Hye-jae: Book 2 - New Loves

Happy Days Part 33

The cool club, retro-fit 60s decor, sophisticated clientele and exotic live music were in stark contrast to the entertainment of the following night on board a de-commissioned boat -  permanently moored on the river Elbe - but there was no less enjoyment on the second night.

The day had been another busy one for the group, all attending a lunch-time concert in the glass and steel man-made wonder - the Elbphilharmonie - affectionately known by Hamburgers by the moniker Elphi.  Sited on the river, the building was breath-taking, not just in its size as one of the largest concert venues in the world but also its architectural scale and design aplomb, looking for all the world like an enormous cruise liner sailing down the Elbe river.  

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The main auditorium or Grand Hall - which could seat over 2,000 - placed the performers at the centre of pods of seating - ranged in rising tiers - the whole lot over-looked by a sound reflector looking uncannily like a sleek space ship.  Seon-jae was scheduled to play in the Kleiner Saal - Small Hall as part of an initiative giving a platform to emerging new artists from around the globe for a private group of just under 200 guests - all patrons of Elphi.  As In-seo had murmured to Hye-won - as they waited for Dieter and Ciara to join them in the foyer that morning - after 20 years in the music business, there really wasn't anyone with influence that Dieter didn't know or whose arm he couldn't twist to get recognition for artists he admired and wished to promote.  

When they were given a tour of the Grand Hall - and its smaller sister, the Recital Hall - the scale and majesty of these spaces made Hye-won worry for Seon-jae, though when she asked him if he was nervous to play in such an impressive, purpose-built building - knowing that the audience were all very knowledgeable music-lovers - he shrugged and raised his shoulders, giving an insouciant grin, as if to say - music is music - it's still just me and the piano.

And so it was, for he played with all the confidence and natural flair that had stopped the breath in her chest on the first day she heard him.  His chosen piece was Liszt's piano transcription of  Danse Macabre - Dance of Death - if such a masterful rendering of the capabilities of a full orchestra for the possibilities inherent in 10 fingers could really be called a transcription.  Though only just over 10 minutes long, the music was endlessly dramatic and inventive and the technical skill required to play it, exceptional.  Seon-jae's playing was by turns wild, gleeful, inspired.

Watching on screens in the green room, all the company were quite emotional watching Seon-jae play with such zest and style.  Hye-won was subdued, as she tried to absorb how much Seon-jae had grown as a musician since that first day.  Technically, he had matured more than she could really grasp but it was his powers of interpretation that most affected her as she listened to him intone the tolling bell of midnight, conjure the figure of the Devil tuning his grotesque fiddle, ring the din of the dancing skeletons' bones and signal the sweet melodies of the dawn chorus, as evil night gave way to innocent dawn and natural order was re-asserted.  He is an artist now, not a shy boy or unsure student but a true artist.

Judging by the warm reception his playing was receiving, this audience of sophisticates evidently agreed with Hye-won's assessment.  Seon-jae was required to take numerous bows and return to the stage to play an encore to satisfy this enthusiastic swell of recognition of his genius and chose to play again the Stücke I - Piece I - from the previous night - Robert's gift to the young and adored Clara - the melancholy beauty of the playing providing the perfect contrast to the madness that had preceded it.  And clearly, the audience knew and appreciated this fully too, as calls of bravo and - mehr - more - rang out.  Seon-jae bowed, smiling calmly, then departed the stage to make room for the next artist, a young Japanese violinist, who walked on-stage, also with elan and composure, and proceeded to amaze with her a cappella rendition of Bach's First Violin Sonata, known to be devilish in  technique and tone.