Since they are reborn, they must be supported by the school beauties.

Chapter 232 is definitely a top master

Truly good things are immediately recognizable to those in the know.

The troupe leader was quickly immersed in the magnificent and epic musical notes, becoming more and more excited the more he watched.

After he finished reading the entire piece, he was trembling with excitement. He put down the sheet music, subconsciously pushed up his glasses, and said to Liu Shiyu, "Xiao Liu, this piece is amazing! This is the opening piece I've been dreaming of. The duration, structure, and grandeur all perfectly meet my requirements!"

Liu Shiyu breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that the commander thinks there's no problem!"

The musicians around them were surprised by the high praise from the ensemble leader and immediately became interested, crowding around and staring at the sheet music, trying to construct the melody in their minds.

After watching it, everyone was overjoyed. The opening song, which had been in the works for so long, was finally resolved!

The troupe leader looked at Liu Shiyu and asked her, "Liu, such a wonderful piece of music must have been composed by a top master with exceptional talent. This friend you mentioned, could it be your mentor at Berkeley or something? Americans are very particular about copyright. What are the licensing terms for this piece? How much does it cost?"

Liu Shiyu was surprised that the regimental commander gave Chen Cheng such a high evaluation.

In fact, the original version of this piece, "Main Titles," was composed by Ramin Djawadi, a composer who is renowned worldwide.

Ramin Djawadi is a very accomplished artist. He composed the scores for many classic American TV series, including Iron Man, World of Warcraft, Westworld, and Game of Thrones. He is a big name in the film and television score industry. Chen Cheng took his work and used it without any changes, so it was naturally at his original level. It was only natural that he received the leader's affirmation and praise.

Because the troupe leader highly valued the piece, he was somewhat worried. American composers are already very expensive, and they earn and spend dollars, and prices there are ridiculously high compared to China. If the composer asks for a high price for the piece, the troupe might not have enough funds to acquire it.

Liu Shiyu felt a little embarrassed. Chen Cheng had said that he would give her the piece of music and not charge her a penny, but his only requirement was that she be the one to play it.

But if I just open my mouth like that, will the people in the group think that I'm trying to show off by taking advantage of this song?

There are invisible hierarchies in professional fields. The Philharmonic Orchestra has five cellists, but only one principal. Theoretically, any cello solo must be performed by the principal. If you take the performance right, it is equivalent to challenging the principal's authority, and the principal will definitely have a negative reaction.

Having just arrived, I never expected to become the center of attention so soon.

However, thinking about it from another perspective, she couldn't keep a low profile about this matter, because Chen Cheng had said that this was the requirement. If she wasn't the main performer, the Philharmonic Orchestra wouldn't be allowed to use it. Even if the Philharmonic Orchestra offered to buy it, they might not be able to afford the price that Chen Cheng was willing to pay. After all, his Renren.com's monthly revenue had already reached tens of millions, which was much higher than the entire orchestra's budget.

After hesitating for a long time, she could only tell the truth: "Director, to be honest, my friend gave me this piece of music with the intention of letting the orchestra try it out for free, but he has a special request..."

Upon hearing that it was free, the group leader's initial worries vanished, and he quickly asked her, "What special requests do you have? As long as it's within my capabilities, I'll definitely agree!"

Liu Shiyu mustered her courage and said, "His requirement is that I must be the main performer of this piece."

Upon hearing this, the principal cellist, who was standing not far away, looked rather displeased.

Everyone here is a professional, and upon seeing this sheet music, they can immediately tell that this piece was specifically written for the cello. The violin simply cannot produce that kind of powerful and majestic sound in this range, and the orchestra and piano cannot play those glissando and vibrato. Therefore, it must be a piece where the cello is the solo instrument, with the entire orchestra playing a supporting role.

However, once Liu Shiyu stated the composer's requirements, it was as if she had tied the piece to herself. Not only must Liu Shiyu play the piece, but if she left the orchestra, the orchestra would no longer be qualified to perform it. Otherwise, a lawyer's letter might fly in from the United States one day, and if it went through the embassy, ​​it would escalate into a diplomatic incident, which no one would take.

The principal cellist also loved the piece immensely, and in the orchestra's current repertoire, there was no other piece that offered the cello so much soloing—it was an excellent opportunity for the cellist to shine in the orchestra.

But such a good opportunity could only be given to Liu Shiyu, a newcomer, so he naturally felt a little unbalanced.

But the commander wasn't surprised at all.

He was convinced from the outset that the piece must have been composed by a top American composer, because this style was not the style of those domestic composers or composers. Combined with Liu Shiyu's resume as a Berklee graduate, he was even more convinced that the piece must have been composed by a master at Berklee, and perhaps Liu Shiyu had obtained it through her personal connections.

