy on December 22, 1808, with Beethoven himself conducting."

“After the premiere, Beethoven’s good friend Reinhardt said that the work was too intense and exceeded his personal emotional capacity.”

"Can you understand? Yun'er, I remember we discussed similar issues when I was telling you about Mahler."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Mmm!"

Car: "I understand."

Wang Xiaohu: "It was too avant-garde for its time; every era has works like that."

Mr. Tang: "Well said. Do you know when this song started to be gradually accepted by the public?"

Tang Xiaoxing: "Performing abroad."

Mr. Tang: "Later, this work quickly became a hit at concerts held in countries surrounding Austria."

"The concept of fate also began to emerge in the early nineteenth century, and began to receive attention in literature and drama."

"Schiller's Wallenstein and Goethe's Egmont both discuss the inherent freedom of human nature."

Wang Xiaohu's heart skipped a beat, and then goosebumps rose on his arms. This was getting closer to the core of romantic music!

"It was during this process that people began to call this work Fate, instead of the Symphony in C minor."

"Resonance is a peculiar thing; it requires the right environment of its time."

"When the Napoleonic Wars swept across Europe, people seemed to suddenly understand this voice of resistance."

"Wow—"

Just then, applause erupted again from the audience.

The three children glanced in the direction of the applause, and then Teacher Wang Han and Teacher Wu Zening appeared in the audience.

"Okay, now that we understand all that, let's go back to your performance."

Mr. Tang commented, "There's nothing to say about the technique."

"It's done very well."

"But with your combined skill level, you shouldn't just be able to complete the technical part."

That was actually quite blunt, but both girls nodded modestly.

Grandpa Tang looked down at the sheet music and said, "The imitation is too obvious. Your teacher said that he didn't work on the musical parts for you."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Mm."

Grandpa Tang: "Whose idea was it to create the interface for the second topic?"

Xiao Che: "Xiao Xing and I discussed it together."

Grandpa Tang nodded: "Let's start from the beginning."

Do you have a pencil?

Wang Xiaohu quickly handed over the prepared pencil, "Grandpa Tang."

"May I touch your sheet music?" Grandpa Tang asked with a smile.

"Sure, sure!" Wang Xiaohu couldn't suppress his smile.

"Thank you." Grandpa Tang asked Wang Xiaohu to come closer, and then drew a triangle below the motive in the first section.

"Neither of you had a clear idea of ​​how to handle this piece from the beginning."

"It's like it suddenly started, the music just kept going down, but where is it going? You don't know."

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

As he hummed, the pencil in Grandpa Tang's hand circled in mid-air; the seemingly small movement conveyed a powerful sense of strength.

"This motif runs throughout the entire piece. Think about how the audience hears these notes played by various instruments. Have you connected all the motifs together?"

Faced with Grandpa Tang's question, all three children fell into thought.

The two young girls had to admit that they had never considered how to present their work to the audience from the very beginning.

They didn't really delve into the motivation that runs throughout the entire work; as they saw it, the logic of the work was already written very clearly on the score.

From the beginning, they envisioned how to play this piece in a grand, symphonic style, so they referenced numerous symphonic versions.

This eventually led to a situation where Grandpa Tang pointed out that the imitation was too obvious.

A word to awaken the dreamer.

Wang Xiaohu also realized where his problem lay: he had not completed the full narrative treatment of the first movement, but only stayed on the surface of the drama.

Two minutes later, Grandpa Tang tapped the chair with his pencil.

"Do you still intend to approach this two-piano piece in a symphonic manner?"

The third child nodded seriously.

"it is good."

"Then let's start by analyzing the form of symphonic music."

As he spoke, Grandpa Tang wrote the word 'musical form' on the score.

At the same time, the car also took out the pencil it carried with it.

"A typical symphonic form usually begins in two ways."

"One type starts with a fast movement, while the other begins with a soothing overture."

"But Beethoven used a third approach in conceiving this work."

"He started with a signal, ding ding ding!"

"This opening is full of strong emotions and very lively." "So, as the commander, you need to decide whether to get straight to the point."

"For example, the way you two handle things is straightforward, while Wang Xiaohu here envisions a kind of hesitation."

"There's nothing wrong with either approach; the problem is that you need to be clear about why you want to do it this way."

"If you get straight to the point, then you should do the same for every motivation. This will keep the motivation constantly reinforced and keep the audience aware of its existence."

"If you want to use a hesitant approach to present the opening motif, then similarly, you must provide sufficient groundwork before each subsequent motif, especially when the second theme arrives. The motif originally played by the French horn must be convincing enough, otherwise it will be a complete failure."

Grandpa Tang bent down and wrote the word "Continuation" before the second theme entered on the score, while next to it was Wang Xiaohu's annotation of "Emotional Reversal".

"Emotions cannot be reversed here; your emotions can only appear in the last movement. Do you understand now?"

Wang Xiaohu nodded: "I understand, Grandpa Tang! The entire first movement is a build-up to the emotions."

Grandpa Tang nodded approvingly, "Che Lin, you played an extremely important role here because you are the bass voice."

Car: "Mm."

Mr. Tang: "Although it is still a three-part motif, the intervals here have been expanded. The sound of the piano cannot compare with that of the brass. So how to make the transition thicker and make the symphonic sound of the piano more convincing is something you need to think about."

