2018-06-09

【Aiden in English】

        Not going to lie, I almost forgot about a charity recital for the senior citizens this Sunday. A friend of my piano teacher’s organized the concert for Brittany Pointe Estates, a luxury retirement home, that just so happened to own a modest auditorium and a grand piano.

        The weeks preceding the performance were filled with crazy events. There were Keystones, a Pennsylvania standardized exam, and a series of concerts. In the meanwhile, I organized a small jazz band with friends to play for small ensembles, which was a new experience for me. However, I had full awareness of the date of the concert at Brittany Pointe Estates. The days just slipped by so fast that the weekend got there before I knew it.

        For once though, I felt like I had a purpose playing piano for others. Most of the time, I play in front of others either before a competition or after an award. This time, we performed as a charity event, sharing time and talent to entertain the retirees. While I may have reluctantly accepted this challenge, it’s one of the few times I completely agree with coming. 

        I was all for playing in this event until I got there. Walking into the performance hall, I realized how unprepared I was. I’ve practiced the Prelude in G Minor Op. 23 No. 5 for a grand total of three days, which is not enough for any rhythmic song by Rachmaninoff. Luckily, it was still fresh in my mind from the mini ensemble concert late last month. So I wasn’t going to forget the song… right? 

        Arriving in the auditorium, all the players tried out the piano on the stage, which was pretty good. I liked it. While I watched another warm-up, I felt my mind freeze up. As I went through my practice run, I stumbled. Twice. This was bad. Be honest, I’ve never forgotten any notes to Rachmaninoff since the memorization is pretty easy. It’s the difficult notes that got me. 

        However, for the first time in a while, I was blanking on some notes. So when the performance began, I scrambled and crammed. Every time I thought I got it down, some other memory slip would appear. Eventually, I decided just to go with what I got, and like that, I went on stage.

        A quick bow and chair adjustment later, I sat in front of the piano, contemplating what to do. I took a deep breath and began, only to mess up on the third line. It was a minor blemish, but I do think that mistake saved the entire song. My teacher said I did a good job afterward, and for the most part, I thought I did. That single flaw may have been the reason why. It calmed my mind, allowing me to think clearly. Mistakes like that snap you into the moment, casting away unnecessary thought. Whether that is good or bad, I don’t know, because sometimes you shouldn’t think too hard about notes. But in this case, I let my fingers do the work, and my mind controls dynamics and phrasing. It turned out well.

        I do think this performance was a fluke, considering my preparation was essentially non-existent. This will probably be a lesson for a future concert, but as for right now, I’m quite grateful. Later on, when some of the audience congratulated me, I winked and smiled as a kind lady told me I looked like a man who “puts a lot of practice into his songs”. Oh, I wish I did. 

        This may have been the best time I’ve ever had playing in front of others. Here’s why. After the performance, the reaction to some of the audience was amazing. They thought we were all really good, but most of all, they actually seemed to enjoy it. Oftentimes, the audience is there because they have nothing else to do. While this may be true today as well, to those retirees this was one of the best performances, since stuff like this becomes a rarity. I may look at this recital and call it a drag, but to them, it’s the highlight of their day. And that made me feel good.

【红霞译文】

        说句实话，我差点忘了这个星期天要给老人义演，钢琴老师的朋友为布列塔尼角庄园张罗一场音乐会，这家高级养老院不仅拥有规模可观的礼堂，而且还具备音质上乘的三角钢琴。

        演出前几周各项活动蜂拥而至，正好赶上宾州中学生统考和一系列音乐会，我还挑头撺掇几位朋友组成一支微型爵士乐队排练小合奏，所有这些无一不是全新尝试。然而，我知道义演在即，可是“天波易谢寸暑难留”，哪想到转眼就到了跟前。

        话说钢琴表演，其实每次登台都各有名堂。多数情况下，我只在比赛前或是获奖后与观众见面，不过此行纯属慈善公益，与老人消磨时光分享快乐。尽管我可能在这种挑战面前迟疑不决，但今天却表现出少有的积极性。

        来之前我没把弹琴当回事，可一迈入通往表演大厅的过道，方才意识到准备不足，即使拿出三天功夫练习拉赫玛尼诺夫《G小调前奏曲》作品23第五首也难以把握这位音乐大师的雄浑力度，幸好上个月底小合奏音乐会的演奏经历依旧记忆犹新，我岂会忘掉……对吗？

        抵达礼堂后，所有演员依次登台试琴，他们个个表现出色，值得大加赞赏。眼见同伴进入状态，我头脑开始发懵，轮到我热身的时候，手指僵得早已不听使唤，结果一连两次卡壳，情况十分不妙。坦率地说，我从未忘记过拉赫玛尼诺夫乐谱，毕竟曲子好背，都怪那些刁钻音符从中作梗。

        不过我偶尔地会出现脑子空白，因此每当演出到来之际，我临时抱佛脚进行突击强记，况且即便事先背得滚瓜烂熟，有时也难免在大庭广众面前紧张露怯，一旦遇到这种情况，我只能兵来将挡水来土掩，以不变应万变。

        登台后快速鞠躬并调整琴凳，我坐在钢琴前静思片刻，深吸了一口气，随即开始表演，开头第三行出现错音，很不起眼，但“前车覆后车戒”，我努力从逆境中创造奇迹，事后连钢琴老师都甚感骄傲，我自个也认为大体上说得过去。那个失误教我成长，遇事要冷静，这样才能捋清思路；当你陷入困境，必须抛掉私心杂念。我也搞不清楚究竟是好是坏，反正有时别跟音符较劲，以上述情况为例，我索性让手指自由发挥，把精力集中到强弱变化及演奏技巧上，有如行云流水。

        本次弹奏能一气呵成可以说纯属走运，尤其在毫无准备的前提下，将来参与演奏当该引以为鉴，但今天我十分庆幸这种交流平台。音乐会完毕，有些观众前来道贺，一位慈祥和蔼的老太太甚至说我挺能“吃苦耐劳”，我眨巴眼报以微笑，天晓得，但愿如此。

        也许这真是我最出色的一次公演，原因很简单。演出结束后，不少观众难掩激动之情，纷纷夸赞大伙了不起，印象最深的是，人人看上去心花怒放。他们之所以亲临现场往往因为没有其它事情好做，今天大概也不例外，对于退了休的长者来说，我们的琴技堪称一流水准，随着古典音乐越来越稀罕，这种演出在我眼里或许司空见怪，但却给上了岁数的人带来一天生活中最精彩的瞬间，令我无比欣慰。

Crosslinks(相关博文):

2017: Charity @ Assisted Living Facility(老年护理院义演)