Shadow of great britain

Although the concert is scheduled for tomorrow, in order to welcome this celebrity-gathering feast, the Coburg Theater, which has always been willing to rent out its stage, chose to close its doors for a day and specially decorate the concert hall regardless of economic interests.

From the decoration and layout of the theater to the lighting on the stage, and even the seating order of the performing band are strictly regulated.

However, no one can fault the Coburg Theater for being picky after looking at tomorrow night's concert list.

Take a look at some of the shining stars of British music set to take the stage.

Ignaz Moscheles, Felix Mendelssohn, Cipriani Porter, John Field and John Kramer.

There is only one reason why so many heavyweight pianists gather here, and that is that tomorrow night is the official end of the show for the absolute leader in the British music industry - the father of piano, Mr. Muzio Clementi.

This absolute idol of romantic pianists such as Beethoven and Czerny, and an outstanding musician who once held a piano duel with Mozart at the Vienna Palace and tied with each other, will announce his official farewell to the music industry tomorrow night to better enjoy himself. retirement life.

At this time, outside the theater, two young men riding English thoroughbred horses walked from the street talking and laughing.

If Arthur were here, he would surely recognize one of them as his generous friend Lionel Rothschild.

As for the other one, he was a young man wearing a white ruffled shirt, a black tuxedo, and a burgundy bow.

Although his name cannot be known, judging from his communication with Lionel in Yiddish, this gentleman should be a Jew from the German region.

With the help of a servant, the young man got off his horse and handed the reins to the staff responsible for taking care of horses and carriages in front of the theater.

He said: "Lionel, I never thought that fox hunting could be such an interesting thing."

As a member of the hunting club, Lionel's dismounting movement is obviously much smoother than that of his companions.

After a morning of hunting in the countryside, Lionel was obviously in good spirits. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Felix, your grandfather and father are both famous bankers in Germany. With this Waiting for financial resources, haven’t you ever had any other entertainment activities besides playing the piano?”

When Felix Mendelssohn heard this, he just said embarrassedly: "Although my family is relatively wealthy, my mother is still very strict with me. She has trained me to play the piano since I was four years old. Playing the organ, in addition to Greek and painting lessons. As for hunting, it was strictly prohibited in the Mendelssohn family's family education.

My parents and grandparents were somewhat old-fashioned and considered hunting a frivolous activity. Throughout my childhood, they were obsessed with trying to make me behave like a respectable, knowledgeable, and refined aristocrat. "

When Lionel heard this, he couldn't help but joked: "It seems that every wealthy Jewish family is the same in this regard. Since our Rothschild family left their dilapidated ancestral home in the Jewish community of Frankfurt, we also began to Try to make your external image as good as possible.

My grandfather Meyer hated his status as a poor antiques dealer, and my father Nathan hated the word nouveau riche. Because of this, we, the third generation members of the Rothschild family, have to go to college after receiving family education.

According to my father, the older generation of Jews refer to this as improving the personal cultivation and academic taste of the younger generation in order to better integrate into the upper class society. "

When Mendelssohn heard this, he couldn't help asking: "I seem to have heard you mention that you and your cousin Anthony attended the University of Göttingen, right? Why don't you go to a British university instead of going to a German university? Where are you studying in Hannover?”

Lionel did not shy away from it. He led Mendelssohn into the theater door and explained at the same time.

"You don't understand, Felix. British universities are not like those in Germany. The schools here are basically church schools. Only those who believe in the state religion can enroll in Oxford and Cambridge, while the equally old Durham University is a paradise for Catholics.

When I was in college, the University of London, which admitted students regardless of religious beliefs, had not yet been established. If not for this, there was no need for me to go all the way to study at the University of Göttingen.

But now, Britain has the University of London. When my brother Nat and others grow up to the right age, they can enroll nearby. The only question now is whether Nat needs to do a transitional study at Harrow or Winchester before enrolling at London University. "

Mendelssohn walked and said with a smile: "First receive a family education, then go to a public school, then go to university, and after graduation, do a two or three-year study tour in Europe. Your Rothschild education route is really getting better and better." It's closer to a normal upper-class British family.

