Chapter 103
"Well, so what happened?" Schubert asked with an interesting face.
Soo-hyun replied with a still confused look.
"There are five people in the violin department, three in the piano department including me, and one each in the viola, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, timpani, marimba, and cymbals departments. When I asked Jaehee and Junwoo, they said they had never mentioned it, so I don't know how they knew."
Schubert took out his notebook and roughly calculated the numbers.
"Well, about 20 people. That would be the size of a chamber orchestra."
"Chamber?"
When Soo-hyun, who had no idea about the composition of an orchestra, asked, Schubert took off his glasses, wiped them, and said,
"'Chamber' means 'room.' It refers to an orchestra that plays indoors. An orchestra usually has 70 members, and sometimes over 200. A chamber orchestra is a smaller orchestra in comparison. But the problem is how Soo-hyun, who only knows the basics of cello and violin, can create a song for them to play. That's the key."
"I don't have the ability to compose music that can be performed by an orchestra, however small, sir."
Schubert put his glasses back on and smiled.
"You're right."
'Yes, that's right… No, professor. What if you say something so easy? Everyone is asking to be included. If you don't have the ability, should we just have a piano, a violin, and a cello?'
Schubert said when he saw Soo-hyun's expression cloud over.
"Soo-hyun is currently a student."
'You're stating the obvious.'
Schubert gestured to Soo-hyun, who had a questioning expression on his face.
"And the other people who want to participate are also students."
'Hmm? What are you trying to say?'
Schubert said with a smile.
"Students are people who learn. Soo-hyun and them too. So we can all learn together, right?"
"But, professor, the other students are not receiving instruction from you."
Schubert smiled even more deeply.
"Who will complete the frame?"
"Yes?"
"That's the point. Adding flesh to the skeleton is something a specialist can do."
"What are you talking about...."
Schubert approached Soo-hyun and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"The frame is created by Soo-hyun. Then, you ask other students for help. We create it together. And we learn, feel, and act together."
'I understand what you mean. But will everyone understand? I guess they were curious about their own music.'
"Can everyone help me?"
Schubert gently tapped Soo-hyun's shoulder.
"Soo-hyun, do you know what orchestra means?"
"I know it as an orchestra."
"Haha, that's right. But, you know? If you look at the etymology of the word, it comes from the word 'orchestra,' which refers to the large space between the stage and the audience in an ancient Greek amphitheater. Since it was a large space, there would be many instruments, right? At first, it started with two musicians playing together, and gradually the number of instruments increased. Then, the word that means 'two people playing together' came into being. Do you know what it means?"
'Two people play. The first thing that comes to mind is a duet, but that's not a word used in an orchestra.'
"Um, an ensemble?"
Schubert snapped his fingers.
"Yes, Ensemble. From which country?"
"It's French."
"Soo-hyun, can you speak French?"
"Yes."
"What does it mean?"
Soo-hyun, who was about to say what he wanted to say, froze. This was because he remembered the true meaning of the words he had been using without thinking as technical terms.
"Ensemble… means 'together'."
Schubert clapped his hands and laughed.
"Right? They don't have to just play together. They are all students. If they learn together and complete something together, the meaning of 'together' will be completed. What do you think?"
'Together… Like the meaning of ensemble, being together. Maybe this is your chance to make musical friends, more than just friends to play with.'
Soo-hyun, who was lost in thought, clenched his fist and nodded.
"I'll try. Please help me, professor."
Schubert smiled even more deeply and nodded towards the piano visible through the window of the log cabin.
"Then shall we go?"
Schubert explained to me why I had to do it. But he didn't say anything to me for three days. All Soo-hyun did was visit Schubert's house, eat and drink tea with him, chat, and sit blankly in front of the piano. Composing music was no easy task. It was a mistake to think that just by sitting at the piano, something would come to mind. In addition, Soo-hyun, who remembered making music that Junwoo called a "mixed stew," found it difficult to create a melody that came to mind easily. This was because I began to suspect that any melody that came to mind might not be the original music.
"Ha...."
The only thing that came out was a sigh. Mr. Schubert was sitting on a tree stump, drinking wine and watching butterflies. His unique, kind smile almost seemed as if he were making fun of himself.
