Entertainment: Is this how you play music?!

Chapter 454 Xie Lang: Li Can knows too much about blood pressure.

"Really? I don't believe it. Think about how to deal with Varian first."

Percussionist Li Can simply smiled meaningfully.

Chen Gang was stunned.

The other contestants' information was no secret; it was just that Chen Gang was so immersed in his art that he had forgotten about the outside world.

"Oh? He's here too?"

"coming."

Li Can nodded with delight, his eyes full of schadenfreude.

Varian is a typical Russian-style pianist with strong skills. He was a member of the Moscow State Pianist Association during a previous exchange activity with the National Conservatory of Music. At that time, Chen Gang was no match for Varian and had to ask Li Can, the old master, to step in.

Time flies and things and people change.

The young people who participated in the exchange back then have gradually become mature pianists. Without competing with each other, it's hard to say what level they are at now.

But Chen Gang just smiled.

"Just kidding. To be honest, Varian is very strong, but in this kind of competition, he's probably just a piece of cake. Even if I didn't improve recently, I'd be just another piece of cake. Now I'm just more competitive."

He got more and more excited as he talked.

Chen Gang seemed to have convinced himself.

After all, youth is a very broad concept.

There are eighteen-year-olds and thirty-somethings. Perhaps their talents are different. Some performers need to mature until they are thirty before they can compete on the same stage with those amazing twenty-year-old geniuses.

But a twenty-year-old genius, in terms of experience, understanding of life, or technical refinement, may not be able to compare with these old guys.

There is no shortage of talent in the music industry, but among the top talented contestants, that slight difference in talent cannot make up for ten years of hard work.

Moreover, art requires life experience and insights.

A person's thoughts at eighteen can change completely by twenty, and the life insights gained at twenty-four can make the person feel that their twenty-year-old self was very naive.

At thirty, one stands firm.

Not to mention that these top artists can achieve complete maturity, some geniuses can even achieve the level of wisdom of a forty-year-old by the age of thirty.

The biggest gap between age at the competition and professional age is psychological age.

The depth of one's life and thoughts will influence the depth of one's art.

Talent is just the threshold.

Only those who can emerge from the ranks of the "gift monsters" can appear in such competitions.

As for Chen Gang, if you only look at his age, he is really just a young man. Even Varian is below average age.

“If Varian wants to crush me, that will be a bit difficult. It depends on his progress. No one stands still.”

Upon hearing Chen Gang say this...

Li Can gave a thumbs up and praised him.

"Great, having such an idea means you're in luck."

"Stop talking nonsense, I feel like you're jinxing me."

Chen Gang trembled all over, completely in a state of stress.

The International Piano Competition is a completely unreasonable place.

Under intense competition, who knows who might suddenly break through and reach a master-level performance?

Even a master performer can easily make a mistake if they are not careful.

Because when technical skills and performance levels reach a certain height, artistic interpretation and understanding become purely subjective. Even if the judging system downplays the influence of pure subjectivity, it still requires convincing most of the judges and remains subjective.

Who knows, one of the contestants might suddenly have a flash of inspiration and risk making a change during the competition, surprising the judges and unexpectedly breaking their opponent's back.

"I don't want to think too much about it. Anyway, the purpose of participating in the competition is just to truly reach that level. Now that I have reached it, I just need to consolidate it. Winning or losing doesn't matter."

Chen Gang laughed heartily, taking it all in stride.

But that's how it looks.

Actually, after chatting with Li Can for a few minutes, I returned to my residence.

Chen Gang's entire expression changed.

"I can't lose! I have an absolute reason why I can't lose!"

His expression was even somewhat ferocious.

It's hard to say how much their strength has improved.

But the kick-and-roll spirit of the DP band is burning brightly.

As long as it's within the rules of the competition, we'll do whatever it takes to win.

"Hehe, I must win."

Chen Gang's will was full of determination.

Although they all play the piano, Chen Gang is the one under the most pressure in the entire band.

Although people don't usually pay attention to this.

But we do need something substantial to ensure that the fans' jokes are just jokes and don't become the truth.

Does a Varian really want to become his own roadblock?
nonexistent.

Faced with Varian's Russian style, Chen Gang, influenced by Li Can's style, felt that he might be able to become the corresponding special forces.

