episode_0151

The Dongyoung Competition is one of the two major competitions held in Korea, but it does not receive much international attention.

In a way, it was natural because most young musicians aim to participate in famous competitions with great artists who have made a big mark in the classical music world.

However, even though it is a competition held for its citizens in a small country called Korea, its status is not low. At least, this was especially true for Korea, which is becoming an emerging classical music powerhouse.

Just as a young student sets a goal of going to college and then gradually adjusts that goal downward as he or she gets older.

Even among candidates who have started their career as a performer, some go down and some go up.

The two competitions in Korea were a kind of baseline that separates the top from the bottom.

Performers who rise to the top receive an invisible seal of approval that they have the potential to perform on the world stage.

Some of the judges seem to have recognized the image embedded in the competition itself, and when evaluating them, they mainly look at adaptability to the world stage.

However, as I have said many times, even for domestic competitions, the level of competition was considerable.

How many people major in classical music in this small country? However, because the available positions were limited, not all young performers who applied could see the light of day.

Someone had to give up this path with tears in their eyes. Even if it took several years or nearly 10 years, there were no exceptions.

There are bound to be areas in art where effort alone is not enough, so if you reach that state, you either have to recognize the difference in talent and work hard to overcome the odds of a few decimal places and come out on top. Or take the easy path like everyone else. It’s one of two things.

Even if you are not a musician, there are many jobs where you can enjoy playing. This is because not just one performer leads the entire business.

But there is only one shining star on the stage.

That shining star turns everyone who assists into a sidekick.

However, there are so many mountains to overcome to become a shining star.

On a stage with a large audience, you have to show skill and technique without being distracted by nervousness.

Of course, the cultural atmosphere of the era in which the song was written must be perfectly recreated.

In order to become a shining star, you had to be able to add your own interpretation and elicit sympathy from the audience for that interpretation.

That was the rule for all contest winners.

Only by performing the difficult task of maintaining the norms and creating autonomy within them was he able to occupy the top spot among the nation’s or the world’s musical prodigies.

“Candidate Joo Hyun-woo and Son Nari. I’d like to hear a comparative review.”

There are a total of eight judges for today’s competition.

The chairman of the Dongyoung Music Foundation, who took the center seat, asked the judges sitting on his left and right.

A middle-aged woman wearing glasses near the left raised her hand.

When the chairman gestured, she opened her mouth.

“First of all, I would like to support candidate Nari Son. In the designated song, candidate Nari Son, who has relatively small hands, performed arpeggios and octaves more neatly.”

“What else?”

“It was a small difference. I think our musical appeal was similar. but… I think they may have been very nervous and couldn’t express their interpretation well. They seemed to feel the colors of their seniors and the teachers they studied with more than their own colors.”

This time, a middle-aged man on the right, smoothing his scraggly beard, raised his hand.

“I agree to a certain extent with Professor Suyeon Woo. Neither candidate had a distinct color. I think it was because I was very nervous… .”

The middle-aged man also participated as a judge in the finals held about 10 days ago.

“Still, this year we have to pick a winner. Compared to other candidates, these friends were the best.”

“According to Professor Kookhyun Cha, you have no choice but to look at the technique and perfection of the song.”

“Yes. so that… Unlike Professor Soo-yeon Woo, I would like to give points to candidate Hyun-woo Joo.”

“Why?”

“Candidate Nari Son clearly had the upper hand in the designated song… . That’s only when comparing designated songs. If you compare other selected songs, candidate Joo Hyun-woo has the upper hand on average.”

Professor Cha Kook-hyeon glanced at Professor Woo Soo-yeon and continued talking.

“Comparatively, candidate Son Nari worked harder to prepare the designated song… . Actually, I think this is because I prepared in advance in anticipation of being in the finals. The designated song for the finals will be revealed in advance early this year when the competition announcement is made.”

“That’s right. Professor Woo Soo-yeon, do you have any opinions?”

“I agree with Professor Kookhyun Cha on that part.”

“What about other people?”

Several judges sided with Professor Cha Kook-hyun. The rest were neutral.

Professor Woo Soo-yeon looked away as if embarrassed. It seemed clear that he probably had an indirect connection with candidate Nari Son.

“First of all, the rankings of the two candidates seem to be somewhat obscured. I decided to think about this again after hearing the last candidate… .”

The chairman of the Dongyoung Music Foundation held in his hand the profile of the last participant, Jeong Si-woo.

The first place his eyes turned to was the name of the professor he studied with, just as he had when he first saw the profile.

“The last one is Jeong Si-woo, a student of Professor Baek Jung-eon of Hanyang University.”

Professor Cha Kook-hyeon raised his hand as if he had been waiting.

