Sophie looked at the boy and said, “I'm going to play, but I want to invite this young man . If he accidentally breaks something, I'll pay for it, okay?”
The boss pondered and nodded . “No problem, ma'am . ”
His eyes were sharp and his mind quick . The reason he did not let the boy play the piano at first was not that he was afraid the instrument would break . It was because, from looking at the boy's attire, he was sure that his family could not afford to buy a piano or pay for lessons .
This kind of family were not his potential customers . He estimated that the boy had never touched a piano, and had just watched people playing piano on TV . Now he probably just wanted to touch it to impress his friends .
If it was as he guessed, the boy would not become his customer and did not know how to play the piano . He was not sure what might happen if the boy touched the instrument, but he was certain it could not be good for business .
Sophie stepped forward and smiled back at Li Du and the others . Her aura, which was nurtured by the piano for years, was like the spring wind in winter . It could not be seen but was powerfully felt .
The man who was responsible for the music stand saw it at once . He realized it even though Sophie has not started playing the piano yet . He knew that he made the right choice in asking this young woman to play the piano .
The boy, somewhat constrained, whispered in English, “Together?”
Sophie gave him a big smile and said, “Yes, piano-duet, four-handed, is that all right with you?”
The boy looked at her in surprise . It was as if Sophie's smile blinded him like sunshine, so he quickly looked away and said softly, “I have never tried a duet before . It might be difficult . ”
A four-hand piano duet was a sure way to spark the interest of beginners, those who just started learning in the hopes to play beautiful, sincere, infectious music .
However, to do this, it takes years of practice and diligence, and it was impossible for a beginner to play such complex, beautiful tunes on the piano .
The four-hand combination created such a possibility . In many piano music research institutions in Europe and America, it was believed that this way of playing was born in the family .
In the 18th and 19th centuries, almost all intellectual families cultivated children's ability to appreciate and play the piano .
Children were often too young to learn well, and the full keyboard was too big for them to handle .
Therefore, some parents have developed this way of playing in four hands . One example was the earliest four-hand professional music score, written by the famous composer Haydn . Its title was “teacher and student”, and there were experts who claimed that the original was “father and son” .
It was said that the four-hand joint play was a little bit advanced for beginners . It was a kind of cooperation, which requires tacit understanding, especially when the two co-players would try a complex melody .
The boy sat at the piano in silence . Sophie sat next to him . The moment she took her seat, the boy trembled a little and his facial expression became serious .
Sophie looked at him and held out her hand . “My name is Sophie Martin . How about you, my partner?”
“Cao Yulin . How do you do, Ms . Martin?” The boy held out his hand shyly .
After letting go of his hand, Sophie smiled again and asked, “Sonata in A major, op . 18-5, 2nd movement, is this okay?”
This was a fairly simple four-hand piano composition, and every piano player with any level of experience was familiar with it .
“Okay . ”
Sophie had many sheets of piano music on her iPad . She found one, opened it and put it on the piano stand . She smiled at the boy again .
Then, her fingers tapped down and she played the leading role . As her slender fingers fluttered gently across the piano, the instrument gave an elegant sound .
Cao Yulin took a deep breath, looked at the chords, and picked up the second part .
When he reached out with his hands, the organizer of the music stand was slightly surprised . He saw the boy's fingers were unexpectedly long, and the nail beds were all somewhat deformed . The nails were clipped very short .
This was a common hand type of a piano expert . If one touched the piano keys often and long, the skin of the hands would toughen up somewhat and there would be some fine lines . However, this was not the main problem . One would need to pay extra attention to one's nails . If the nails were not cut shorter than the fingertips, they might crack and bleed from prolonged playing .
The hands of piano masters were by no means pretty . Some of them had calluses from hard training . Some, however, thought calluses would affect the feeling and sensitivity of the hands and fingers, so they took care to have those removed .
In short, just as a good ballerina's feet were misshapen, a good pianist's hands would be the same .
Sophie's hands were well-kept, for one thing, because her family conditions were good when she was a child, and her parents paid attention to her health . For another thing, she later studied surgical medicine and learned professional hand care .
The cooperation between Sophie and the boy was a little strange at first, and the tune they played sounded unusual . Of course, this tune was a bit of a niche thing, not a piece that was popular with laypeople .
A big part of piano music appreciation needed a certain level of professional skills .
Soon the piano music was flowing, and Sophie smiled and turned to look at Cao Yulin, who had been looking down at his hands attentively .
The sight of a beautiful foreign girl playing the piano attracted many people . The official fireworks display had not yet started, so there was not much noise at the edge of the square .
After playing a tune, Sophie looked at Cao Yulin with great interest and said, “What's next? You choose?”
Cao Yulin has not spoken, and a girl below shouted, “Canon, play canon . ”
Sophie looked at Cao Yulin . He nodded and said, “Canon will do, Canon in D major . ”
Canon was not actually the name of a piano tune, but a piece of polyphonic music, meaning “melody” . However, ever since John Pachelbel wrote the four-part Canon, the name has become popular .
This piece was not originally written for a four-hand duet, so while it could seem like a simple change in tune, it was actually harder for two people to play together .
Cao Yulin's fingers touched the keys as he played the tune .
Sophie smiled as she played and looked at Li Du . The first tune that she had ever played for Li Du was this one .
Li Du vaguely remembered that it was last summer . A blink of an eye, and it has been a year and a half already . Time really flies .
Canon was well known in China, and it also conformed to the public's aesthetic standard of piano music . Therefore, by the time the tune had ended, the area was full of people who were all attracted by the beautiful sounds .
At the end of the song, a few sharp shushing sounds were heard . Many colorful fireworks suddenly bloomed in the dark night sky . The firework display has started .
Li Du took a deep breath . He looked up at the fireworks and listened to the piano . He felt as if he was going to be drunk on beauty .
It was the most special Lantern Festival he had ever experienced .
Chapter end
Report
|
Donate
Oh o, this user has not set a donation button.
|