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3; The Concerto

C H A P T E R  3

The Concerto

The concert hall was illuminated by dimly golden lit. The only light came from onstage where there were at least twenty people playing classical instruments such as flutes, oboes, clarinets, basses, bassoons, horns, trumpet, piano, violins, cellos, and other strings, performing a classical piece, leaving the auditory dark and hidden. The glowing hues surrounding created a magnificent effect to the performing group and giving warm and peaceful atmosphere inside the hall. Jeongguk lightly descended the stairs towards his designated seat right in the middle of the sea of red velvet seats with the best view of the stage. Just a few steps away, he could already see another person sitting next to his seat, pulling a smile on his face.

"You're late," said the latter as soon as Jeongguk planted himself on the seat.

"Nah, I'm on time," Jeongguk said, glancing at the man in front of the piano on the stage. "Yoongi hyung's part just started now. We have a whole thirty-four minutes ahead of complete piano performance, Joon hyung."

Namjoon only hummed in exasperation but didn't reply, continuing to watch the performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto Opus 37 No. 3 in C Minor that was currently led by Yoongi as the pianist, their eldest brother, the first prince of South Korea monarch.

"He already looks sleepy," Jeongguk exclaimed and Namjoon chuckled. "Remember that one time where we were in elementary?"

"Well, we all know he worked hard for this day, it'd be bad to fall asleep in the middle of the performance," Namjoon said. "He's a professional now."

"I know," Jeongguk said. "This is a great piece." the beautiful melodies filled the whole room, cutting short both of the princes' conversation. Unlike Yoongi who was a prodigy, despite having able to play some musical instruments, his little brothers never wanted to become pro's. Even if he wasn't as skilled as Yoongi, Jeongguk still had great passion in music (mostly in different genres aside from classics) and had concrete understanding of each music Yoongi was performing, including this one.

This concerto was a more varied and dynamic work rich in the turbulent emotions, as expected of Beethoven's specialty. The piano style was suddenly less ornate, more muscular than the prior concertos, but this made the piece very challenging. Jeongguk knew how hard Yoongi had practiced to become this good, like he owned this music with his own style.

Beethoven, similar to Mozart's C minor Concerto, allowed the piano to play through to the end of the movement, rather than simply stopping with the chord that marked the re-entry of the orchestra, as happened in most classical concertos. The pianist's play was what marked the great expressive advance. The song gave moments of otherworldly effect which made listeners wait with eager anticipation. It was a simple song in its outline but lavish in its details, Jeongguk thought.

The first movement was known to make forceful use of the theme throughout, which then was introduced by the strings and used throughout the movement. The piano entered with an ascending scale motif, right when Jeongguk entered the room. The second movement itself opened with the solo piano with the opening marked with detailed pedaling instructions. At last, the final movement was in a sonata-rondo form. The movement began in C minor with an agitated theme played only by the piano. It was a very beautiful, perfect performance that deserved a whole standing applause.

Yoongi himself had done a tremendous job as the piano soloist, withstanding the pressure onstage, and working hard in playing his parts to show the audience how amazing of a music prodigy he was. There were no mistakes and he succeeded in bringing the concerto smoothly, much to his brothers' satisfaction. Being a royal prince had many advantages, but Yoongi was truly a genius by birth. All his achievements and fame as a music prodigy were brought all by himself solely.