Chapter 86

The Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall, designed by the renowned architect Dong Guowu, features a rare European traditional architectural style in the region. The grand foyer boasts sixteen embracing reddish-brown marble columns, while the auditorium's design is simple yet sophisticated, intricate without appearing cluttered, with a rich sense of layering and a dignified, elegant color palette that harmonizes perfectly with the classical music performed there. The natural acoustics are exceptional, earning the hall the recognition of architectural experts and numerous Chinese and foreign artists.

Over the decades, the Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall has witnessed countless successful performances by renowned musicians and various musical ensembles, and it has experienced the grandeur of the classical music craze in the 1980s.

Professor Wang Ji from the Acoustics Institute of Fudan University's Department of Architecture said, "Generally speaking, the narrow shoebox-shaped concert halls offer the best acoustics, enhancing early reflections and making the music clearer and more focused. The Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall has a similar shape, so its sound quality is naturally excellent." "The most important indicator of a concert hall's quality is the reverberation time. A longer reverberation time makes the music fuller and richer, while a shorter one makes it monotonous and dry. However, if it's too long, it can affect clarity."

Whether it's an orchestra performance or an opera, the large-span dome of the hall faithfully reproduces the true timbre, complemented by top-notch sound equipment, resulting in a rich, mellow sound and a stunning effect. Although the ticket prices are high, the artistic experience is priceless.

Famous conductor Chen Xiaoyang has visited countless concert halls around the world. He believes that "apart from the top-tier Vienna Golden Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Boston Symphony Hall, in terms of sound quality, the Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall can compete with any other concert hall."

The Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall has 1,122 seats, with 640 downstairs and 482 upstairs. The proscenium stage is 8.35 meters deep and 16 meters wide, with a usable area of about 100 square meters. Above the stage are adjustable acoustic panels, a Steinway D-274 grand piano, a 60-channel lighting console, a 24-channel Yamaha sound system, and 16 microphone jacks at the stage opening. The hall is equipped with both heating and air conditioning.

This is a place of honor where only performers can take the stage. Today, it will host its first examination since its inception, which is just the second round of the arts examination.

Due to the significant impact of the incident, the school leadership is now aware of the problems with the piano department's second round of examinations. Li Yunling applied to the principal for the use of the music hall for a public examination. Given the presence of many journalists and parents from outside the school, the principal agreed to the request, although he felt it was not entirely appropriate.

Taking the exam in the music hall will put enormous pressure on the candidates. The grand and solemn stage, coupled with an audience of over a thousand people, could easily overwhelm and shatter the nerves of the candidates.

However, to prevent the situation from escalating into a mass incident and to further enhance the prestigious image of the century-old Shanghai Theatre Academy, the principal agreed. Perhaps in such an extreme examination environment, the candidates' true abilities can be tested.

Pei Yanchen followed the crowd toward the Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall. The hall is rarely open for non-major performances, as it houses top-tier equipment and is not a place for students to casually use.

The hall is only opened when various masters or world-class symphony orchestras perform. Clearly, this public examination is also a crisis management effort, with many media outlets already on site for interviews.

The banners made by Pei Yanchen's supporters were all confiscated, and the student council members were organizing the entry of students interested in watching the public examination. Most of them were there for the spectacle rather than to appreciate the music, assuming that high school students' piano performances would not be very impressive.

The piano department's second round of examinations was divided into three examination rooms. When Li Yunling arrived, each room had already tested about twenty candidates. The current public examination combined the remaining twenty or so candidates from the three rooms. Most of them were there to support Cheng Xiaoyu, the public enemy of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, to see how he would fare in the sea of people.

The Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall, which can accommodate over a thousand people, was now packed, with the student council maintaining order.

The tall and elegant principal of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Fan Yuewen, took the stage and delivered a brief speech: "Respected teachers, students, candidates, parents, and all those who care about the Shanghai Theatre Academy, good day. First, I would like to thank everyone for your concern for the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Secondly, we apologize for the shortcomings in our school's work. We hope this public examination will not be too late.

