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Chapter 87




Echoes of the performance lingered in the air. Qi Mu smiled, offering his most heartfelt compliment, “I’ve heard this piece so many times before, but listening to it live is different.”
Min Chen looked up at him. “How do you feel?”
Thinking it over, Qi Mu said, “How to say it. . . It feels more real. With classical music, you need to hear it live to really understand it. You’re able to discern the little details.”
As the years progressed, so did headphone quality in the market. Such high-end headphones allowed listeners to hear the subtlest notes, bringing CD’s flat melodies to life. Through them, music was vivid and immersive.
But. . . for someone with excellent hearing and perfect pitch, no pair of headphones could match the sound of a live performance.
So, why did most people prefer live concerts?
Electronic equipment could never fully convey the beauty of music.
A smile flashed in Min Chen’s dark eyes. He nodded. “It will be good for you to attend more concerts while you still have the time.” After a pause, he asked, “What else do you like?”
Qi Mu knew he wanted to play another song for him. Deciding to tease him, Qi Mu thought for a moment then said, “Chopin’s Etude Op. 10, No. 1 《in C major》?”
Min Chen raised his eyebrows.
Most etudes were not pleasant to the ears. Even Chopin’s etudes could only be regarded as pieces of melody and harmony at best. Compared to his serenades, sonatas and the others, they were far from enjoyable.
As an etude, it was meant to hone the performer’s skills. Enjoyable or not, a pleasant sound wasn’t its purpose. The most important characteristic of an etude was the difficult techniques it required.
Chopin’s Etude 《Op. 10, No. 1》 was among the best of the dozens he’d written. Even from Qi Mu’s perspective, it was one of the most difficult pieces to perform. Therefore, when he said he “liked” this piece, he implied he wanted to see Min Chen’s skills at the keys.
It wasn’t every day he got to see a piano master perform at such close range. Qi Mu wasn’t passing up the opportunity to see everything he had to offer.
Min Chen immediately understood what Qi Mu wanted. Faced with such “difficulty”, his lips curled into a smile. Softly, he asked, “You sure?”
Qi Mu nodded. “Yes. This piece is smooth and vivid. I like it a lot.” Visual appreciation was still an appreciation. To put it simply, he didn’t lie.
At his cheeky expression, Min Chen smiled. His rare smile soon faded, but he nodded. “Okay. . . How many times faster?”
Qi Mu echoed, “How many times faster?”
Min Chen’s dark eyes were alight with laughter. “Yes, how fast would you like it?”
Although he didn’t quite understand what he meant, Qi Mu thought for a moment and said, “Twice as fast?” As soon as he said it, he added with wide eyes, “How fast can you do it?”
Min Chen raised an eyebrow. “Five times.”
“Five times!”
Chopin’s Etude 《Op. 10, No. 1》 at five times the speed?
Qi Mu had never seen it that fast before, but since Min Chen was confident. . . he didn’t mind making the request even more difficult.
But, to Qi Mu’s surprise, five times the speed. . . was fast enough to make him sick, what madness was this!
Chopin’s 《First Practice Song》 was just a practice piece. The melody was repeated almost completely for its 2-minute duration. Put it simply, the left-hand movements were simple. The right hand had a wide range, though, playing from the bass to the high tone and back.
If Chopin’s Etude 《Op. 10, No. 1》 at normal speed was a test of endurance, then. . . five times the speed was beyond Qi Mu’s imagination. It entered the realm of the demons.
Min Chen’s fingers slid along the keys at such a high speed, they left afterimages. Even Qi Mu, with good eyes for motion, had to bow down. No, it wasn’t just his fingers, even his wrists and arms left afterimages, too!
Qi Mu tasted the bitter fruit of his own planting. Now, even if he wanted to appreciate the other man’s beautiful skills, he can’t see his fingers long enough to do it. He should’ve known from the beginning that since Min Chen could say “five times the speed”, he was confident and competent enough to back it up.
Performed very vividly, the two minute piece was compressed to only 20 seconds. By the time Qi Mu immersed himself in his frustration, the etude was completely over.
Min Chen’s faint smile was lit by the cold moonlight. In a low voice, he asked, “Did you like it?”
Qi Mu: “. . .”
After a while, Qi Mu hummed and said, “I prefer 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》.” He went on, earnestly and sincerely describing it, “The melody’s moving and beautiful. The rhythm is also very concise and light, it’s an excellent piece.”
Min Chen: “. . .”
《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》was a short piano piece from Liszt adapted from Mozart’s opera 《Don Giovanni》. The piece reached 22 points of difficulty and was touted as one of the most difficult piano pieces in the world. Very few people would and could play it.
