Chapter 5, Song 5...
Qu Jiaying strode into the examination room, greeted the teachers, announced her name and the piece she was going to play, and nodded to Le Yi, who was sitting at the piano behind her.
The two began to play.
Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major inherits many characteristics from Beethoven and is also a classic violin concerto. The first movement is jokingly called "a symphony for violin solo." Although it is in the common sonata form, the opening introduction is different from the norm and is highly symphonic.
Le Yi performed very well, and Qu Jiaying also played steadily.
The teachers lined up and whispered among themselves: "Teacher Xia is a good teacher. Her tone wasn't this good last semester, and her technique has improved a lot."
"The speed has increased, but the overall rhythm is still very stable, and the pitch has not been affected too much."
Teacher Xia Xiaolei humbly said, "Qu Jiaying's piano accompaniment is better than the previous ones. She was able to bring out the symphonic nature of this piece on the piano, which greatly enhanced her performance."
Next is the exposition. Qu Jiaying gradually increases the range of her left-hand vibrato to express the singing quality of the theme, while also paying attention to the bowing with her right hand when emphasizing the accented notes.
The main theme was quite grand, and she performed it well, but the lyrical passages of the secondary theme lacked subtlety, and the transition from weak to strong felt mechanical.
Le Yi had been practicing and imitating the master's performance all night and hadn't rested well. He was a little nervous at first, worried that he might have problems if he didn't practice together more. Fortunately, everything went smoothly at first, and he breathed a sigh of relief and began to immerse himself in the music.
Qu Jiaying's technique was actually quite good, but when it came to the lyrical parts, her performance became very boring. Le Yi couldn't help but feel sleepy. He remembered that he was supposed to help, and he was afraid that if this continued, the accompaniment would also become worse.
Le Yi glanced at the score; the lyrical section still had several measures left. He tentatively added his own interpretation without disrupting Qu Jiaying's rhythm.
He couldn't change Qu Jiaying's phrasing and breathing points; all he could do was write about the chords, highlighting the changes in chords through volume and timbre.
Qu Jiaying noticed immediately, but she didn't have time to be angry. She tried her best to make her performance of this part more in line with the pastoral and idyllic feeling of the first time she heard Le Yi play this piece.
The teachers whispered among themselves, their ears sharp: "The lyrical passages were performed better, thanks to the pianist."
"However, Qu Jiaying reacted quickly; she wasn't dragged away."
Then comes the development section. In a symphony orchestra, a soloist should have a competitive tension with the orchestra. But in this setting, in this classroom, Qu Jiaying seized the opportunity and used her violin to tell Le Yi: My violin is no worse than your piano. Don't try to interfere. This is my performance!
Le Yi smiled as he looked at Qu Jiaying in front of him. From this angle, her posture while playing the violin was even more beautiful, and her whole demeanor was very graceful. Her competitive spirit was much stronger than his, but he was unwilling to fall behind.
Le Yi played with abandon. He had never accompanied a piano before and did not know what collaboration was. This time he experienced it firsthand. The two instruments were interacting, as if two musicians were communicating.
The teachers nodded in satisfaction: "Your performance in this competition was excellent; your bowing and position shifts were all spot on."
Teacher Xia Xiaolei seemed to be deep in thought.
Next came the cadenza, and Qu Jiaying did not follow Joachim's structure-focused version, but instead chose a more virtuoso violinist's version.
The teachers asked Ms. Xia Xiaolei, "If we consider Brahms's compositional style, which is more restrained, and Joachim himself is also a friend of his, and both are Hungarian, his cadenza fits the style of Brahms's concerto very well. You chose this version for her, right?"
Teacher Xia Xiaolei nodded slightly: "Most students in this age group don't have a deep understanding of the music, so it's better to choose a style that suits them first."
Finally, there was the recapitulation and the coda. With the exhilarating competition that followed, Qu Jiaying was even more at ease.
After the performance, Qu Jiaying and Le Yi took their things and left the classroom.
Gao Ying and Yan Zheng eagerly awaited their arrival and went to greet them as soon as they came out.
Gao Ying quickly asked, "How is it?"
Yan Zheng was also watching them from the side.
Qu Jiaying glared at Le Yi, who was unusually happy beside her, and said irritably, "You almost made me furious halfway through. You acted recklessly again. What if I lost control of the situation?"
“I knew you could do it, and the effect is much better now, isn’t it?” Le Yi kept smiling. “Do you know what makes me happiest? It’s that you listened to my performance carefully. Otherwise, how would you remember the different parts of my interpretation?”
Qu Jiaying asked doubtfully, "Isn't that what I should do? You're my piano accompanist, so of course I need to understand how you play. Otherwise, what if you make a mistake and we can't coordinate for a while?"
This was something she honed during her studies in Germany. She participated in many international competitions, some of which were held in other countries. She had to pay for travel and accommodation, as well as hire a professional piano accompanist. Practicing with her accompanist also cost money. Although her parents never complained, she still tried to save as much money as possible.