Car: "Hmm!"

Mr. Tang: "You could even consider whether you can reduce or soften the intensity. Being direct doesn't mean you have to maintain a strong presence all the time. Gentleness can also be shown directly. And overall, going from strong to weak is also a kind of quality enhancement."

Little car: "Mmm!"

Grandpa Tang: "Yun'er, you need to pay attention to the bass part and recall the bass strings at the beginning."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Grandpa, I understand."

Mr. Tang: "Alright, let's take a look at the development department next. The music has taken a new direction here, and Beethoven has added new musical ideas."

"In symphonic works, the conductor must pay attention once the outline of harmony and melody changes."

Mr. Tang simply drew a large circle on the score with a pencil, saying, "The composer will definitely try to find a way to keep the audience interested here."

"My advice is to focus on the rhythm."

"Look at the sheet music."

Wang Xiaohu was so eager to bury his head in the sheet music.

“Beethoven does not repeat the motif over and over again here, but rather expands it in rhythm.”

"Continuous development, continuous development, then suddenly a sharp contraction."

"Then the number of notes decreased sharply, from two to one, like a dialogue."

“The symphonic version is a dialogue between woodwinds and strings, but here it’s a dialogue between the two of you. Only then can we shift our attention from rhythm back to harmony.”

As he spoke, Old Master Tang smiled and asked, "Why?"

Car: "Maintain musical senses."

Wang Xiaohu: "The music is going back to where it started."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Reappearance."

The three children answered at the same time.

Grandpa Tang: "You're all expressing the same thing, that's right, that's exactly it."

"What happens next?"

Wang Xiaohu: "Enhancement".

“That’s right,” Old Master Tang put a small checkmark below the word “enhancement” that Wang Xiaohu had marked, “Now we’ve arrived at the Reproduction Department.”

"Traditionally, the recapitulation section repeats the exposition section, with only slight differences in harmony; otherwise, they are the same."

"Beethoven did the same, using the same material as before, until this G note appeared."

Draw a triangle and label it ob.

"This is a cadenza played by the oboe."

"All the sounds stopped, leaving only this cadenza, which is extremely rare in symphonic works."

"As for what this splendor actually contains, that's a question for the three of you."

Turn the page.

"The following is the end of the first movement. In Beethoven's music, the coda has always been an important element. In the first movement of the Fate Symphony, the coda is longer than the other parts. Pay special attention to this part."

When Grandpa Tang suddenly stopped, the atmosphere became tense.

moment.

"When I first learned this piece, this part reminded me of that line—"

"I will seize fate by the throat and never bow down to it."

After saying that, Grandpa Tang added two exclamation marks after the last part of the score, which read, "Forward! Sprint! Try to break through the shroud of dark clouds."

Wang Xiaohu felt as if he were enveloped by a beam of light when he saw this scene.

In less than half an hour, he had gained so much that he felt he needed some time to process it all.

The two little girls sitting at the piano have found a new direction, and they can see from each other's eyes that their direction is still the same this time.

"The rest of the time is up to you two."

Grandpa Tang turned to the audience and asked loudly, "What are the children's plans for this morning?"

Ang Lee replied with a smile, "If you think they're no longer a problem, then they're no longer a problem."

Hahahaha!

Grandpa Tang chuckled: "Then you can continue with the process. Their practice on stage won't bother you, will it?"

"It won't affect anything." Li An and the others got up and walked towards the stage.

Wang Xiaohu followed Grandpa Tang off the stage.

In no time, the entire hall was bustling with activity.

The sound of the piano mingled with various human voices, creating a lively atmosphere.
-
"Little Tiger, your approach is brilliant. You gave the work a personality and emotion at the beginning, which is the essence of Romantic works."

"Thank you for your kind words, Grandpa Tang. I didn't think too much about it; I just thought it seemed interesting."

"Very good, but as a conductor, you must always remember one thing: the most important ability for a conductor is expression. A conductor is a translator of music and must also understand people's hearts."

"Ok!"

"Do everything you can to convince your musicians of what you're saying, otherwise it will all be meaningless."

"Grandpa Tang, I'll remember that."

"And the conductor needs to have absolute musical literacy; he must be an encyclopedia of music, knowing whether allegro assai or allegro molto is faster on Mozart's score?"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa Tang, all I know is that they all mean very fast."

"So you understand?"
-
after an hour.

While taking a sip of water, the car glanced once more at a corner of the audience.

She saw that Grandpa Tang and Wang Xiaohu were still talking, with the music book between them open.

Although she and Tang Xiaoxing did not perform the version they rehearsed for the last time in room 2201 yesterday noon, she was thinking of letting Grandpa Tang listen to their version first, and then compare it with Wang Xiaohu's version. She was confident that Grandpa Tang would prefer Wang Xiaohu's version.

However, it seems that it is no longer necessary now.

Keep it up, Tiger!

The morning flew by.

It was almost noon when Xiao Bei finally woke up groggily from her sleep.

She seemed to faintly hear the music of fate.

The sun shines brightly outside the window.

At this moment, vehicles are passing by the road signs leading to the resort from time to time.

five minutes later.

In the group chat for Piano Classroom No. 4—

Ah Liu: @Tiger, get ready to receive the emperor!