What light rhythm? Wasn’t it difficult to the point of being non-human?
Qi Mu firmly said, “I’ve always liked the 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》 very much, but. . . There are very few albums in the market. Almost no one has recorded it, not even you. . .”
Full of lament and regret, his tone seemed to say, I didn’t expect even you couldn’t play it. . .
Min Chen: “. . .”
Could Min Chen play 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》? Qi Mu intended to find out.
As early as his teenage years, he used Liszt’s other piece, 《RĂ©miniscences de Norma》in his repertoire for his entry in Xiao Sai. It gained him thunderous applause from the audience.
Rosaire, a British pianist who served as the main judge, said, “Your 《Norma》 has surpassed mine and I think. . . if you don’t get full marks, then no one will!”
Qi Mu never thought he would succeed with such a radical attack. He simply wanted to pay him back for teasing him with “five times the speed.”
But. . . Again, to Qi Mu’s surprise, he found there were people in the world. . .
That were too childish!
When the very difficult 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》 resounded in the piano room, Qi Mu didn’t realize Min Chen was inspired by his words.
Qi Mu had yet to recover, not getting the chance to speak, before the childish man asked, “Do you like 《Danse Macabre》?”
《Danse Macabre》 was one of Liszt’s representative works. Its difficulty was on par with 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》 and was also touted as one of the most challenging piano pieces in the world. In the words of some pianists, each of the five variations in the piece was worse than the others. Liszt must have wanted to embarrass the later generations to death, ah!
Qi Mu was still in a daze when Min Chen asked him this question. He just muttered “Uh,” and the beautiful notes of 《Danse Macabre》 filled the room.
Qi Mu: “. . .”
After the piece, Min Chen again asked, “How about 《La Campanella》?”
Qi Mu: “. . .You. . .”
《La Campanella》 rang out.
“Do you like 《Petrushka》?”
“. . . I really do. . .”
《Petrushka》 also rang out.
“《Islamey》?”
“. . .”
. . .
Intricate pieces resounded one after another, making Qi Mu taste the bitter fruit. He experienced what it meant when people said: “You cannot die twice.”
Just as Min Chen was about to start another piece, Qi Mu grabbed his hands. He looked up at the stubborn, childish man with a sincere gaze, and said, “Like. . . I like it very much! I like every piece you play very much!”
Qi Mu’s words stunned him. When Min Chen realized what the younger man said, he felt his temperature rise. The man called “The thick-skinned devil” by Daniel. . . sported a blush on his ears.
Min Chen coughed softly and said, “. . . Now, since you said you liked it, I’ll play another one?”
Qi Mu: “. . .”
Even though he liked it, he couldn’t stay and listen to more than a dozen songs without taking a breather!
. . .
When Qi Mu left late that night, he couldn’t help but sneak several glances at the other man’s hands. Finally, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You played so many pieces. . . Ah, difficult pieces. Aren’t your hands sore?”
“. . . Not sore. I practice long hours every day.”
Qi Mu practiced violin for at least six hours a day, so he could understand. He nodded. “I think it’s better if you cut back on the hours a bit. It will burden your fingers.”
Min Chen, who practiced daily for an hour at a time, said, “. . . Well, okay.”
Qi Mu smiled and nodded after receiving an answer. He said, “Then I’ll leave first. You don’t have to send me out.”
Min Chen took out a large, brown paper bag out of nowhere and stuffed it into his hands.
Qi Mu wondered what was in the bag when Min Chen’s low and magnetic voice rang out, “This is a recording I made last year. There were several of Liszt’s works, such as 《RĂ©miniscences de Don Juan》, 《Danse Macabre》 and 《La Campanella》. You can listen to them whenever you like.”
Qi Mu finally figured out what was in the bag. It was a vinyl of Min Chen’s performances recorded privately. It included Liszt’s complete works. It was absolutely priceless if he put it on the market.
Qi Mu hesitated. “This is too valuable, I. . .”
“I can record another anytime.”
Min Chen blocked all of Qi Mu’s arguments with a single sentence. Qi Mu could only smile and nod. “Rest assured, I will treasure it and take good care of it.”
After exchanging a few more words, Qi Mu left for his hotel. Just a few seconds after he left, the childish man frowned and whispered to himself:
“When will he. . . find out what’s inside?”
“Tomorrow?”
The man’s low voice was swallowed by the darkness of Vienna’s night. No one knew what he said nor understood what he meant.
The hidden thing remained a mystery.