2015-06-07

【Aiden in English】

        It’s not every day that a kid can go to Carnegie Hall and perform in NYC, but a lucky few like me are able to go. It is an amazing experience, and the very history of it is the evidence. 

        Standing at West 57^th St. on 7th Ave., Carnegie Hall is a name known worldwide. Presenting an average of 250 performances in a year, this place has world class artists show their talent. Now that last sentence had two things that weren’t true to me. I’m not a world class artist and I don’t have skills. Considering people like me were allowed to play the piano, the audition wouldn’t be the main hall. We got Weill Recital Hall, a tiny branching area that contained about 100 seats. This performance was the Golden Key Recital, and I’ve been here three years in a row. So my emotions were as cool as ice. The performers were usually led to a waiting room, and then put in order. And the room looked anything but grand. I guess these people spent their entire budget on the stage and didn’t care about the backstage. 

        I played Sonata in G Major Op. 49, No. 2: Allegro ma non troppo by L. van Beethoven. The music was supposed to sound like a child’s composition, sweet and light, no accents. Scales ran up and down, giving my arm a real workout. Scale after scale I played, and guess what? I played even more scales. The child had forced me to play with jolly sensation, but “jolly” was to one emotion I wasn’t feeling.

        Unlike my feelings, the performance didn’t come out as smoothly as I played. It’s not just because of me, but also because of the piano. The variation on it was huge! Try playing a quiet note, and nothing came out. Try playing it a tiny bit harder, and the sound was kicked up so much. It seemed as if someone put a microphone up to it. Nearly everyone winced at their first note. During my song throughout many sections, I messed up a little. But I, coming through an acting camp, kept a straight face through the entire piece. No one could tell my thoughts, so I could’ve been winning the lottery for all they know. Even those who were listening in the waiting room said that I went flawless. To me, I felt as if I were wining it. I swung my arms to the beat, slightly bobbed my head, lifted my arms on rests, and came down smoothly like a sheet of ice. What was really funny was how different skills helped each other. And that’s what I called a poker face.

        Coming here the 3^rd time earned me a trophy. Considering how much time I spent, I deserved it. The song proved annoying at times, and my teacher’s pursuit to perfection was relentless. The hard work always makes the thing taste sweeter.  

【紅霞譯文】

        一般的少年兒童難得走進紐約卡內基音樂廳表演藝術，恐怕只有為數不多的人才像我這麼運氣，可以切身感受震撼時刻，並能親自捕捉歷史瞬間。

        卡內基音樂廳坐落在第七大道和五十七西街上，是聞名全球的音樂殿堂，平均每年上演250場次，世界各地首屈一指的藝術家競相來這裡施展才華。話說至此，我必須鄭重聲明，本人既非藝術名流又無演奏技巧，既然不知天高地厚躋身卡內基音樂廳，像我這般水準的鋼琴手絕無資格到主台亮相，撐死了只能呆在容納一百來號觀眾的小型威爾演奏廳湊份熱鬧。盡我已經連續三次被選拔到卡內基音樂廳參加“金鑰匙藝術節”匯報演出，但內心深處仍然激動不已。通常演員們先被領進後台按順序做好出場準備，後台不及前台輝煌宏大，讓我覺得人們把錢全部用到了耀眼的地方。

        這次我帶來的是貝多芬G大調奏鳴曲作品49第二號：不太快的快板，該首曲子聽起來應該像頑童的作品，心情愉快節奏輕鬆，沒有什麼重音，音階上下滑奏，手臂來回移動。我彈完一遍音階，接着彈另一遍音階，知道下面要幹什麼嗎？繼續再彈更多的音階，這個淘氣包害得我呼哧帶喘，反而沒法子開心。

        光自我感覺良好不成，本次演出進展得並非順利，主要不是個人問題，而是鋼琴問題，其力度太難把握！如果輕輕按鍵，那麼什麼琴聲都聽出不來；假如彈得稍微重了一點，音量又吵得要命，好像有人特意用麥克風把聲音放大，因此幾乎沒人能彈好第一個音。演奏期間，我出現了小小的失誤，但以前有過戲劇夏令營訓練基礎，即使出錯也要堅持彈完全部曲子，好像什麼都沒發生，這樣觀眾才不至於察覺出任何異常，還以為我表演得出色，就連等候在後台的同伴都誇我彈得不錯。這下可好，說我胖我果真喘了起來，手臂隨着節奏自然擺動，甚至揮到跟頭部差不多高；遇見休止符的地方，胳膊剛好抬起，然後再優雅地放回原處。最有趣的是，動作與動作之間配合得竟然天衣無縫，與此同時，自己始終保持神情自若。

        因為第三次贏得殊榮前來表演，所以我多得了一個獎盃，比起過去所花的心血，自己的努力總算有所回報。這首曲子有時真叫我感到枯燥，而老師偏偏又毫不客氣地追求藝術完美，着實讓我飽嘗苦盡甜來的滋味。