Since they were willing to give Liu Shiyu such a good piece of music for free, it must have been purely out of respect for Liu Shiyu. If the piece was written by Liu Shiyu's mentor, then as a mentor who favors his student, he would certainly want his student to play the piece, and would not give it to an outsider. So this is only human nature.

This is similar to the Chinese pop music scene, where exceptionally talented songwriters often have a strong preference for a particular singer, and the best songs they write are meant to be sung by that singer, no matter who else sings them.

So, without having time to discuss it with the principal cellist, he made the decision directly: "No problem. You got the piece from America through personal connections, so they must have given us such a good piece for free because of you. It's only right that you play it. This is settled! Since all the principal cellists are here, let's get to the point and finalize the arrangement and orchestration. Rehearsals will begin on Monday!"

Apart from the principal cellist, no one else had any objection to the orchestra leader's decision. This was considered standard practice, similar to bringing investment to a film production. Although the principal cellist was upset, he understood that the orchestra leader's decision was sound. The leader was prioritizing the entire orchestra's interests, and with the year-end performance less than a month away, it was impossible for him to give up such a great opportunity just to consider his own feelings.

Liu Shiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn't expected that the troupe leader would prejudicially imagine Chen Cheng as one of the composers she knew in the United States.

However, this is for the best, since Chen Cheng had already told him to use an anonymous pseudonym, so that people wouldn't have to dig into his background.

The troupe leader then asked her, "Xiao Liu, what's the name of this piece?"

Liu Shiyu said, "The author said that this piece of music is called 'A Song of Ice and Fire'."

"A Song of Ice and Fire..."

The guild leader pondered for a moment, then nodded and exclaimed, "Excellent name! It not only creates a clash between ice and fire, but also evokes an epic feeling. You truly are a master; even your naming skills are top-notch!"

At this point, he clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Come on, Xiao Liu, get your cello ready, and the other musicians, get your instruments ready too. Let's try to find the feeling of the arrangement! Xiao Liu, you go ahead and play the solo, and we'll think about when to add the other instruments."

Liu Shiyu nodded and took out her cello.

The other musicians had also prepared their instruments, waiting for Liu Shiyu to begin her solo.

Liu Shiyu had only tried this piece on an electric violin before, but the electric violin's timbre, soundstage, and resonance are much worse than a real cello. In the rehearsal room, there's no need to worry about the volume; the volume of the cello can be fully displayed.

When she truly let go and played the piece with all her heart, the passion she felt was so intense that it exceeded everyone's expectations!
Then, under the direction of the band leader, other instruments gradually joined in, constantly adjusting to make the music more emotionally rich.

Every musician involved could feel the music getting better and better, which made everyone more and more involved.

Moreover, everyone was surprised to find that although Liu Shiyu was very young, her cello playing level was already very high and her skills were superb. Objectively speaking, she was no worse than the principal cellist.

The troupe leader was quite impressed with Liu Shiyu's professional level today; the subtlety of her performance even surpassed that of the principal player.

As Liu Shiyu and a group of concertmasters worked together to refine "A Song of Ice and Fire" to perfection, Chen Cheng began his own audition process.

This morning, the first person to meet him at the hotel coffee shop was Jin Xin, a key technical staff member from Lianzhong Games.

Jin Xin is 28 years old and has been working at Lianzhong for more than three years. His position is deputy director of the R&D department, and according to him, his current annual salary is 180,000 yuan.

Chen Cheng asked him some professional questions, and apart from some core technical issues that he didn't explicitly address, he answered the others very well. In Chen Cheng's opinion, he was indeed a person with real expertise.

So Chen Cheng asked him, "If Renren.com requires you to work in Jiangcheng, would you be willing to go?"

Jin Xin hesitated for a moment and said, "I can consider it, but I also need to consider the salary and development prospects. After all, if I go to Jiangcheng, I will basically only have Renren.com as an option. If something changes in Renren.com in the future, or if I am no longer suitable for Renren.com, I may have to return to Yanjing. This behavior is quite costly."

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "Actually, it's not as complicated as you think. When interviewing high-end talents, every company only focuses on their work experience, on which major platforms they have worked on and what role they played in those platforms. As for which city their previous job was in, it doesn't really have any impact on their recruitment. You joining Xiaonei.com is only a temporary job in Jiangcheng. If you want to return to Yanjing in the future, I believe that your Xiaonei.com experience will not hold you back. On the contrary, it will add luster to your resume."

"And most importantly, if you are willing to go to Jiangcheng, we can offer you higher salaries and various benefits to ensure that you can earn more and earn less."

Jin Xin asked, "What does 'two more and one less' mean?"

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "Two more and one less means earning more than before, saving more than before, and spending less than before!"

Jin Xin was somewhat tempted and asked him, "If I join Renren.com, how much of a salary increase can I expect?"

Chen Cheng said, "If you come alone, your salary will increase by 50%. If you can bring a mature team, the team members' salaries will increase by 50%, and yours will increase by 100%!"

(End of this chapter)