Chapter 58

058. Original Composition

Victor entered his home with a light step.

Without even noticing the weight, he put down the cello he had brought in at the door and immediately looked for his wife.

"Zhenya, Zhenya!"

Perhaps because his voice was agitated, his wife, who had been leisurely drinking tea in the kitchen, jumped up in surprise.

"What is it? What happened?"

"Something did happen. It did."

"Are you sick or something?"

"No. I feel like I could fly."

"......?"

Seeing the bright smile on Victor's face, his wife, who had been relieved, soon tilted her head in confusion.

What could have happened to make him smile like a child?

"Hmm─. Did you brew some tea?"

"Yes. Would you like a cup?"

"That would be really nice."

With a wide grin, Victor quickly followed his wife into the kitchen.

After a while, Victor received a steaming cup of tea. His wife sat across from him, urging him to speak.

"So, what is it? Why did you come home so early? Wasn't there anyone there?"

"Have you ever seen me come home just because there's no one there?"

For the past dozen years since he started learning the cello, the square had been both his performance venue and practice room.

His wife, who couldn't have been unaware of this, shook her head.

"No... then what is it? Don't keep me in suspense, tell me."

Victor opened his mouth and then suddenly sipped his tea.

His wife didn't think he was deliberately not speaking. He seemed to be struggling to suppress a surge of emotion.

After taking a deep breath, he smiled brightly like a child who had just had a good dream.

"......You won't be able to guess who I met today, who I played with."

#

"Seoho, are you here?"

Lim Jin-gyu waved at me when he saw me.

Then the other members turned their heads one by one to greet me.

I greeted everyone and sat down behind the cellists.

Although I was assigned to play the violin in the concerto, it hadn't been decided yet whether I would join the first violins, who play the main melody, or the second violins, who support them, so I sat separately.

Then, Leto, the cellist who was the most sociable among the members, turned around and noticed the violin case hanging on my shoulder. He seemed to be slightly hopeful, and indeed, his question revealed what he was expecting.

"Guarneri... right?"

As if his voice was a signal, the members' gazes converged. If a cellist showed such interest, how much more would the violinists?

However, I had to deliver disappointing news.

"No, it's just a regular violin. The Guarneri was a loan, so it went back to Korea."

Sitting in a seat, not in the luggage compartment.

Considering its value and the love of musical instruments by Yang Jaho, it was understandable, but still.

"Ah."

Leto, looking disappointed, smacked his lips.

The other members reacted similarly.

As their interest quickly dissipated, I smiled and took out my violin. It wasn't the one from the company, but the new one my father had bought me before the competition.

This is also a good violin. While price isn't the absolute measure, it still costs about 3 million won.

Of course, it can't compare to the Guarneris, which are worth hundreds of millions, but...

Maybe this is just right for me now.

Paganini was already the best performer before he got the Guarneri.

In contrast, I was trying to compensate for my lack of tone with the Guarneri. I still lack technique.

Tch. I tasted a bit of bitterness for a moment but soon filled with anticipation as I looked at the conductor.

It was almost time for practice to start.

The concertmaster, who is also the first violinist, checked the time and slowly stood up. Then he scanned the members.

Even in a symphony with over a hundred members, the room fell silent at the movement of the leader, second only to the conductor.

"I'll start tuning."

From the end of the semicircle, a clear and resonant sound rang out.

───.

It was the oboe.

The note was A.

The consistent pitch spread throughout the woodwinds.

Then the strings took over the baton.

───.

"......?"

The conductor, who had stood up and placed his bow on the strings, suddenly looked at me.

The bowing and A note...

This time, a few members of the string section, including violins, violas, and cellos, turned their gazes toward me.

The pitch was accurate, so there was no problem with tuning. However...

...I need to change my tone.

I'm not playing a violin concerto like in the competition, but participating as a member of the orchestra. My tone is quite distinctive for that.

While I was thinking this, Leto, who was sitting in front of me, turned around and opened his mouth.

"It's not because of the Guarneri..."

And then, Pavel entered the practice room.

All the members greeted him. He smiled as he ascended the podium.

"Sorry, I came early and disturbed your tuning. I'll have to be late next time."

The members laughed at Pavel's smooth talk.

Pavel, who had been laughing with them, turned to me, who was sitting at the back, and said,

"And Seoho, let's move your seat."

I stood up with my violin, and he pointed to the front.

"First violin."

#

Bard College has performance venues scattered throughout the campus.

