BXBX NOVEL Chapter 436 The Conductor's Competition (2)
Announcing the first sequence of the performance, the audience sat excitedly in their seats in order to enjoy the music and watch the proceeding of the competition.
The emcee gestured to the Haven Light Symphony Orchestra to perform their interpretation of the piece.
Fredius's chosen piece was actually his own creation. It was a three-movement symphony that ran for about 50 minutes.
The other three original conductors that should have been competing with them today had chosen the most legendary pieces ever written in the Prasinos' history.
They originally wanted to capitalize on the pieces' fame however, the revolutionary performances of Raya and Desmond of the 'lost pieces' forced the Vanderford's camp to change strategy.
Among their four delegates on the conducting side, only Fredius dared to submit his own composition.
With that, they decided that he will remain to compete with Lainie, the delegate of the Farauld's camp, which would most likely perform a 'lost piece' as well.
'Their predictions were correct though…' Eli thought in her mind as she listened to the background of the music that the orchestra was about to play.
'However, I feel bad for the young composer. For he will be fighting against one of the famous composers in my previous world, Prokofiev.' She thought.
Even so, she still listened to the piece in curiosity, especially when she heard the young conductor's family name.
Soon, a vibrant introduction rang in the entire square. The first bars were a dreamy colorful melody from the string section accompanied by the contrabass and the intermittent support of the percussion and the brass section.
To Eli, it was like an opening of film music whenever she watches a Disney movie back in the modern world.
Colorful and dreamy, like how the flowers freely bloom during springtime, carelessly showing their beauty in the vibrant sun.
Added to the fact that it was played beautifully by the professional orchestra, the people actually enjoyed listening to Fredius's composition.
For the second movement, another theme was introduced. In contrast with the first movement, the second movement was somehow cold and empty. Like the chills represented by an upcoming storm.
Suddenly the music changed, and just as the people had predicted, the storm came. This was depicted by the careful arrangement and dialogue between the cellos and the wind instruments, intensified by the percussion and the brass.
Finally, there was calm.
Like seeing the flicker of light slowly shining into the devastated land, the third movement had a slow, gentle opening. Then the wind instruments came in, with fluttering melodies depicting the tiny birds and creatures going out for the first time after a terrible storm.
Slowly the chaos was washed out by the cycle of life moving on like it was just another day.
And the music ended with the enhanced version of the theme in the first movement, colorful and dreamy, but with more power signaling growth after braving the storm.
Clap clap clap!
After a few seconds of rest, the audience finally reacted to the performance and cheered happily.
"What a beautiful piece!" They exclaimed.
They could not believe that this music was actually written by such a young composer!
Soon waves of praises were thrown at Fredius that only halted when it was his turn to perform the same piece with his assembled orchestra.
While it may be a disadvantage for some to have the professional orchestra perform his own composition, he had the advantage of free interpretation.
That is, if it turned out that there was a difference between the performance of the two orchestras, he could always claim it is the real intention of the piece.
And so when it was his time to play, the orchestra playing for him managed to capture extra details of the piece.
If before, the color is painted to the listeners where a colorful flower field being ravished by the storm, when it was played with him conducted, it suddenly turned into a hidden magical kingdom.
There were melodic lines that made the jury and listeners understand what his original intention was. A slight change in the way the melody was played totally transformed the piece!
As the next movements went on, the crowd realized that piece was actually not pertaining to a storm but rather a battlefield.
Especially when they heard the last movement, which actually connotes recovery from chaos. Small steps are taken to come back up and enjoy the peace once again!
After the music was performed, the crowd once again cheered.
It was so exciting!
It doesn't matter if the audience is from the Seirende Empire or on foreign territory. Everyone was just enjoying the experience of having to savor such beautiful music.
It was also an eye-opener for them to witness how interpretation really matters for the two performances.
The cheers from the crowd did not end, even after Fredius and the Head Conductor of the Haven Light Orchestra shook hands and exchanged warm pleasantries.
From the Head Conductor's eyes, he was extremely proud and satisfied with Fredius's creation.
Max, Anna, and Raphael watched from their reserved viewing spot on the balcony of a building across the square.
"It seems like… Lainie will have a hard time…" Raphael mumbled.
They were worried about Lainie who was now at a disadvantage because she was being matched to a composer who turned out to be this formidable.
"Ah… this sucks!!! The music was actually good, and it will automatically be an added point to that composer guy!" Max pulled his hair depicting that he was in distress.
Even if he did not say so, the others also thought the same. They bite their lips and clasped their hands in prayer, asking the heavens to not let Lainie and the orchestra become disheartened by the formidable rival.
"It's alright, let's believe in Lainie and the rest. I know that they could do this." Anna tried to pacify the two guys' mood to which Dean Athena and the rest of the faculty members on the balcony agreed.
Soon the emcee got up on stage and announced an intermission before the program resumed. This is to give time for the audience to take a break and for the jury to also internalize their evaluation of the performance.
This also gave Fredius a chance to mingle with the legendary orchestra who were obviously satisfied with his creation.
While Fredius's side seemed to have been triumphant and relaxed, the atmosphere on Lainie's side was quite tense and silent.
"What do you think?" Eli, who was beside Lainie through and through, asked her student's opinions about the original piece.
"I admit that he was gifted in creating melodious lines and writing them in a way that gives each section the flexibility to interpret the entire piece. However, it lacked complexity.
The structure is straightforward, moving on from one color to another, neither taking the chance to develop the melodious lines into the entire piece.
But nonetheless, it is a wonderful piece. I admire the sheer passion that enabled him to create such a piece as this." Lainie gave her evaluation with diligence as if she and Eli were in a class.
"Hmm.. not bad…" Eli smiled as she nodded at Lainie's evaluation approvingly.
It was to be expected though that Lainie and Eli would not be intimidated by Fredius's composition because the two spent time listening, breaking down, and analyzing many legendary symphonies from Eli's repertoire,
Because of her exposure to the earth's musical repertoire, Lainie's outlook and taste in music coincided with Eli's. In fact, Desmond shared the same too.
So contrary to what their friends had expected, Lainie and the rest were not intimidated by their rival's performance.
Instead, they calmly enjoyed the music and took time to admire the other party's efforts and creativity.
"However, you have many things you can learn from him. Especially the way he orchestrated the melodies of each section to create the effect he wanted.
While your advantage is your widened repertoire, always see to it that your creativity will not be caged by it.
After all, you are not only aiming to be a conductor but an excellent composer too." Eli reminded her student.
"I will heed your words, mentor!" Lainie nodded and acknowledged Eli's advice.
The interaction of the two bewildered the members of the orchestra.
Here they were, terrified by the outcome of the competing party's performance. But their conductor and mentor even took this chance to conduct a class?!
How carefree would they be? They wondered.
But after listening to their exchange, they soon realized. It was not because the two were not paying heed to the matter, it was actually the opposite.
They are so passionate about music that they would not waste such a moment to improve their own perspective and outlook.
They are confident about their own abilities, however, they see to it that it would not get into their heads. Rather, they take a humble stance and accept every opportunity to learn from their peers!