Chapter 57, Song 57...
Qu Jiaying was right; she immediately received an email from a classical music agency abroad.
The situation was actually similar to Wang Zhou's; the other party was contacted by Mr. Hans, but there was a difference: he watched the official website's live stream recording video after hearing a recommendation.
The other party didn't really like Qu Jiaying's performance, and her performance was very inconsistent.
I didn't see any of the charisma Mr. Hans was talking about. Broadly speaking, it's about personal charm. I can only praise his quick wit and good looks, which might be marketable.
However, most of the musicians that Mr. Hans had previously chosen have now started touring, so we still trust Mr. Hans's judgment and sent him an email.
After Qu Jiaying received the email in English, Xiang Min helped her do some research. This agency was very large and had signed many well-known musicians. It had collaborated with symphony orchestras all over the world, but its attitude towards her was quite ordinary.
It's not just her portrayal that's lacking; her ethnicity and gender are also distrusted.
"Don't be discouraged. This family isn't short of people, that's why they're acting this way. Maybe there will be someone more suitable later," Xiang Min comforted her.
Qu Jiaying shook her head. She wasn't discouraged, after all, this was still the second agency to approach her.
That's her current value.
To be approached by two agencies after finishing fourth in the preliminary rounds, which has not yet gained widespread international recognition, is already far better than most young performers. However, Qu Jiaying has even higher expectations for herself.
Xiang Min nodded, relieved, and said, "Don't be fooled by Wang Zhou's few words. Let's wait and see."
Wang Zhou booked a room at the same hotel and spent the last two days helping with all sorts of things before the finals.
"Isn't that your senior from the same department? Why aren't you saying anything good about him?" Qu Jiaying said with a smile.
Xiang Min admitted that Wang Zhou had given him a lot of good advice, but that didn't mean he could completely trust him.
Wang Zhou has been incredibly attentive these past few days, remotely instructing Yang Jingyi on how to post content on Qu Jiaying's social media account, contacting Ms. Pei and Liu Ru to ask for their cooperation in promoting the event, contacting the charity foundation, and even calling Xiao Xing to give her a briefing.
Wang Zhou hopes that more people will come to watch the finals live. He noticed during the preliminary rounds that Qu Jiaying had a better live performance.
Le Yi and Yan Zheng didn't quite understand, but Xiang Min didn't appreciate it. She still felt that Wang Zhou was being too attentive, doing so much before even officially signing the contract. She felt this was all a favor and she would have to repay it sooner or later.
Even if he has resources in the pop music industry, so what? The classical music world doesn't recognize that. How many opportunities can Wang Zhou's startup agency find to collaborate with renowned symphony orchestras?
Qu Jiaying felt okay because she had gained a deeper understanding of her own professional characteristics by watching Wang Zhou work over the past few days.
The classical music world is still within a huge commercial world. Even Mozart had to eat; you can't generate electricity from love alone. But in the public's perception, musicians are elegant and shouldn't be tainted by money.
Most of her previous business activities, even when invited to them, were negotiated by Xiang Min; only a very few were negotiated directly by her.
In order to maintain the public's image of musicians as detached from worldly concerns, agents are necessary.
Instead of dating an unfamiliar foreigner, it's better to choose a friend you've known for many years.
However, Qu Jiaying still plans to talk to him again after the finals. She has plans for her future and wants to go further. She wants to see if Wang Zhou can think the same way and if they can work together to achieve her vision. If they can't reach an agreement, they will have to see how things go.
Xiang Min smiled gently as he looked at her. Qu Jiaying had made great progress. In the past, she didn't worry about anything except practicing the piano. It wasn't that she was wrong, but to become a solo musician, one has to enter the commercial world and communicate and coordinate with different people all over the world.
Some of these things he learned from his own life experiences, and some were taught to him by Cai Rui. He originally intended to tell Qu Jiaying about them, but she learned them on her own without being taught.
If it were Yan Zheng, he would admire and worship her even more.
Xiang Min became increasingly clear about why his relationship with Qu Jiaying was always intertwined with distance. Like her, he was confident in his talents to the point of arrogance. While they admired each other, they also wanted to compare themselves to one another.
Both he and Yan Zheng wanted to gain something from Qu Jiaying, so they couldn't leave her, while Le Yi had no needs from her, which made her feel more relaxed.
But ultimately, feelings are not a necessity for Qu Jiaying. What she wants is support from an agent with whom she can be bound by mutual interests.
This also explains why, with a self-deprecating smile, Xiang Min wondered why he and Yan Zheng were the most resistant after Wang Zhou came to help.
However, Xiang Min didn't know what tricks Yan Zheng had up his sleeve, but he did have a way to keep Qu Jiaying's attention.
“Didn’t I used to worry about what kind of music to write?” Xiang Min said with a smile.
"You have an idea now?" Qu Jiaying asked curiously.
"Someone asked me to write a piece, and I'll need your help to perform it," Xiang Min said.
Qu Jiaying smiled and replied, "Okay." She then asked, "Who is looking for you?"
“It’s quite a coincidence,” Xiang Min said. “I was researching ethnic musical instruments in the village before, and I met a PhD in folklore. He was a consultant for a game studio, and they wanted to do soundtracks, so he recommended me.”
"Great! Game soundtracks should be able to fulfill many of your ideas." Qu Jiaying had also looked into it; game soundtracks offer more freedom in their format.