What is the style of the Russian school of piano?
It embodies delicate and profound emotions, while demanding extremely high technical skills.

Both the technique and the description and analysis of the emotions in the work perfectly correspond to Li Can's training.

He emphasizes incorporating personal life experiences, historical reflections, and personal perspectives into his works.

The only difference is.

Russian piano music emphasizes fidelity to the original work, opposes exaggerated performance styles, pursues sincerity, and insists on understanding the composer's intentions before discussing personal feelings.

Stable and conservative.

Li Can, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.

Radical and open.

Li Can's technical expressions are quite dazzling, which may seem very beautiful and interesting to composers with a more romantic inclination, but may seem somewhat unrealistic to Russian-style pianists.

There is no right or wrong, only differences in style.

In Li Can's view, the performance of a musical work is a second life. No two flowers are exactly alike in the world. Faithful interpretation is indeed important in the performance process, but it is by no means the only correct one.

The world is changing, and so can the interpretation of a work.

Of course, there is controversy over whether this is "disrespectful to the original work," but in Li Can's view, must later generations always follow the path of their predecessors in a rigid and conventional way?
Obviously not.

In Chen Gang's view, respecting the original work is necessary and essential. At all times, it is necessary to maintain the most basic respect for the original work; this is a matter of attitude.

However, this does not mean that disruptive interpretations and changes are necessarily wrong; someone always needs to try them.

Deeply influenced by Li Can, Chen Gang's piano playing is never lacking in personal deconstruction and the extension of imagination.

This style of performance is very controversial.

[Disrespect for the original work] [Outrageous adaptation] [Insane] [Ruined music, subverted a classic]

But it's not a big problem.

Li Can's works are available for selection in the competition library.

Li Can is still alive, it's none of anyone else's business to tell him what to do.

My good buddy's work is whatever he wants to say in Egypt, and he didn't say anything, he even agreed. So what about everyone else?
Not afraid at all.

Compared to himself, Li Can was even more unconventional, but the difference was that he succeeded.

Now I will also be facing this hurdle.

Chen Gang knew that only by continuing to act crazy would he have a real chance to shine.

In addition to Li Can's works, Chen Gang also prepared some very traditional classic works.

However, they will also add their own understanding and emotions, resulting in drastically different and outrageous expressions.

As for how it will be criticized and what kind of controversy it will cause.

Chen Gang didn't care.

Li Can didn't care at all.

Artists are a bunch of madmen. Every artistic revolution and growth is a process of madness and subversion. There's nothing strange about that.

If.

The steady and conservative Russian pianist Varian represented the shield.

Then he himself is a spear. "Tsk, Gangzi's hurdles this time aren't just one or two."

Winnie couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Everyone in the band could see this very clearly.

Upon hearing this, Li Can smiled and nodded.

"It is very big, and there is a lot of it, but I am here."

Winnie paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

Because this is the piece that Li Can is preparing to perform.

It is "Jasmine Fantasy".

This in itself is a very bold and imaginative reconstruction.

Such a change would be considered heretical among conservative and steady individuals.

Although fairness necessitates avoiding any appearance of impropriety, it is inconvenient to speak directly or publicly express support, as this could influence the judges' decisions.

But as a good friend, I will definitely use my performance to acknowledge my friend and endorse Chen Gang.

That's why subversive interpretations of works are so prevalent.

"Maybe he can actually gain recognition."

Winnie was very interested.

In fact, there is no shortage of radical and avant-garde people in Russian art. This is not contradictory, because the most stable groups will always give birth to the most radical rebels, and the most conservative groups will always inspire the most outrageous and unrestrained behavior.

Moreover, at the level of top masters who are qualified to serve as judges, there may be some aversion, but no judging panel would completely reject other different or even opposite artistic ideas just because they belong to a certain school of thought.

It depends on how far you go on your own path.

Li Can remained silent, only nodding repeatedly.

I opened my phone and saw text messages from Lin Feng and Han Jiayin.

The trip to Milan went very smoothly.

The young couple has successfully completed the preliminary selection process.

Their appearance was a classic scene of a king's return.

