Chapter 129
Russian-American composer and one of the best pianists of his time.
After volunteering to learn the piano at the age of four, he began composing in his teens, and by then he had already developed incredible skills, such as being able to perfectly perform Scriabin's Étude No. 5, a piece of great difficulty, in just one hour. This was the beginning of Rachmaninoff's full-fledged lessons.
Soo-hyun looked at Rachmaninoff's hands as he sat on the piano bench with him for the first time and opened the score.
'He has stupidly large hands.'
He compared it to his own hand. Although he had grown and had thick, strong hands like Uncle Beethoven's, they were still a little smaller than his.
"Master."
"Speak."
"Master, if you play the octave with your hand, how far can you reach?"
Rachmaninoff looked a little bored. It must have been because he had been asked that question countless times in his life. But he played the octaves without a sound. His fingers were long enough to play the 'A' of the next octave while holding down the 'C' with his thumb.
When his fingers were fully spread, they seemed to be about 30 cm long.
"Wow...."
Soo-hyun was truly surprised and tried to follow his example. Soo-hyun's fingers were slightly shorter than his, so he could reach the 'G' note of the next octave. That alone was impressive, but Soo-hyun's comparison partners were always legends.
"You're much taller than I am."
"Just because you have big hands doesn't mean you can grow as a pianist."
Rachmaninoff played the C chord, C-E-G-C, with the second, third, fourth, and fifth fingers of his right hand, then put his thumb under his palm to play the E chord an octave higher.
"Physical growth is complete when the finger joints are flexible."
It was a technique that made his head hurt just by looking at it.
'It's different when you learn from Liszt. Liszt plays at an incredible speed.'
But Rachmaninoff easily transformed Liszt's technique with a long, large, and even flexible hand. He said as he examined Soo-hyun's body,
"For the past six months, you've been resting your tired body and exercising at the same time, to develop your body in the most effective way during the growth period. All of this is necessary for a pianist. However, the important thing is not just big hands. There are complex factors such as the technique that can be used with large and flexible hands, technical perfection, and the powerful and magnificent sound that can be produced with a powerful body. No matter how innate your technique and sense of touch are, if your physical characteristics don't allow it, there will surely be music that limits you, no matter how much you play."
'Limits?'
When Soo-hyun talked about his limitations as someone who was educated by the world's best artist, he snorted.
"What song do you practice?"
"Piano Concerto No. 3."
'A concerto? There's no orchestra here.'
"I'll just practice the piano part."
Rachmaninoff opened the score nonchalantly, spitting out blunt words. Soo-hyun, who was confident in his sight-reading ability, opened his mouth wide as he looked at the score with an expression that said, "Let's take a look."
"This, this is..."
Each section of the score was filled with notes like bean sprouts grown in an empty pot by the supermarket lady in Gwanak-gu. Actually, it didn't matter if there were many notes. Most of Liszt's scores were like that. However, Soo-hyun, who had a knack for sight-reading, noticed it as soon as he saw the musical score.
'Finger position. Is this really music that can be played by human hands? If you play it the same way you felt it when you first heard it, your fingers will probably get tangled before you get to 16 beats. I feel like if I play forcefully, I'll definitely hurt my hands.'
Soo-hyun, who felt dizzy just by looking at the score, was even more surprised when he saw Rachmaninoff sitting next to him. He held out his right palm forward and bent his fingers back with his other hand so that the fingernails of his right hand touched his wrist.
'How can humans have such flexibility, even if their fingers aren't made of rubber?'
Rachmaninoff looked at the surprised Soo-hyun and then said.
"Stretching can be done at any age. It's just a matter of consistency and perseverance."
Soo-hyun, who was gaping, smiled brightly.
"Is this okay, professor?"
"If you stretch it like this all of a sudden, you could damage your ligaments. Do it slowly and gradually. Just feel the muscles stretching slightly. It won't happen overnight, so don't overdo it."
"Hehe. Yes, I will."
The Dean's Office of the Vienna University of Music.
Dean Boris said, sitting opposite Professor Gruber, having coffee.
"How did Team H perform in this mission?"
Professor Gruber said after taking a sip of coffee.
"What's there to talk about? Other professors also acknowledged it."
"Hehe, really? If you had given me an A- or an A0, I would have said something first."
"…"
Professor Gruber gave Team H grades and changed them dozens of times, but they were still between A+ and A-.
'I was worried that it would be too arrogant to give them an A+, but the evaluations here are relative. No team performed at a higher level than Team H, so I couldn't help but give them an A+.'
Dean Boris smiled, seemingly pleased that Soo-hyun's team had received good grades.
"In addition to Soo-hyun, the other female students in Team H have also become more popular. When I saw those twin sisters in the school hallway, they were always greeted by students who came up to them."
"But Ryo from Japan seems to be burdened by all that attention. He even hides."
"Hehehe. Abna seems happy that there are more students interested in her home country, Ghana."
"The greatest honor for a musician is to talk about their performance, not their country."
Professor Gruber, who was always twisted in everything he did. But as his friend's complaints intensified, Dean Boris's smile also deepened. Dean Boris said, placing his coffee cup on the table.
"This guy. I see you're complaining, so I guess you've made up your mind."
"…"
Dean Boris said, looking at his friend's face with amusement as he rambled on.
