Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Anton Tilberg And The Academy 1
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Victor's strength lies in his outstanding ability to reinterpret.
Based on his experience and knowledge, he creates completely original variations that are worlds apart from the original piece.
Just a moment ago, for instance.
The D-major chord that flowed from his fingertips was undoubtedly from Canon, but anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was simply an excellent solo piece.
Everything, from the overall mood to the progression, was novel.
Of course, his performance skill couldn't be called anything spectacular.
But that's fine.
Great mentors aren't always absolute masters of performance, and the same is true the other way around.
Victor is an expert in theory.
He doesn't follow his instincts; instead, he approaches music logically and systematically.
It's like approaching it mathematically.
As expected of an Academy professor.
Victor's capabilities as an educator are quite valuable.
Then what about Erdi?
He has never received formal music lessons.
He was just interested in the piano.
Even if he happened to have a chance to try it, he wouldn't have approached it academically.
At first, all he did was follow the sheet music and press the keys.
But.
Thanks to his innate talent for recognizing notes, he was able to build up his skill level at a rapid pace.
On top of that, he has a remarkable memory.
And add to that the delicate expressiveness he learned while staying with me.
Erdi is the type who crushes the sheet music with overwhelming physical prowess.
He is the polar opposite of Victor.
His senses come before theory.
He proposes ideas that flash through his mind on the spot and shapes the melody with an improvisational feel.
This guy is a genius.
One that no one else can hope to match.
Perhaps for the students enrolling in the Academy, he could become their ultimate goal.
Choosing a piece to prove Erdi's skill was incredibly easy.
Music is simple yet complex.
There are pieces that don't require great technique but rely on emotional expression, while others suppress emotion as much as possible and overwhelm with dazzling technique alone.
And.
There is music that can only be challenged by possessing both.
Franz Liszt, La Campanella.
A work Liszt arranged for piano after being impressed by Paganini's performance, famous for its transcendent difficulty.
In any case.
The charm of La Campanella lies nowhere else.
It's the fast, dazzling high-pitched melody that captures the audience from the very first note.
One must continue to play the delicate yet intense melody by striking the keys with their fingertips.
The rhythm grows more and more intense, with the right hand making rapid leaps.
If you listen quietly, it's enough to make you mistake the piano for a living, breathing creature.
If you can play this perfectly, you can consider the game over.
Just as expected.
As Erdi lightly shook his arm and placed his hands on the keyboard, the audience began to stir.
"Ooh!"
"W...Wow..."
It's only natural to be surprised.
Right now, in the capital—no, in the entire Empire—the only people who can play this sheet music are me and Erdi.
That's it. Just the two of us.
This is an impossible realm for everyone else.
Right now, we are showing them a dream.
A realm they must one day reach if they aim to play the piano.
A high-level leap.
He flicks his fingers as if leaping over an endlessly high mountain, and the notes that burst from his fingertips are astonishingly precise.
He drives the melody, which could easily crumble if played too slowly or forcefully, forward with incredible concentration.
But.
It doesn't end with just showing off dazzling technique.
The true difficulty of this piece lies beyond technique, in conveying emotion as well.
No matter how fast and accurately you play, if there is no emotion within it, it's just a mechanical succession of notes.
In practice, that might be fine.
But in a theater, on a stage, it's different.
You cannot afford to miss the detailed conveyance of emotion.
If the expression doesn't support it, you can't even reproduce half of La Campanella's charm.
Of course, I know better than anyone that Erdi is the one who can do this more easily than anyone else.
Within the repeating melody and theme, first comes the harmony of joy.
Then passion, ecstasy.
Even a hint of sadness.
At last.
The final note of the piano rings out.
The theater was wrapped in silence.
Neither applause nor cheers could be heard.
"Is this... a performance a human can make...?"
A middle-aged noble who had been sitting still muttered, covering his mouth.
Behind him,
"H-How can a hand move that fast? Am I not dreaming right now? A, Ahaha... It must be a dream. It's a dream."
A freshman, unable to believe the sight he had witnessed, was casting denial on reality.
