“You rascal, are you planning to become a Go player?”
Chairman Wang narrowed his eyebrows while glaring at the Go board. Well, he can’t just play an easy game for the sake of formality.
In any case, Chairman Wang’s Go skills have significantly improved since the last time I saw him.
“Grandfather, did you get private Go lessons while I was gone?”
“Why do you think so?”
“Your momentum has changed.”
Go is often described as a battle of momentum.
In the past, he played aggressive moves and constantly engaged in skirmishes, but now he steps back and observes the opponent.
Even when I induced a quick game to exploit any gaps, Chairman Wang’s momentum remained unshaken.
He played a solid and stable game, similar to a stone Buddha reading moves with the spirit of a great mountain. Could it be?
“Did you take lessons from Lee Chang-ho?”
For a moment, Chairman Wang’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Ahem, until when are you going to leave the violins with your old man? Not just one, but two of them.”
He was clearly trying to change the subject, which meant I hit the mark.
The safe in Pyeongchang-dong had almost perfect temperature and humidity, making it an ideal place to store old violins that are difficult to maintain.
“Are you at least paying a storage fee?”
“I’m playing Go with you in exchange right now.”
“You always try to beat your old man, but you sure know how to talk.”
Despite his words, a faint smile lingered on his lips.
Chairman Wang had experienced countless ups and downs in the business world, so he didn’t like playing Go casually. In that aspect, I was a perfect match for him.
Snap—
With a single move, a large group of black stones was captured. Chairman Wang narrowed his eyebrows and then placed his stone down, saying “aing.”
“How is it that you improve every day? If you have a secret, share it with your old man. Just when I think I can catch up, you’re already far ahead.”
If there was a secret, I had nothing much to say. I was always decent at Go, but not to this extent.
Perhaps it’s thanks to advanced software that I’ve become better at reading moves. If I could see ten steps ahead in the past, now I could see a hundred meters ahead, to exaggerate a bit.
“Hyun, why don’t you stay for dinner tonight? We can also look at the photos I took.”
“Photos?”
What photos was he talking about? Chairman Wang’s eyes had a mysterious glint, suggesting there was something I didn’t know. But.
“Sorry, I have a prior engagement tonight.”
“A prior engagement? At this late hour?”
“I have to go for a lesson.”
Chairman Wang looked up with a puzzled expression, clearly not understanding.
“Who are you learning from, Hyun?”
“What do you think conducting is?”
Yuri’s eyes were incredibly serious.
He was the lion of the Berlin Philharmonic, considered the best among many orchestras. As the chief conductor, his reputation was unbelievably high.
“I think of it as a musical instrument, Maestro.”
It wasn’t a wrong answer. However, Yuri spoke to the boy sitting across from him.
“Conducting is a grand resonance. When a conductor steps onto the podium, countless members’ eyes focus on the tips of their fingers. If you can’t capture the prideful members’ hearts at once, your fingertips lose confidence and eventually lose direction. That’s why first-time conductors often feel frustrated on stage and sometimes even give up on music.”
“Give up on music?”
“The melodies of numerous instruments blend together, creating a cacophony that assails the ears. That’s a violin, that’s a cello, and that booming sound is a timpani. It would feel like being in the middle of a battlefield. There are many cases where conductors, overwhelmed by the pressure, run away from the orchestra even before their debut performance. This has been happening since Mozart’s era and even earlier.”
It must have been because the unimaginable pressure enveloped their entire being.
Moreover, it would feel like their life as a musician was being denied, and how could one describe that sense of loss?
As Yuri said, many conductors fled before even stepping onto the stage.
What happens when an underqualified person steps onto the podium? In the past, famous orchestras frequently ousted their conductors, so there’s no need to elaborate.
“I don’t understand why you suddenly want to learn conducting. In my view, you are a perfect violinist. Being proficient in the violin doesn’t mean you’ll be good at conducting. Just as a child who is good at walking may find running difficult. Why are you choosing a challenging path?”
Kang Hyun answered without hesitation.
“Because I really want to conduct.”
Yuri nodded briefly. Any musician would have wanted to play the massive instrument known as an orchestra at least once.
But to step onto the podium requires numerous validations. Without that, the countless melodies of the members would die with a single gesture.
“What do you think is the difference between Spencer, Eden Simeon, and me, Yuri Dianov, Violinist Hyun?”
“They are conductors with distinctly different characters.”
“Different characters?”
This time, Kang Hyun answered without hesitation. It was as if he had been waiting for Yuri’s question.
“The three of you have distinctly different conducting styles. Even when performing the same composer’s piece, the tempo marking might indicate Andante, but Maestro Spencer’s heart feels Adagio, Eden Simeon’s fingertips convey Allegretto, and Yuri Dianov’s eyes express Allegro. I watched all the orchestra performance videos without missing a single one.”
Yuri’s eyes showed a clear sign of interest.
“Then what do you think is the commonality among the three?”
“I believe it’s the respect for the composer.”
“Respect for the composer?”
What was he talking about?