Everyone thought the two had moved from classical to pop, from serious art to rock, but this lightning-fast comeback was still unstoppable, telling many people that the lead singer of DP was really just doing the band part-time, reminding many people of their past experiences.

It's just that he's been suppressed by Li Can for too long.

After all, there aren't many people as outrageous as Li Can.

Who isn't a genius?

He eliminated all his opponents in the preliminary rounds as soon as he appeared.

After three rounds of fierce competition, their perfect record has essentially secured their place in the semifinals. They only need to complete the remaining two rounds as scheduled, and there shouldn't be much suspense.

It's Milan again.

Zhao Ze has also completed his first match.

It's just a warm-up; we certainly won't be crushed here. The pressure will come later.

The entire band exhibited a trend of progressing in unison.

Two days passed in a blink of an eye.

The major competition in Moscow is finally about to begin.

Xie Lang rushed from China to Moscow to perform as the inaugural champion, alongside the judges. Surprisingly, his meeting with Li Can took place in the backstage preparation room.

At the end, Xie Lang, as a former champion, will present the award to the champion alongside internationally renowned artists.

That's why international events are so appealing.

If you win the championship, you won't be presented with an award by just one person.

Instead, it was the champions of previous years, internationally renowned artists, and even influential figures who presented the gold medals to offer their congratulations.

Such glory is basically a guaranteed takeoff.

The players' competitive spirit and aggressiveness were hard to conceal.

Even while preparing backstage, Li Can and Xie Lang could feel the enthusiasm of the contestants.

"Sigh, these competitions are getting harder and harder these days."

Xie Lang's sigh made Li Can smile.

"What? Even our former champion, Lang Ge, is feeling the pressure?"

"Just kidding, you really have no idea how much of a shock you've caused in the piano world."

Hearing Li Can's words, Xie Lang just wanted to roll his eyes.

After the ultrasound technique was used, it was like a flood that was about to erupt.

Li Can pursed his lips.

"This is nothing. Let someone play 'Spanish Smugglers' properly first before we talk about excitement. Nobody can play it. What's so exciting about this? There's no excitement at all."

"Damn, I just gave you a compliment and you're already acting all high and mighty."

Xie Lang couldn't hold back.

The defense was broken directly.

The person who was secretly trying to read "Spanish Smugglers" but wasn't doing very well was present at the scene.

Li Can's words were meant as a joke.

But she precisely hit Xie Lang's sore spot.

Someone got anxious.

"Huh? Brother Lang, you..."

Li Can realized the problem.

His eyes widened as he looked at Xie Lang.

According to Li Can, "Spanish Smugglers" was not difficult for Xie Lang; the main problem was in the expression of the story.

But unexpectedly, the pressure was indeed greater than imagined.

"Don't call me brother, I don't have a brother like you."

Xie Lang's face was ashen.

"You didn't come to my performance in Alaska six months ago. I played 'The Bell' and 'The Sigh'. I played them very well. The audience applauded non-stop."

"Wow, my Lang-ge is amazing!"

"you"

Although Li Can's eyes were clear, he clapped sincerely.

But Xie Lang always had an urge to punch him.

However, after taking one look at the explosive muscles under those clothes, I decided to pass.

My friend is an artist; he doesn't stoop to the level of a vulgar brute.

"Teacher Li, Teacher Xie, you two should get ready."

The staff arrived at just the right time.

When it came to serious matters, the two stopped joking and playing around.

"Professor Odorov and the others are also ready. The two of them will appear first and last, respectively."

Xie Lang, who was supposed to be the first to appear, turned to look at Li Can, his eyes turning sour.

None of my family members understand. Even now, Li Can is still pursuing me. In the blink of an eye, I've become the final performer for the judges. Compared to such a valuable person, I'm afraid I've never won the championship in the most low-class way.

"I'll show you how!"

Xie Lang stood up and took a deep breath.

She gave Li Can a disapproving look, for reasons unknown.

He subconsciously started speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"Little friend, watch carefully and learn carefully. Opportunities to see Master Xie Lang perform up close like this are rare, so cherish them."

Li Can knows blood pressure too well.

He immediately smiled and clapped.

"Okay, okay, thank you, Teacher Xie Lang. Teacher Xie Lang is really great, so awesome, wow."

(End of this chapter)