Hye-jae: Book 2 - New Loves

New Lives Part 54

Hye-won, relaxing back against the tub - while soaping her neck and shoulders - gave a little laugh: 'he sure was but of course, he - of all people - had the right to be, considering his own level of genius, I mean.'

She gave a little side-ways smirk: 'you might become a tough audience yourself, one of these days.'

He shook his head not a chance I could be like Richter while his eye ran to the next part of the entry.

'Listen to the next part about a different player - this time playing the fifth English Suite: I'm not expecting much, but I listen to the whole Suite with interest and say to myself: 'What a phenomenal piece!' (In other words, the interpretation didn't disappoint me.)'

He raised his head again: 'so in other words, Richter's measure of a good interpretation was if it held his interest enough that he concentrated right to the end.'

She agreed, now soaping her lower leg - absent-mindedly enjoying the massaging pressure of her own hands on her tired calves: 'I love that actually because really, that's what every pianist wants in every performance, isn't it?  For every member of every audience to listen carefully to every note of every piece from start to finish - to empty their minds of all other things and give themselves completely to the music.  That's what Richter himself did with every piece, every time he played, so maybe he had the right to expect that from other pianists too.'

Seon-jae put his head on 1 side - his eyes following the motions of her hands on her calves, ankles and feet - only with difficulty pulling himself back into the conversation: 'uhm...the tour of La Scala today - and our audience tonight - made me think how lucky we have been - everyone seems to enjoy what we play and how we play it.  Imagine those - what were they called again?'

Hye-won supplied the word that she only just learned that day too: 'loggionisti  - the noisy critics in the - loggione - gallery.'

'Yes, those - what must that feel like for the performers - to have audience members heckling and jeering during the performance?'

She grinned:'but you know, my love, when Brahms played the First Concerto in Leipzig, he wrote to a friend that afterwards, only 3 people clapped, while everyone else was hissing their disapproval.'

Seon-jae's astounded look brought her wider grins: 'but you know, he actually wrote that such a disastrous reception was the best thing because it would increase his courage.'

She thought for a moment: 'actually, when you think of it in those terms, Richter was kinder than the Leipzigians hissing at Herr Brahms - imagine how awful that must have been - or the loggionisti of La Scala.  At least, Richter just wrote his thoughts in his private journals and only allowed them to be published many years later.'

Seon-jae laughed and said, with glee: 'ok, my turn.'  

She smiled indulgently at his enthusiasm but didn't disturb him, as he picked a page at random.

'Ok, here it is.  He is describing a Christmas party at his house - as a treat - music: a discipline in its own way.  And music by Mozart, angelic and brilliant.  He's right of course - music is a discipline and musicians need to work really hard to be excellent.'

'That's so true and what a perfectly apt description of Mozart's music - angelic and brilliant.'

She said the words again to allow them to sift into her mind and he saw the pleasure these words brought her.  It is a perfectly apt description of you too, my beauty.

His eye fell on the next lines and he gave a little start: 'wait...is this?' he checked which Mozart Sonata the entry referred to, then gave another little whoop: 'this is our Sonata, listen: the Sonata for four hands recorded at a concert with Britten.  If I remember correctly, there were no more than three rehearsals!  Imagine, the Sonata that we played together that night was the same piece that Richter and Benjamin Britten, no less, played together.'