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.

【紅霞譯文】

        說句實話，我差點忘了這個星期天要給老人義演，鋼琴老師的朋友為布列塔尼角莊園張羅一場音樂會，這家高級養老院不僅擁有規模可觀的禮堂，而且還具備音質上乘的三角鋼琴。

        演出前幾周各項活動蜂擁而至，正好趕上賓州中學生統考和一系列音樂會，我還挑頭攛掇幾位朋友組成一支微型爵士樂隊排練小合奏，所有這些無一不是全新嘗試。然而，我知道義演在即，可是“天波易謝寸暑難留”，哪想到轉眼就到了跟前。

        話說鋼琴表演，其實每次登台都各有名堂。多數情況下，我只在比賽前或是獲獎後與觀眾見面，不過此行純屬慈善公益，與老人消磨時光分享快樂。儘管我可能在這種挑戰面前遲疑不決，但今天卻表現出少有的積極性。

        來之前我沒把彈琴當回事，可一邁入通往表演大廳的過道，方才意識到準備不足，即使拿出三天功夫練習拉赫瑪尼諾夫《G小調前奏曲》作品23第五首也難以把握這位音樂大師的雄渾力度，幸好上個月底小合奏音樂會的演奏經歷依舊記憶猶新，我豈會忘掉……對嗎？

        抵達禮堂後，所有演員依次登台試琴，他們個個表現出色，值得大加讚賞。眼見同伴進入狀態，我頭腦開始發懵，輪到我熱身的時候，手指僵得早已不聽使喚，結果一連兩次卡殼，情況十分不妙。坦率地說，我從未忘記過拉赫瑪尼諾夫樂譜，畢竟曲子好背，都怪那些刁鑽音符從中作梗。

        不過我偶爾地會出現腦子空白，因此每當演出到來之際，我臨時抱佛腳進行突擊強記，況且即便事先背得滾瓜爛熟，有時也難免在大庭廣眾面前緊張露怯，一旦遇到這種情況，我只能兵來將擋水來土掩，以不變應萬變。

        登台後快速鞠躬並調整琴凳，我坐在鋼琴前靜思片刻，深吸了一口氣，隨即開始表演，開頭第三行出現錯音，很不起眼，但“前車覆後車戒”，我努力從逆境中創造奇蹟，事後連鋼琴老師都甚感驕傲，我自個也認為大體上說得過去。那個失誤教我成長，遇事要冷靜，這樣才能捋清思路；當你陷入困境，必須拋掉私心雜念。我也搞不清楚究竟是好是壞，反正有時別跟音符較勁，以上述情況為例，我索性讓手指自由發揮，把精力集中到強弱變化及演奏技巧上，有如行雲流水。

        本次彈奏能一氣呵成可以說純屬走運，尤其在毫無準備的前提下，將來參與演奏當該引以為鑑，但今天我十分慶幸這種交流平台。音樂會完畢，有些觀眾前來道賀，一位慈祥和藹的老太太甚至說我挺能“吃苦耐勞”，我眨巴眼報以微笑，天曉得，但願如此。

        也許這真是我最出色的一次公演，原因很簡單。演出結束後，不少觀眾難掩激動之情，紛紛誇讚大夥了不起，印象最深的是，人人看上去心花怒放。他們之所以親臨現場往往因為沒有其它事情好做，今天大概也不例外，對於退了休的長者來說，我們的琴技堪稱一流水準，隨着古典音樂越來越稀罕，這種演出在我眼裡或許司空見怪，但卻給上了歲數的人帶來一天生活中最精彩的瞬間，令我無比欣慰。

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2017: Charity @ Assisted Living Facility(老年護理院義演)