“I’ve seen videos of the three of you conducting Beethoven’s symphonies. Normally, you freely express the flow of the music with your fingertips, but when it comes to Beethoven’s pieces, you all follow the score as if you didn’t want to miss a single note. For instance, Maestro Eden Simeon usually exaggerates his right hand when requesting legato in the second movement, but not with Beethoven’s pieces.”
Yuri couldn’t understand it at all.
“Can you really notice such detailed parts just from videos?”
“I watched them over and over until the tapes stretched.”
“Huh.”
Keen observation was one of the most essential qualities for a conductor.
Yuri couldn’t hide his admiration every time the boy in front of him revealed another layer of his hidden talents.
On the other hand, he was also curious. How much more did the boy have left to show him?
Yuri was sipping a martini to savor the lingering emotions.
It had already been a month since he started teaching Hyun. Every day was a series of amazements. Did the teachers who taught Mozart feel this way?
“To memorize the entire score.”
A conductor must know the score as if they had memorized it. They should know which instruments are used, what the dynamic markings are, and even what the composer was feeling when composing the symphony.
In that regard, Hyun showed an incredible level of insight. After all, he had solved Eden’s riddles in the chapel.
But that was not all.
“In the second movement, this part must be a mistake by the composer. It’s probably due to an excess of emotion. The audience might think of this part as a moment of joy.”
It was a piece by an unknown Italian musician. The composer was so obscure that hardly anyone had seen the score.
But Yuri was amazed internally as he listened to Hyun. Someone had said the same thing in the past.
“Conductors usually express a 4/4 beat in similar ways: down, to the right, to the left, and up. It’s important to deliver the beats accurately. But the way they express the music is all different. Some want to push forward strongly in the soft parts, while others want to play softly in the emphasized parts. Mozart’s pieces are particularly like that.”
Mozart’s pieces, unlike Beethoven’s, have ambiguous dynamic markings.
Because of this, some say that Mozart’s scores are the most considerate of the performers. It means that the scores continuously stimulate the imagination.
“I think symphonies should be like Mozart’s. Instead of focusing on the dead composer, the music should be recreated through the living conductor’s fingertips. If Beethoven were to come back to life, he might say, ‘Why are these people all trying to imitate me?’ If I have offended you, Maestro, I apologize.”
Yuri recalled the image of Hyun hurriedly bowing his head and smiled faintly. Wasn’t a born genius also rich in imagination?
Indeed, boldness and creativity were the most needed qualities for a conductor. The audience doesn’t come to the concert hall to hear the same symphony every time.
In that regard, Hyun deserved a perfect score.
“Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.”
With an ordering style reminiscent of James Bond, Yuri asked the bartender for another martini.
It seemed that tonight would be spent with martinis. To shake off this deep lingering emotion, he would have to wait until dawn.
‘Have I ever felt such exhilaration in teaching someone?’
A faint smile appeared on Yuri’s lips.
“Piano!”
The pianist, who was responsible for basic accompaniment including arpeggios, was startled by my shout and came to their senses.
From the cello to the violin and the contrabass. It was a chamber music-level ensemble.
Since the auditorium was small and we couldn’t fill the entire orchestra, we had to proceed with a small group.
“Hyunseon, your breathing is too fast for someone who should be accompanying. I can give you signals loudly like this now, but I can’t do it at the graduation ceremony. Don’t try to follow other players’ melodies. The more impatiently you press the keys, the more mistakes will happen.”
It was a small orchestra for the graduation ceremony.
Most of them had enough skills to solo in youth competitions, but they were all inexperienced in ensemble playing.
It was their first experience playing with so many instruments, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Jinho, you are responsible for the flow of the string section. But what happens if you get nervous right from the start? The violins will look at you if they can’t follow my hand.”
In a way, this child had the role of concertmaster. His expression was solemn as he nodded, lips tightly shut.
In the beginning, the children were unsure, but as I pointed out their mistakes one by one, they looked at me with their mouths open.
They couldn’t believe I pinpointed the mistakes amidst countless melodies.
“Let’s take a short break.”
Even after playing for hours, the children showed no signs of fatigue. During the break, they continued to discuss the sheet music and share opinions.
“Hyun, can I ask your opinion on this part?”
It was Jinho, who took on the role of concertmaster. From the first day, he had been constantly asking me questions and meticulously jotting down my advice in his notebook.
Even now, he came to me holding his notebook and pen tightly.
‘Come to think of it.’
Didn’t his angular face and deep features remind you of someone? I’m talking about Dmitri, the concertmaster of the London Symphony.
Holding back my laughter, I sincerely answered the concertmaster’s questions.
Most of his questions were about the flow of the performance, probably because it was his first time playing in an orchestra. This would naturally resolve over time.
Clap—
At the sound of clapping, the children returned to their places. As soon as the break was over, their eyes turned serious again. I was pleased.
I was using all the knowledge I learned from the lion of the Berlin Philharmonic here.
My heart raced every time I conducted the massive instrument known as an orchestra. It beat wildly as if in celebration.
“There isn’t much time until the graduation ceremony. Let’s make it a grand finale.”
As my hand pointed towards the sky,
Dudududu—
A massive wave of melody arose.
