Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 181
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Infinite Talent Reset Life Episode 181
Waaaaaaah!
Clap clap clap clap clap!
“I am…”
The noisy audience seats.
Rick parts his trembling lips.
Everyone looks at Rick Bottom.
“I don’t know much about classical music.”
Classical music that only made him sleepy when listening to it. So sometimes when he couldn’t fall asleep, he would use it as a lullaby.
To Rick Bottom, classical music was just that kind of music.
“But… now I think I understand.”
Why people love classical music.
Why they pay big money to visit concert halls like this.
The enormous sounds that crashed against his entire body even though there were clearly no speakers. The bombardment of notes disguised as grandeur.
He couldn’t come to his senses from the harmonies pouring down without a moment to breathe.
His ears naturally chased the sounds, and his eyes turned toward the stage.
His gaze, which had never been stolen even at concerts, was stolen.
“This is the charm of classical music.”
There was one more such charm.
Rick Bottom bows deeply at the waist and watches Norman disappear.
“It was lively, wasn’t it?”
Rick Bottom nods at Sandra Sherman’s words.
As light as clouds, the designated piece.
The first performer, Wang Xiao, was frantic from the middle part like watching a martial arts movie, the performer Ari Kim sounded like girls chattering together, and honestly, he didn’t really understand the performer Thomas Rife. It was too complex to comprehend.
Norman just now felt like friends running and playing in a field together.
It was the same piece, but they all sounded different.
“That’s the charm of classical music.”
The imagery changes according to the performer’s interpretation.
“Congratulations on falling for the charm of classical music, Rick!”
From now on, the speed at which money leaks from his pocket will be a bit faster.
“Oh no.”
“Hahahaha!”
Larry bursts into laughter and grins mischievously while looking at the stage.
“He must be very surprised, right?”
“Do you think so?”
“Hehe! I guarantee it. He’ll definitely be surprised!”
Ada is skeptical while Emily is expectant.
Esa-Pekka Salonen is also very expectant.
He wants to see Johann, who is always indifferent, whose facial expressions barely change even in surprising situations, show a crumbling expression.
“Ah, he’s coming out!”
As a silhouette appears from behind the stage, they all applaud without anyone going first.
“Wow, I don’t know whose boyfriend he is, but he’s really handso… Look! He’s surprised!”
“Puhaha!”
“He must be really surprised?”
“This much should achieve the purpose of coming secretly, right Ada?”
Sandra Sherman and Esa-Pekka Salonen are puzzled by the cheerful appearance of Larry, Ada, Emily, and Rick.
‘That’s what being surprised looks like?’
His eyes did widen greatly, but that’s about it.
Though confusion filled him, he waves his hand for now. So he can gain strength.
‘Johann!’
Whether their cheering worked, Johann soon smiles and stands between the conductor and orchestra.
“But when are they going to use that piano?”
The piano that had been set up since they entered.
“Shh! It’s starting.”
Johann slowly closes his eyes, opens them, and draws his bow.
At that moment, they, and also all the audience, simultaneously came to view one landscape.
‘A harmonious family on a field under blue skies.’
An older brother playing pranks and running away.
Father chasing angrily like fire.
Mother sighing and spreading out a picnic blanket.
And one person watching this and smiling brightly.
And Father smiling slightly while watching him.
Cousins appear from afar, shouting “So you were here!”
The flower of laughter blooms even larger.
For someone, it was a peaceful moment, and for someone, it was a scene they desperately wanted to see again.
* * *
“Sniffle!”
“Gulp!”
All the audience wipe away tears.
It was clearly a performance full of happiness, so why does it sound so sad?
Perhaps it’s because of the longing that’s subtly conveyed.
Perhaps it’s yearning.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
Everyone rises from their seats and claps their hands together.
Larry and the others are the same. They applaud while unable to hide their flowing tears.
‘Is this the image of family you dream of?’
‘Is this the kind of family image you wanted to see all this time?’
It’s as if he’s telling a story. Asking them to show him this kind of image.
Larry and Ada glanced at each other then turned their heads away, and Sandra’s eyes light up seeing this.
Emily doesn’t know what to do with her violently beating heart.
Rick grits his teeth and applauds, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, who had been paying respect to his student’s heartfelt performance, trembles.
“A piani… st is coming in.”
The free piece that starts immediately after the designated piece ends.
That piano set up to the right of the conductor seemed to be for Johann.
But that’s not the problem. It’s because of the pianist in a dress.
Great commotion spreads through the audience seats too.
“Ma, Marta?”
“How is she here?!”
The tiger of the keyboard, Martha Argerich.
The word that describes her is one: empress.
A heavenly being has descended to the competition.
‘Johann and Ms. Argerich are going to perform together?’
Questions like how she came and why she came without even saying anything are pushed aside from his mind for now.
What kind of performance will they show?
What kind of emotion will they present?