“Jung Si-woo received the highest score in the final screening… . Could you please elaborate on the evaluation Professor Cha Kook-hyun gave at that time?”

All judges simultaneously turned the page to reveal the results of the final evaluation.

“If we only look at the evaluation of the finals, I believe that Jeong Si-woo came closest to winning. I think you should listen to the final performance today because the difference between you and the other candidates is very small. The pressure of the finals and finals is quite different.”

“That’s right. In the case of the finals, quite a few family members of competition participants and invited audiences tend to visit… .”

The chairman took a quick look around the judges’ seats.

The packed audience is quietly waiting for the next contestant’s turn.

“If you can’t overcome the stage pressure, you will get a different result.”

“Still, if you listen to it, you will feel that you are clearly different from other candidates. This guy’s playing is so authentic.”

“How did Professor Kuk-Hyeon Cha feel?”

“As I was listening, it reminded me of my wife and I dating when we were young.”

Everyone similarly assumed that they seemed to be in love.

Except for one person, the foundation chairman.

“Ah. Sorry, Chairman.”

“No. There is nothing to be sorry about.”

The chairman chuckled and took a sip of the plastic water, but he could not hide the sadness on his face.

A middle-aged woman sitting next to Professor Cha Kook-hyun scolded him in a low voice.

“Professor… … .”

“Ah. sorry. even I did not know. I heard it so well at the time… . Enough explaining that… .”

The chairman’s wife recently died of cancer. The three-day market ended just last week.

Therefore, not a single one of the judges expected him to attend today.

There was no one around them who didn’t know that they were a couple who was so beautifully in love that they were jealous of everyone around them.

That was why when the love story came up, he hid his red eyes in the dark lighting.

“Still, I. I think you did well to come out.”

“Is the next candidate’s performance that good?”

“If you listen to it, you will feel it right away. It’s not for nothing that I said it reminds me of my romantic partner.”

Professor Cha Kook-hyun clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

“It was fascinating. It wasn’t originally a song with that feeling… . I was surprised to see a friend who perfectly recreates the era and creates a unique feeling with only his own interpretation after a long time… . As expected, I thought it was Professor Baek Jung-eon.”

“Ah. Yes. I’m Professor Baek Jung-eon’s student.”

As expected, the words “It is Professor Baek Jung-eon” came out of the two people’s mouths.

Although he did not raise disciples often, he was also famous for the success of each disciple he raised.

“Why. Last year, as soon as Song Seong-hyuk came to Korea, he won a prize at the Dongyoung Competition, right?”

“Yes, I remember. It was a big fuss back then. Why are overseas groups competing in domestic competitions?”

“A little more than that friend… It was a little bit fresh, but it was refreshing. I wondered if this was youth. Hehehe.”

While the two judges were chatting, the final candidate they had been waiting for, Si-Woo Jeong, appeared on stage.

He stood in front of the piano with calm steps without any signs of tension, and bowed his head towards the audience with his hands on the buttons of his jacket.

While the applause continued, Siwoo sat down and looked at the piano.

Typically, candidates spend quite a bit of time at this stage.

Time to get used to the stage full of audiences.

Time to hit the virtual keyboard in your head to get off to a great start.

This is because time was needed to review the score of the entire program prepared for the finals.

For candidates who were still young, the 50-minute recital was a very stressful event.

If it gets too late, the organizer asks us to start, but we usually spend about 1 to 3 minutes in silence to prepare and meditate.

♩ ♬…

However, Siwoo took the first note without hesitation.

At the same time, the judges’ seats were in an uproar.

“… Did you change the program order?”

Obviously, the first program submitted by Jeong Si-woo would have been Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2, which is well-known to the public.

For some reason, the song that announces the beginning is Chopin’s Etude Op.25. It was a more familiar song under the nickname ‘Winter Wind’.

Changing the order of the solo program you prepared is not a problem, but there were many cases where the song that was supposed to be played first was postponed because the memorization was poor.

In this case, the judges usually considered it a bad sign because it ruined the storytelling of the entire program. Maybe that’s why all the judges frowned.

However, after a short lyrical introduction, as if talking in front of a warm bonfire on a winter night, a passionate theme melody began to flow, as if a window were being broken by a strong wind.

“… Hoo.”

Even as everyone was worried, the chairman, whose expression did not change, closed his eyes.

Like someone at a concert. He suddenly went into appreciation mode instead of evaluation mode.

I heard they play warm and lovely songs because they are in a relationship.

Not at all.

The wind carried in the sound was a bitter cold wind.

A boy only twenty years old was showing an atmosphere that only someone who had experienced terrible pain and sadness could play perfectly.