"Heinz Karl Gruber, my friend and one of the best pianists of our time. You've always been like this. You were the type of friend who would let go of a talented and interested student and watch their limits. But you're not really like that. I think Soo-hyun will be in for a scolding soon. Hahaha!"
"…"
Dean Gruber was looking away without a word, but judging by the way he was scratching the armrest of the sofa with his fingers, it seemed that Dean Boris was right. Dean Boris smiled as he looked at his friend, who nodded silently, and asked.
"Have you decided on the direction of the class?"
Professor Gruber's teaching method. Until now, he had only been observing Soo-hyun. But Dean Boris asked even though he knew. That meant that Gruber knew that his teaching style would change. After Professor Gruber wet his lips, he changed the subject and said,
"Soo-hyun has overcome the barriers of Asian culture with his rapid physical growth over the past six months. I don't know if he did it on purpose, but if he did, he's a really scary child."
"Well, I agree. But is it really necessary to interpret it that way? Won't it just be that he grew up at a certain age?"
"Gruber said, rubbing his chin.
"Isn't it strange?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Soo-hyun's activities over the past six months."
Professor Gruber continued, looking out the window.
"He didn't play outside of my classes. He went to the art studio to study, which he wasn't good at, and he went for a run every day at the same time. When I asked him about it, he said he had never done weight training. Do you know what that means?"
Dean Boris's face hardened.
"Did he only choose actions that helped his body grow?"
"Mmm."
"Did that boy plan and execute all of that? A boy in his mid-teens?"
"I think so."
"Ha… He's a bit impulsive… But now that I hear it, I guess that's what it is."
Professor Gruber looked at the time and stood up, saying,
"We may have a very frightening child on our hands. I guess I'll be going now. It's time for class."
As Professor Gruber left the dean's office, Dean Boris was left alone and muttered.
"The silver-haired devil is coming… Did Lech know how frightening a child Soo-hyun was?"
At the same time, in the hallway leading to the piano practice room. Soo-hyun was seen walking down the hallway as his schoolmates admired him. Soo-hyun, who was walking among students five years older than him, had a body that was in no way inferior to those who were quite tall among them. Still, the students couldn't talk to Soo-hyun in a friendly way and just stood and watched. Soo-hyun continued to stretch his wrists and fingers as he headed to the practice room where the lesson was being held.
'Firm, persistent.'
In fact, even during his days at Korea University, his friends looked at him like that. Maybe that's why Soo-hyun no longer cared what others thought. Still, it was a little disappointing. It would be better if you came up to me and treated me more kindly. At that moment, someone approached Soo-hyun and poked him with his elbow. Soo-hyun's face brightened as he looked to the side as he was stretching.
"Abna, hello?"
Abna had much darker skin than Uncle Sambok from Baeksa Village. She was an attractive girl with a pretty smile that enhanced her white teeth, contrasting with her skin.
"Lesson?"
"Yes, it starts in twenty minutes. You too?"
"Yes, what else would a music student have to do but practice? I have to go back to Ghana during the vacation, so I can't practice. I have to make sure I do it now."
'Come to think of it, the vacation is coming up. Since Ji-ye came with me, I have no reason to go to Korea, and should I just stay here? It's a waste of time. But since Junwoo and Jaehee also decided to give up their vacation and focus on practicing, it doesn't seem like they'll be that lonely.'
I suddenly felt curious about Abna's hometown.
"Did Abna say she was from Ghana? What kind of place is Ghana?"
Abna liked it when someone was interested in her homeland. Abna said, showing her white teeth.
"Ghana is called Soninke, which means 'king of warriors.' Since the 11th century, it has been a country where the bravest warriors have stayed. It is located in the northwest of the African continent and is rich because it is surrounded by the sea."
"Huh? Aren't all the countries on the African continent poor? I've heard that, except for South Africa, they're all poor countries."
Abna, seeing that Soo-hyun's expression had become ambiguous, said as she lightly lifted Soo-hyun's chin with her fist.
"You express all your thoughts through your face. Being poor doesn't necessarily mean you don't have money. Ghanaians are rich in spirit. They have a natural environment and many wild animals."
Soo-hyun's expression changed.
"Wild animals?"
At Soo-hyun's age, it was natural to show interest in animals because they were fascinating.
"Animal? What kind of animal?"
As Soo-hyun showed interest, Abna said as she counted on her fingers.
"There are many. Monkeys, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, rhinos…"
"Elephant??"
As Soo-hyun asked in surprise, Abna looked at him. Soo-hyun's eyes were wide open.
"Oh, you like elephants?"
"Yes! But I've never seen one!"
"Huh?"
'You've never been to a zoo? How can you have never seen an elephant at your age?'
Soo-hyun's face became blurred as if his imagination were already flying at the mere mention of the word elephant. Abna muttered as she looked at Soo-hyun that way.
"My house is big, so you can come and play."
Abna laughed to herself as she spoke.
'A genius like Soo-hyun would obviously be cooped up in the practice room even during the vacation, so there's no way he would allow a proposal like this, right?'
At that moment, I felt a hand that was tightly gripping Abna's hand. Surprised, Abna met Soo-hyun's pure and cheerful eyes as he held his hand.
"Really? Please! I want to see an elephant!"
"Huh? Are you really coming?"