Esa-Pekka Salonen clenched his fists tight at the trembling running through his entire body.
* * *
“Phew.”
Johann wipes away his sweat.
‘Are you satisfied?’
Amidst the pouring applause, Johann asks ‘the authority on dance music, Eduard Strauss.’ Did he sincerely seek forgiveness from his son?
He also asks ‘Josef Eduard Anna Strauss, Josef II.’ Was his father’s heartfelt apology conveyed?
Both say yes.
‘Then since I’ve resolved these two people’s regrets…’
It’s the next person’s turn.
A figure who greatly helped in understanding classical music.
Thump, thump!
The applause subsides and the murmuring grows louder.
Johann smiles gratefully as he sees Martha Argerich entering with her back straight.
Martha laughs as if incredulous.
Johann had contacted her out of the blue a month ago, playing her a piece of sheet music and a performance.
So she had no choice but to come. Her thirst to collaborate with that violin performance had exploded.
‘Cunning fellow.’
‘Haha. Thank you.’
‘Go ahead and surprise them.’
Those audience members.
The musicians and general public around the world who will be watching the Queen Elisabeth Competition finals.
After a brief eye conversation, Martha greets the audience and sits at the piano, ignoring the still-astonished gazes of the orchestra members.
Johann puts Hope into its case and takes Maria out of another case. Maria is perfect for the piece he’s about to perform.
He closes his eyes and enters the library.
“Search. Niccolò Paganini.”
A figure who greatly helped in understanding classical music, and the regret of ‘Iron Touch, Emil Grigoryevich Gilels’ who made Sophia cry.
The regret of one of the 20th century’s greatest pianists.
A wish that could be called the regret of all musicians.
‘I want to collaborate with a great performer from the past!’
Whooom!
It descends.
From a celestial body in that universe, not from the Galactic River.
A sphere of fire that seems ready to burst at the slightest touch.
A sphere larger than his torso.
[The Devil’s Violinist, Niccolò Paganini]
“This is my current limit…”
The limit capacity he had cultivated since escaping the forest in 2009, through countless experiences and meeting numerous people, had grown to this extent.
Looking back, it was a limit cultivated through moments that were hectic and fulfilling.
Johann embraces the sphere and pushes it into his chest.
Then Josef II and Eduard Strauss are pushed out.
-Hahahaha!
‘Let’s have a preliminary battle.’
A warm-up before the Tchaikovsky Competition.
At the mad cry echoing in his head, Johann twists his lips and opens his eyes, and Martha and Marin Obzol grit their teeth at the sight.
Eyes filled with madness that they still couldn’t get used to despite seeing them for 6 out of the past 8 days.
Even the simple act of lifting the violin and placing it under his chin captivates their gaze. They can’t even turn their heads away from the enormous suction force emanating from Johann’s body.
Johann urged them to start with his eyes, and Marin Obzol swung her baton toward the orchestra, which was building up tension.
Crash!
Beethoven-Triple Concerto in C Major Op.56.
Beethoven- Concerto for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra: arranged for violin, piano, and orchestra.
A piece arranged by ‘Iron Touch, Emil Grigoryevich Gilels’ while dreaming of such a day.
The devil’s technique and the tiger’s roar swept through the hall of the Bozar Arts Center.
* * *
Waaaah!
Clap clap clap clap clap!
‘So this is your true heart.’
A true heart given with full strength.
A true heart that even he, who had been teaching every weekend, was hearing for the first time.
Esa-Pekka Salonen rises to his feet and wipes the tears forming in his eyes as goosebumps rise all over his body.
He feels grateful.
That he was able to teach that child, even a little.
That he was able to help that child’s growth, even slightly.
‘There was nothing to teach originally… now there’s really nothing I can teach.’
When did he grow so much?
Did he really help with that growth?
Countless emotions and thoughts confuse his mind.
“C-Conductor. Did Johann do well?”
“He did well, right?”
“It’s not simply a matter of doing well.”
Can’t you tell from this cheering and applause?
Everyone is standing and clapping.
“They were probably shocked too.”
‘At this level, they’ll have no choice but to acknowledge him.’
Esa-Pekka Salonen chuckled as he watched the judges lower their hands that they had been about to raise, and various emotions became complexly intertwined on the faces of the judges who lowered their hands.
A performance so excellent that they momentarily forgot their role as judges.
So they wonder.
‘Who did the arrangement?’
It definitely wasn’t conductor Marin Obzol.
Since she must always maintain neutrality, she could never provide help with musical interpretation or arrangement.
Therefore…
“Hmph. Now we have no choice but to acknowledge him.”
The Music Chapel, where no electronic devices are allowed, so one must interpret and arrange pieces using only their own strength.
In other words, the master’s fragrance that swept through their entire bodies enough to make them momentarily forget they were judges was all Johann’s skill.
The judges click their tongues at Jeong Gyeong-hun’s pleased words.
“…Tsk.”