They are not only well-utilized in various forms of classes but are also designed to provide students with frequent opportunities to perform on stage.

Thus, it wasn't unusual to hear music flowing from a corridor as you passed by.

"......It sounds like Professor Celine."

Kirk, a clarinet professor, said offhandedly to his teaching assistant as they walked together.

The teaching assistant looked puzzled.

"You recognized her right away?"

"It's her tone. And there's also a bit of the unique tone of the Guarneri mixed in. And most importantly......"

Kirk smiled and added,

"The performance is just outstanding."

The teaching assistant couldn't help but agree with that.

"Should we check it out?"

The two headed toward the performance venue where the music was coming from.

When they opened the door, sure enough, Professor Celine was immersed in a violin performance on stage.

The two quietly stood and watched.

How long had it been?

Naturally drawn into the performance, the bow eventually stopped.

Feeling the deep resonance, Professor Celine slowly lowered her bow and finally noticed the two.

"Oh, Professor Kirk."

Kirk smiled and approached, followed by his teaching assistant.

"Lucky day. Getting to hear Professor's performance."

Celine laughed at his comment.

As she came down from the stage, Kirk asked her, somewhat surprised,

"Why are you performing here instead of in your office or practice room?"

"The opportunities to perform on stage are decreasing, so I try to take them when I can."

Celine's response made Kirk shrug.

"What will you do, being a famous Bach specialist and worrying about such things?"

"I could lose that title to Jang any day. I saw his recent recital, and he played Bach's unaccompanied violin sonatas beautifully."

"......A prodigy, indeed."

"How does he maintain such skill while teaching students......"

"Speaking of which, we have hundreds of students."

"Ah, that's true."

Smiling, Celine listened as Kirk brought up a new topic.

"By the way, the piece you just played, did you find it recently?"

It was a known fact among the professors that Celine was always searching for and performing new pieces. Since the piece she just played was unfamiliar, Kirk assumed it was a new discovery.

However, Celine shook her head.

"It's a piece a student found."

"A student?"

Explaining the assignment, Kirk nodded. The teaching assistant, listening from the side, looked grim.

"That assignment must have been really tough......"

Kirk, chuckling, asked Celine again,

"Whose piece was it? Let me guess. Ysaÿe? Koechlin?"

Celine just smiled at his question.

After a few more names of famous violin composers, she finally asked,

"Do you think the piece I played was by a composer of that caliber?"

Kirk, though not a string player, was still one of the best professors. He must have had a standard in mind when mentioning those composers.

He replied,

"The piece was straightforward. Not complicated, but sufficiently brilliant where it needed to be."

Celine nodded in agreement.

And now, she revealed the composer's name as if casually throwing it out.

"......It's a piece by Brynner."

Kirk's eyes narrowed.

"Brynner? Full name?"

"That's the full name."

"......?"

Celine laughed softly.

"Actually, I don't know the real name. It's just a nickname."

Seeing the puzzled expression, she explained the piece.

Kirk's eyes widened as he listened.

The teaching assistant, who had been listening, was already searching on his phone.

"......You found this piece on the internet?"

"Yes. But the more I listened, the less unfamiliar it became. So I decided to play it."

"So it might not be an original composition......"

"No, not the melody. The tone."

"The tone is familiar?"

Celine looked down at her violin, the Guarneri, and nodded.

"Strictly speaking, it's a bit different, but if it's this tone...... I can't think of anyone else."

#

"Good job, everyone."

Practice was over.

The performers, exhausted from hours of playing, finally let out a sigh of relief.

Of course...

"Woodwind section, stay for additional practice."

Not everyone could do so.

As I watched the scene with the sound of instruments, Pavel called me as he passed by.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

Following him, Pavel casually said,

"Your performance today was excellent."

"Thank you."

"Adjusting your tone to not stand out too much was also good. How did you change your tone so quickly?"

"I have a violinist friend who can blend in well with any group. And there are violinists who can change their tone like paint."

"So you tried to be like them?"

Nodding, I watched as Pavel shook his head and smiled.

Then, entering his office, he asked me,

"By the way, have you decided on the instrument for your solo performance?"

This seemed to be the main topic.

"Yes, I want to use the piano."

"Great! It would be good to showcase both instruments. What about the piece?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask about that......"

I paused and looked at Pavel. Then, as he put his baton in the case, I asked,

"Can I perform an original composition?"

Pavel turned to look at me.

Seemingly taken aback, he opened his mouth and widened his eyes.

"......An original composition?"