Since its founding in 1898, the Shanghai Theatre Academy has been a prestigious institution with a global vision and an open approach to education. During the period of the Drama College, it advocated the integration of Eastern and Western studies and pioneered the sending of outstanding students to Europe for further education. In the Republican era, it maintained international academic ties, earning the reputation of 'Oriental Vienna' for its achievements. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the new Shanghai Theatre Academy sent its first university delegation to the United States for an inspection, restarting international cooperation and exchange. Since the reorganization of the new Shanghai Theatre Academy, its global reputation has grown, attracting world-renowned universities and forming the雏形 of an international campus... The Shanghai Theatre Academy has always adhered to the motto of 'seeking truth and innovation' and the broad-mindedness of embracing all rivers, actively promoting the prosperity of music, social development, and human civilization, never ceasing to climb the peak of world music and build a world-class university.

Students, the Shanghai Theatre Academy aims to cultivate high-quality, innovative talents with an international perspective and future music masters. An international perspective means an open and inclusive mindset, shaping a global awareness, understanding diverse cultures, and confidently collaborating and performing with people from different national backgrounds.

Students, as your principal and senior, I am delighted to walk this journey with you and create a better future together. Let us work together for our music, our world, and our future!

I also wish all the candidates here the best of luck. The doors of the Shanghai Theatre Academy are always open to those who pursue the pinnacle of music.

Thank you all."

The audience broke into a round of enthusiastic applause. The elegant principal, who was once a professor of Western music and a graduate of the conducting department, was well-respected.

Most students at the school still had a positive view of it, but Cheng Xiaoyu had become quite notorious, with his reputation spreading far and wide. His photoshopped images were everywhere online, and many people came to satisfy their curiosity.

At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyu was not at the Shanghai Theatre Academy Music Hall. He had gone out of the school to buy sheet music for the piece he wanted to play. Although he remembered it, the score was extremely complex, and the entire performance was theoretically beyond human limits. He had no confidence in playing it flawlessly, so he needed to read the score.

He searched two stores that specialized in sheet music off-campus but couldn't find it, which made him quite anxious. He didn't want to lose without a fight.

Meanwhile, the public examination had already begun under the supervision of the student council.

The first candidate to take the stage was a short boy. It seemed this was the first time he had played the Steinway D-274 grand piano, and he was quite excited, almost taking a photo as a souvenir, but he didn't appear nervous.

The short boy bowed to the audience, adjusted his seat, took a deep breath, and began to play.

His first piece was the third movement of Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata.

The third movement of the "Appassionata" is the climax of the entire piece, in f minor, 2/4 time, and marked as "Allegro assai" (very fast). This movement is in sonata form. The opening features a march-like battle cry, and the use of continuous diminished seventh chords creates a strong sense of intensity, tension, and unease. Beethoven did not resolve these chords in the usual way, which provides a great emotional boost, dispelling any drowsiness and immersing the listener in the intense music.

The third movement of the "Appassionata" Sonata is a highly spirited and passionate piano piece. It not only provides an emotional洗礼 for the audience but also allows the performer to deeply feel the composer's emotions during the performance. This piece places high demands on the performer.

A well-played "Appassionata" can be used for graduate exams or performance degrees. A poorly played version can still pass for a 9-10 level student.

However, this candidate's performance was quite impressive. The most important aspect of the piece is maintaining the tempo, and whether it is fast or not is secondary. (The speed is relative to the marked tempo, and saying it is fast without a reference is meaningless.)

His ten fingers moved like a hurricane over the keys, and his hands danced like a swallow over the undulating waves of the keyboard. The stormy melody of the "Appassionata" Sonata portrayed a tragic theme: a struggle between a fighting "I" and a weak "I," with a volcanic eruption of power and a relentless charge forward, while the weaker "I" fell with cries of sorrow. The audience was captivated by the passion of the music.

The sound produced by the entire piece was also passionate, and the use of various techniques was quite proficient.

Given the high difficulty of the "Appassionata," the first candidate's performance was quite impressive, much to the delight of the Shanghai Theatre Academy students who had come to watch what they thought would be a boring exam. They felt it was worth watching as a piano competition.

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