On top of that,
"A demon."
A girl went so far as to give Erdi an ignominious name.
Of course, it wasn't meant to be negative.
She probably just couldn't think of any other word to use.
A demon.
Certainly, Paganini, the original owner of La Campanella, was also called by that nickname.
A talent like a demon.
Even Liszt, known as the King of Piano, expressed respect for him and declared he would become the Paganini of the piano world himself.
Among people who make a living from art, this title isn't so bad.
If this were a church, maybe, but this is a theater to begin with.
As if a wind had swept through the silent audience, before anyone knew it, people began to rise from their seats and give a standing ovation.
"Damn it! To think I can receive direct instruction from that great performer!"
"This is insane! This is insane playing!"
Unrestrained freshmen were spouting harsh language that would be difficult for a noble to utter.
Well, it's probably fine.
They are filled with ecstasy.
The suspicion directed at Erdi had long since vanished.
Well, what's the point of holding up a standard in front of a genius with such overwhelming skill?
The dean praised him.
"T-This is Professor Erdi Bilet!"
He seemed to be quite shocked himself, biting his lip slightly.
But everyone's souls had been taken by Erdi's performance, so no one paid any mind to the dean stuttering.
In any case, I was also surprised.
'At this point, isn't he just the reincarnation of Liszt?'
I wasn't doubting him, as he was already good at the piano to begin with.
But to think he would improve to this extent in just one year.
My expectations weren't wrong.
Pushing for Erdi to become an Academy professor was definitely the right choice.
After he finished his performance and came down from the stage, I slapped his shoulder.
"Take it a little easy."
"Didn't you tell me to..."
"In any case, you did well."
I think he said something in response, but I ignored it completely.
***
A tense atmosphere hung over the theater.
A stir had been caused once by the unexpected appearance of Victor Korsolin.
And they had witnessed the incredible technique of the divine Erdi Bilet.
In fact, quite a few people had expressed doubts about the establishment of this Art Academy.
It was only a branch campus, and the only named professor was Anton Tilberg.
It wasn't strange to be skeptical about the quality of education.
If there was nothing superior to the Valcares Academy in the North, was there any reason to enroll the scions of their families here?
The performances of the previous two men completely put those worries to rest at once.
'Perhaps, at least in music, it might be superior to the North.'
And.
Finally, it was time for the person who would put the final stamp on that certainty to appear.
Since Victor and Erdi had come out, there was only one left.
Everyone had that name in their minds.
The dean paused for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Lastly, I will introduce a very special person."
Numerous gazes turned toward the center of the stage.
"He is an existence that cannot simply be called a musician or a scholar."
The dean's expression was a little exaggerated, but the audience felt no need to refute it.
In a way, it was the truth.
"The melodies born from his fingertips soon became the heartbeat of the Empire, and all this time, we have lived in sync with the music he created."
At that moment.
Before anyone else had even appeared, the people sitting in the audience began to stand up, one by two.
"Presenting the great artist, and now a professor who will guide you to another world, Lord Anton Tilberg!"
An enormous wave of applause and cheers poured out, loud enough to make the walls of the large theater tremble.
"Waaaaah!"
"He's finally coming out!"
"Anton! Anton!"
The dean gestured.
A black shadow walked out slowly from behind the stage.
At the same time, strangely enough,
All the air in the theater seemed to stop.
The footsteps were silent.
Soon, after sitting in front of the piano, he lightly raised his arms.
The tip of his finger touched the first note.
Like a holy bell ringing in a church, the overwhelming melody pierced deep into the hearts of the people standing in the audience.
It was on a completely different level from what Victor and Erdi had shown.
To them, the previous two men were also practitioners far from ordinary.
But beyond what was thought to be the end, there is always another end.
"...God has descended."
"If this is true music... then I have not known music until now."
They couldn't even breathe properly.
Each note ringing from the keyboard rushed like a giant wave, and the audience was swept away by that overwhelming tide.
They had no choice but to surrender their emotions.
It was not simply the sight of a piano and the performer playing it.
Music.
It was right there before them.