“Ahem.”
The acknowledgment they couldn’t give until now, even though Johann had advanced to the finals, because he was a popular singer, a popular song composer.
They say you see as much as you know.
If they still disparage Johann as a popular singer after hearing such a piece, they could no longer be called musicians.
“Hmm. He’s changing violins.”
Did something happen to his violin?
A faint regret appears in the judges’ eyes.
The old violin that looked very aged. Some of them had recognized that it was Rags, Hope.
‘To think Rags could produce such sound.’
‘So the treasure truly has a different owner.’
They want to play it. They want to produce such sounds themselves.
Those who had once learned violin or current violinists had to be consumed by such desire.
Moreover, the longing was for Donati & Michelle’s heirloom. It was a violin whose value would increase as Donati & Michelle’s reputation grew higher.
“What?!”
Even the judges stir at Martha Argerich’s appearance. It was practically like an adult joining a child’s game.
‘Will this be okay?’
‘He might get devoured…’
How many performers had fled in tears from her roar, befitting her nickname as the tiger of the keyboard.
Martha Argerich, with her nasty temperament of erasing the presence of collaborative performers when displeased.
Just as they worry whether the competition final might be ruined, the aura surrounding Johann, who slowly closes and opens his eyes, changes.
“Huh?”
“Hmm.”
It becomes hot.
The warm yet melancholic aura from moments before disappears as if washed away, and a scorching aura bursts forth into the audience seats, pressing down on everyone’s shoulders.
As if telling them to shut up and listen from now on.
An arrogant and confident, haughty momentum forces everyone gathered in this hall to listen.
‘So he knew how to show this kind of atmosphere too…’
Jeong Gyeong-hun narrows his eyes.
Soon, as Marin Obzol waves her baton, they nod their heads.
Beethoven’s Triple Concerto: Violin and Piano arrangement.
A corner of the judges’ hearts, who already know what Johann’s free piece is, holds slight anticipation.
What kind of performance will he show this time.
After anticipating like that for several minutes.
Finally, Johann’s bow that had been placed on the strings is drawn downward.
Wooooong!
“…?!”
Clatter!
The judges’ chairs shake.
Their faces turn pale.
They feel it instinctively.
It’s different. Different from any virtuoso violinist’s performance.
Brilliant emotion within overwhelming technique that steals away any sentences they could express in their minds.
A sharp melody that cuts through their ears speaks like this:
You were suffering listening to strange sounds until now, weren’t you?
Now, it’s time to clean your ears.
Cheer for my performance.
Arrogant and haughty, yet none of them can get angry.
Because what stands on stage is not human.
Because even that violin producing such magnificent sounds is not of human origin.
A violin that approaches like a cute girl, like a sage who knows all the world’s knowledge, like the Virgin Mary in her mercy, in the form of all the world’s mothers.
A bizarre instrument that even expresses the emotion of a cello.
Chains wrap around their ankles. Someone from behind grabs their eyes and ears, fixing them to the stage.
Another demon whispers in their ears as if saying this is all that’s permitted to you from now on.
It’s not just them who feel this way. Musicians sitting throughout the audience seats rise in shock.
With goosebumps running through their entire bodies, they all had no choice but to think of one being.
‘Paganini…?’
The devil’s violinist, the great violinist who opened the door of virtuosity to the world, the demon of music, Niccolò Paganini.
‘The previous performance wasn’t his true effort?’
This is his real full power?
Even Esa-Pekka Salonen, who had jumped to his feet, turned pale.
* * *
Sound faintly reaches her ears.
‘So this participant interpreted it this way.’
Who could it be.
No.
“Phew.”
Siyoung Lee, with her eyes closed, practices the piece she’ll perform today once more in her head.
Thwang! Ting!
The bow plucking the strings at every part that should be emphasized.
Waaaaaaah!
Clap clap clap clap clap!
“Tsk.”
Even louder cheers than before.
Just as she clicks her tongue and tries to concentrate again.
“Ah…?”
A melody piercing through her ears.
Brilliant technique that tears her heart to shreds despite being so faint.
It plummets from the highest note a violin can produce to the lowest.
Her mind also crashes into the distant depths below.
Because violin concertos are not permitted on the Queen Elisabeth Competition final stage.
In other words, because that is some participant’s performance.
She feels a gap for which even the word “vast” is insufficient.
‘No, I can’t!’
“I can’t listen anymore!”
The image of the ideal family she had drawn in her mind disappears.
A stern father and virtuous mother, a mature child walking steadfastly.
Even the people around them whispering and envying as they watch.
“Please! Don’t play!”
It mustn’t disappear.
This can’t happen.
‘Don’t let me hear any more of your performance-!’
Click!
“You need to prepare.”
To prepare for performing after this performer.
“Pre… pare?”
Even after hearing this.
‘What, what was I trying to perform?’
Siyoung Lee had completely collapsed.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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