2014-08-30

【Aiden in English】

        Parties are the best way to meet friends, have fun, and show off your skills. So today, when Dad took me to a holiday party in his friend's house, I brought my Chinese Yo-Yo from GHCS Summer Camp and a book of Classics for the Developing Pianist.

        Everyone was fascinated by my Chinese Yo-Yo skills. I did tricks and even taught some adults the secret of the Yo-Yo (there isn't one). After about 5 seconds of advice, they attempted to give the Yo-Yo a try. Not everyone was successful. I was on fire and wouldn't drop the Yo-Yo. Toss after toss after toss, the whooshing sound was extremely loud. Today was my day.

        I then showed my piano skills with Enrique Granados' Valse Poetico #4 upon request. But I was forgotten as soon as a HS senior started to perform. He played lovely movement with amazing articulation. His light touch and flowing passages demonstrated excellent attention to details in dynamic contour. His fingers flew so fast that I could barely see them. By the look of it, he loved to play. The high-schooler went on working on it for about 40 min before he stopped. Even though I only came to hear his finale and I was impressed with his performance. Ohh boy, he had huge hands that probably could palm the basketball. I was also very surprised to know that he's only been playing piano for seven years. Seven years at that level! He is a true musical genius. I couldn't stop thinking about who his piano teacher was. It was none other than Mr. Marcantonio Barone, the same teacher that taught Kevin. You might be wondering who the heck Kevin was. Let's just say both Harvard University and New England Conservatory appreciated his talents not only because he was one of 141 high school seniors recognized as Presidential Scholars nationwide in 2012. So the common sense tells you that the high schooler at the party was a lot better than me.

        So parties are great places to interact, no matter whether it's to talk, play or even show what you can do.

【紅霞譯文】

        聚會是結識朋友、吃喝玩樂、交流經驗的最佳去處。既然如此，今天爸爸帶我參加朋友家舉辦的“勞工節”周末聚會，我準備好賓州光華中文學校夏令營贈送的空竹，並從家裡帶來一本專門用於培養鋼琴家的《古典樂曲》集錦。

        大家甭提有多欣賞我表演的抖空竹，本人露了幾招，甚至給一些長輩們面授機宜(吹牛皮而已)，大約五秒鐘過後，阿姨叔叔們擺開陣勢小試牛刀，可惜無人得手，而我則像搭上了順風車似的，手中飛舞的空竹雲里來霧裡去，不時發出雄渾高昂的氣鳴聲，今天抖空竹叫我出盡風頭。

       隨後，我被要求彈奏恩里克‧格拉納多斯的第四首《激情圓舞曲 》，但人們的視線很快地便轉移到下一位高中四年級畢業生身上。他彈奏的鋼琴曲清晰流暢，輕柔的指法烘托出嫻熟的技巧，通過樂曲動感變化，細膩地表達了作品結構層次，手指在鍵盤上移動極快，令我眼花繚亂。看來這傢伙真心喜歡演奏，一口氣竟連續彈了四十分鐘左右。儘管我只聽了結尾部分，其水平之高給我留下深刻印象。天哪，他的手真大，單抓籃球恐怕小菜一碟。出乎意料地，他僅練過七年鋼琴，如果七年即達到這般水準，那他一定是位天才。我禁不住好奇他究竟師從何方聖人，沒想到不是別人正是泊寧的老師——馬坎彤尼歐‧巴羅內先生。你也許會問泊寧到底是誰，這麼說吧，哈佛大學與新英格蘭音樂學院同時欣賞泊寧的才華，當然並非僅僅因為泊寧曾為2012年全美141位榮獲“總統獎”最高榮譽的高中生之一。名師出高徒，今晚這位高中畢業生的鋼琴演技非同一般，反正與我不是同一數量級的。

        由此看來，無論是為了聊天，還是玩耍，哪怕娛樂大家，聚會可謂一個了不起的交際場所。