Sometimes it's because there are fewer practice sessions, they're not very familiar with each other, and there are occasional language problems. The piano accompanist, like the contestant, comes from all over the world. Sometimes they find a cheaper piano accompanist, so their technique is a little worse. She remembers the parts that the other person is not very good at, or the parts that are different from her own interpretation, and tries her best to make up for the other person's mistakes with her own performance in the competition.
That's why she dared to change the person at the last minute.
Several teachers were calculating scores and discussing them in the examination room.
"Qu Jiaying has made rapid progress in the past few months. Last semester she was not far behind other students, but now she is doing very well and has no problem in domestic competitions."
"Have you forgotten Ruan Qi, who was a junior in college?"
"How could I forget? She was the principal of our school symphony orchestra. I remember she was a child prodigy when she was little. She won the championship in the junior category of an international competition when she was just a few years old."
"In terms of skill, the two are probably about the same now, but Ruan Qi's performance is better, while Qu Jiaying is still a little lacking in this aspect. If they were to compete internationally, it wouldn't be enough."
The scores were calculated and sent to the academic affairs office. Familiar teachers were preparing for a get-together when a female teacher asked Xia Xiaolei, who was about to leave the classroom, "Where are you going?"
"You guys go ahead, I'll be there in a bit."
Xia Xiaolei quickly caught up with Qu Jiaying and her three companions who were heading to the cafeteria together.
"Jiaying, wait a moment."
Qu Jiaying gestured to Gao Ying, Le Yi, and Yan Zheng to go first, while she stopped to talk to Teacher Xia Xiaolei.
"You said before that you weren't planning to go abroad for the time being. The next international competition hosted in China will be when you're a senior. Do you have any plans in the meantime?" Xia Xiaolei asked gently. "With your current level, there's no need for you to participate in general domestic competitions. International competitions are more suitable for you. There are some countries in Asia that host international competitions. Would you like to go?"
Qu Jiaying shook her head: "I know what I'm lacking right now. If I go to international competitions, I won't win a gold medal. I'll just become a familiar face. What's the point? It won't improve me much. But I don't know what else I can do if I don't prepare for the competitions."
Xia Xiaolei has taught many students, including Qu Jiaying, whom she has mentored since she was five or six years old. However, she is the most special one, not only because Qu Jiaying is more talented and works harder at learning the piano, but also because she met Qu Jiaying's parents shortly after graduation and started working there. She has watched Qu Jiaying grow up from an infant to the present.
Xia Xiaolei, who is unmarried and childless, teaches Qu Jiaying as if she were her own child. She doesn't want Qu Jiaying's life to consist of nothing but practicing the piano, as this would not benefit her performance. Sure enough, she has now encountered a bottleneck.
Xia Xiaolei had a premonition beforehand. She once told Qu Jiaying the story of another girl who became a completely different person after falling in love, and whose playing music was full of emotion.
After that conversation, Qu Jiaying started a relationship with Yan Zheng, but it had no impact on her, and they broke up.
However, this time, the piano accompaniment provided by Le Yi was different. Xia Xiaolei thought for a moment and said, "Since we're not in a hurry to participate in other competitions, let's try their quartet first."
“But…” Qu Jiaying looked at Xia Xiaolei with a hint of disdain, “They’re not professionals at playing the violin.”
"Trust me, it will definitely help you," Xia Xiaolei said.
Qu Jiaying followed her advice and sat down in the cafeteria with her tray. She said, "I agree to be the first violinist for your quartet that is missing one member."
Le Yi was overjoyed: "That's wonderful!"
Qu Jiaying looked at Yan Zheng. If he agreed, the minority would obey the majority. Even if the cellist from the composition department whom she had never met refused, it wouldn't matter.
However, Yan Zheng's cold tone interrupted Le Yi's excitement: "Wait a minute."
Le Yi seemed frozen in place by the paused image. He belatedly realized that these two people used to be lovers. Was Yan Zheng still not over it? Yet, he was busy running around trying to help Qu Jiaying with her performance.
It was so difficult to get Qu Jiaying to agree, and it was also hard to communicate with Xiang Min. What should we do? Le Yi anxiously kept turning his head left and right to look at the two people sitting on either side.
"I have something to tell you," Yan Zheng said.
Le Yi wanted to stay, but Gao Ying, who knew Qu Jiaying's past relationships, forcibly pulled her away: "What are you doing here!"
Qu Jiaying calmly looked at Yan Zheng opposite her: "Okay."
Yan Zheng stood up, unable to bring himself to ask her the question: "Let's go outside and talk."
Qu Jiaying nodded and walked around the campus with Yan Zheng. There were many flowers in April, and on weekends they would occasionally run into people from outside the school who came for spring outings and took pictures around the flower bushes and lakes.
Music, fragrance of flowers, and a tranquil lake—there is no more beautiful scene than this.
But Yan Zheng's silence throughout the night reminded Qu Jiaying of the rainy night when they broke up.
It was the end of the summer vacation after graduating from high school. After several days of high temperatures, it finally rained, but the temperature did not drop. Instead, it became humid and muggy because of the rain, just like Qu Jiaying's feelings when she broke up with him.
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