Film scores once created a generation of musical masters. Film is the eighth art, and video games, now considered the ninth art, will surely produce a new generation of musical classics.
"This company makes folk horror games. I played the demo and had a lot of ideas. You're right, it's perfect for me," Xiang Min said.
Qu Jiaying was happy for him for a while, but soon became very worried about her own final.
On the night the preliminary round ended, Cai Rui sent a message to Qu Jiaying, using himself as an example to tell her that even if you win first place, it doesn't mean you can stay popular.
Teacher Xia Xiaolei also advised Qu Jiaying that even if she didn't win first place, she could still become a soloist and shouldn't be obsessed with winning awards.
Wang Zhou also cited an example of a very popular young performer from abroad. He had already signed with a management company and even held several performances, but he insisted on continuing to participate in competitions without winning any awards. However, his performances became worse and worse, which in turn affected the quality of his performances.
She understood the reasoning, but she was still unwilling to accept it. Her biggest weakness was her inner demons.
Even if you can sign a contract and become a soloist, it's not a complete experience without winning a championship.
After all, it's just the preliminary round; there's still the final round to come.
The day before the final, the contestants will draw lots, and afterwards they will have a short rehearsal with the symphony orchestra.
Speaking of song selection, this competition is known for its high difficulty and uniqueness, which also results in fewer participants.
Most competitions select sonatas by well-known composers for the preliminary rounds, but this one takes a different approach and selects composers whose styles are quite different.
Then, in the finals, most competitions choose concertos, but the selection includes movements from symphonies and less common concertos.
When Qu Jiaying practiced the song for the finals, it was a nightmare, no easier than "The Demon King".
Because both a single movement of a symphony and a concerto are longer, the selection of pieces for the competition is limited to a range of nearly half an hour.
Qu Jiaying, Ruan Qi, and eight other contestants met at the concert hall where the finals were being held. A staff member brought out a box and indicated that everyone would draw lots according to their rankings.
Ruan Qi stepped forward first, rummaged through the box for a while, took out a slip of paper, and the staff confirmed and registered it.
Most of the contestants breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the piece Ruan Qi drew: the fifth movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, also known as "Resurrection." This piece is extremely difficult to perform and has very little violin solo.
In addition, Ruan Qi's preliminary performance was very lyrical, leading contestants who didn't know her to think that she was definitely not good at large-scale symphonies, especially since the theme of "Resurrection" was so complex.
Qu Jiaying, who knows Ruan Qi's experiences, knows that this is the most suitable song for her. She always remembers Ruan Qi's song "Pathetique". She has succeeded and fallen, and then got up again to continue moving forward.
Qu Jiaying was happy for her, but also nervous for herself.
The second and third place winners drew relatively simple and easy pieces, and it was Qu Jiaying's turn.
She reached in, stirred the note, and took a deep breath. She was practicing very well; no piece of music could stump her. But it would be better if there were more solo parts so she could better showcase her unique style.
Qu Jiaying took one out and pulled it out, her expression somewhat stiff.
Unfortunately, I drew the piece that offered the least opportunity to showcase my unique style.
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major not only lacks a violin solo, but its distinctive feature is a solo ensemble consisting of a now largely obsolete high violin, horn, and oboe.
Ordinary violins can only be used for violin parts.
The most crucial issue is that while Baroque works are structurally rigorous and emotionally rich but simplistic, Qu Jiaying is currently most adept at expressing personal emotions in her Romantic period and subsequent works.
Most of the contestants breathed a sigh of relief. Qu Jiaying's performance in the preliminary round was so inconsistent, yet she still managed to rank fourth thanks to her performance and skills. It was great that the song in the final round wasn't the type she was good at.
Only Ruan Qi looked at her with concern.
Qu Jiaying shook her head slightly, indicating that she shouldn't worry and should focus on her rehearsal.
Today, I had to rehearse with the National Symphony Orchestra all day. Each contestant only had one and a half hours, and could only practice about three times. Ruan Qi was naturally the first one.
Going to rehearsal first isn't necessarily the best, because after seeing all the contestants' pieces, the interpretation of the previous practice might need to be adjusted according to the situation. However, at this point, the concerto's symphony orchestra is still full of energy.
Under the tutelage of her teacher Müller, Ruan Qi has collaborated with different orchestras in Germany. There are many problems when collaborating for the first time, but she is already very good at communicating with people. She immediately communicated with the conductor and the principals of each section of the orchestra, asking them how they handled the details.
The communication and exchange alone took about half an hour. Ruan Qi also listened to the commander's opinions, selected some key parts to practice together, and finally only practiced the whole thing once.
Before the second contestant's rehearsal, the symphony orchestra members took a short break and discussed Ruan Qi briefly.
"That Ruan Qi performance just now had a very good feel to it."
"The orchestra should be quite experienced; it's not like one person is playing alone."
Another musician asked the lead singer how she felt, and the lead singer admitted that in some parts, Ruan Qi handled things better than she had done herself.
However, the next two contestants were just average. Their violin solos were very good, and the principal also recognized that they were not much worse than him. But their concerto performances were much worse than Ruan Qi's. They didn't understand why they needed a symphony orchestra concerto, and their rehearsal was not going well. They didn't even communicate with each other.
For three hours, the entire orchestra was encouraged by the conductor and the principal musician.
After resting for a while, they were about to welcome the fourth contestant.
Qu Jiaying came in with a zither and sheet music.
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