However, wouldn’t it be a bit unconsidered to study at the University of London? After all, it was just a school that had just been established, and their educational standards had not yet been formally tested. And I heard that they can’t even hand out degrees there, right? "

Lionel just smiled when he heard this: "Felix, you are an outstanding pianist, but you don't understand politics. In my opinion, the Royal Charter of the University of London can be obtained soon, and there are many scholars there. , the educational level of a school that can get Mr. Bentham’s platform should not be inferior to that of Cambridge and Oxford.

And most importantly, the University of London has now begun to emerge in droves of outstanding talents. Being able to produce so many outstanding graduates is a strong testament to their superb teaching standards. "

When Mendelssohn heard this, he asked curiously: "Excellent graduates? Please forgive me for being ignorant. Lionel, can you remind me what great scholars or famous figures there are?" Having been in the Apennines, Florence and Rome a while ago, I know absolutely nothing about what is happening in Britain."

When Lionel heard this, he just put his finger between his lips with a smile on his face: "Shh! If you want to know who happened to London University, you don't need me to answer, you just need to listen quietly. "

Mendelssohn frowned, completely unaware of what his friend was doing mysteriously.

But when he held his breath and the front hall fell into silence, he suddenly heard a burst of performance sound like a violent storm coming from the performance hall of the theater.

Mendelssohn's eyes gradually widened, and he stared at Lionel with both eyes. It took him a long time before he made a comment: "This is a madman."

"Yes. This is indeed a madman, but at the same time he is also a genius."

Lionel burst out laughing at Mendelssohn's expression.

"Felix, when I heard this piece for the first time, my reaction was similar to yours. This piece "The Bell" is simply a joke. From the B2 section to the end of the piece, it's all octave major chords. Playing a piano gives the feeling of a hundred bells ringing in unison. You can see high-speed fingering and reverse jumping of both hands everywhere, and they play so fast.

To be honest, if I hadn't known who the performer was, I would have thought that it was Mr. Muzio Clementi himself sitting in front of the piano. In the field of piano, I am afraid that he is the only one who can be so obsessed with technical difficulty. He did. "

When Mendelssohn heard this, he was surprised and said: "Isn't the performer Mr. Clementi? I thought he was the only one who liked to add a large number of such ultra-high-speed sixths and octaves to the music. Wait... "

Mendelssohn suddenly closed his mouth, listened for a while, and then suddenly spoke.

"Is this Paganini's "La Campanella," performed by that Scotland Yard sergeant, Arthur Hastings?"

Lionel nodded slightly and said, "Do you remember what you just said? Felix, Mr. Hastings graduated from the University of London."

When Mendelssohn heard this, he couldn't help but cover his forehead and said: "Is the University of London also so successful in music education? If you say so, it seems that the Royal College of Music, with Mr. Moscheles and Mr. Porter sitting in charge, has to do more. It’s so exciting.”

Lionel said with a smile: "That's not true. I personally think that the birth of a figure like Mr. Hastings is random. In a short period of time, no school should be able to shake the Royal Academy of Music's reputation in British music." Leadership in Education.”

Mendelssohn was so moved by the song "The Bell" that he was eager to give it a try.

He walked faster and asked: "Now I seem to understand why Mr. Moscheles insisted on inviting Mr. Hastings to join this concert. From the perspective of music style alone, Mr. Hastings and Grams The similarities do exist with Mr. Clementi.

Mr. Clementi will surely be pleased to meet a young man worthy of passing on his legacy before retiring. A future Clementi, well... I think the audience will also be happy to see this title. "

When Lionel heard this, he smiled and complimented: "One is the future Clementi, and the other is the future Bach. I am really glad that I can witness these two talented pianists on stage at the same time. I have booked four tickets in advance." Tickets.”

Mendelssohn just smiled and waved his hand. He said modestly: "I just compiled some of Mr. Bach's manuscripts and tried to imitate his style. As for Mr. Bach's greatness, that is something I can never compare to."

The two of them talked all the way to the theater performance hall. When their boots stepped on the dark red carpet of the theater, Arthur's hand clasped the last note as powerfully as if a sword was drawn out of its sheath.

The hair on his forehead was slightly scattered and scattered casually. The sunlight from the skylight glass slowly tilted and shifted, and finally fell on Arthur's face with his eyes closed.

Mendelssohn and Lionel stood there and couldn't help but applaud: "An outstanding piece."