'This can't go on. Professor Lee Chan-ho requested a schedule from the Department of Theater and Film and other music-related departments and was told that the performance schedule would be available in three months. There is no time, not even during practice.' Soo-hyun was anxious.
"Excuse me, professor..."
Schubert tried to catch the flying butterfly with his hand, but his fat body had no reflexes and only made a futile attempt.
"Yes, go ahead."
'It's very brazen to ask, "Aren't you going to help me?" Let's be honest.'
"Nothing comes to mind, sir."
Schubert took a sip of wine and said with a smile.
"What were you trying to think of?"
'Is that a question? Of course I have to create a melody, sir. I'm composing a song right now.'
"It's a melody."
"You're wrong."
"…"
Schubert's teaching method was different from that of other professors. It was different from the master of Beethoven who shouted, "Practice endlessly! Practice is the only way to survive!", from Uncle Frederick who taught me delicately and meticulously from beginning to end, and from Uncle Franz who encouraged me by saying, "It's okay to ignore the little things! Just push through!". It was an educational method that allowed the student to feel and realize everything for himself. It might seem ideal, but from the perspective of education, there was no greater difficulty. A student was a learner. If you didn't teach him, it would be difficult for him to move forward.
Schubert, who had been watching Soo-hyun for three days, stood up from the tree stump and approached her as if it were enough.
"The first thing to do."
Soo-hyun's gaze cleared. This was because, for the first time in three days, he was trying to give hints about composition.
"What do I want to say?"
The moment he heard those words, he felt as if a bell had rung in Soo-hyun's head.
'Well, why did I try to create a melody? Without even thinking about what I wanted to say. What the hell was I doing for three days?'
Another sigh was heard, but it was a sigh with a different meaning than before. If the sigh before was an expression of frustration, this time it was a sigh of self-reflection. Schubert said, placing his hand on his heart.
"Music tells its own story. All music does. When it reaches people, it resonates."
'Yes, that's right. I remember the love story of Uncle Frederick, who was the first to express his feelings. I also remember the stories of Uncle Beethoven. They all expressed the stories of their lives through music. Why did I waste three days on something so simple and obvious?'
Schubert said to Soo-hyun.
"Perhaps the first emotion Soo-hyun felt was sadness? There is a lot of music that contains sadness, and there are many teaching materials. However, I don't know if you want to talk about sadness or not. So don't be limited by it. It's okay to talk about a shocking moment in your life or a moment when you felt something strong."
A shocking moment. A moment when you felt something great. A moment when your emotions were most intense. The pain was the aftershock of that shock, not the moment itself. Although he was still young, the most intense memory he ever felt was clear. Soo-hyun took a moment to gather his thoughts and said.
"Death."
Schubert said he seemed interested.
"Death? What a good topic!"
Death. What Soo-hyun remembered was the moment at Interlaken station in Switzerland when he heard about the death of his parents. Soo-hyun's head slowly dropped.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"The music about death would be sad, right?"
"…"
"Death exists to frighten me, to take away my mother, to take away my father, to make those around me sad. So I think the music about it would be sad music. Death robs us of our families and loved ones. All the beautiful things in the world, including love, become powerless in the face of death. No matter how beautiful a flower is, it will wither and die, and no matter how pretty and beautiful a person is, they will grow old, get sick, and eventually die. Death meant that to Soo-hyun. Something bad that exists in the world, but we don't know why. Why did God create death?"
Schubert had been sharing tea with Soo-hyun every day and listening to his stories. Perhaps that was why he seemed to understand why Soo-hyun thought that way. Schubert swirled the beautifully colored wine in his glass, placed it on the piano, and spoke.
"Soo-hyun."
"Yes, sir."
"There are many kinds of death in the world. There is a death like yours, where you lose everything suddenly and unprepared. There is a death where the pain ends after a long struggle with illness. There is also a dignified death where you calmly wait for the day to die."
'That's right. There are cases of mom and dad, and of people I saw in the hospital in Poland. And the last death was probably Mr. Schubert's own.'
Schubert said, receiving Soo-hyun's gaze.
"Soo-hyun practices daily and also sits in on other departments' classes to study composition. Why do you live so diligently? You're going to die anyway."
"…"
I couldn't think of an answer. The question of why I should try if I'm going to die anyway was a bit silly, but it was also a difficult question to answer. Schubert, who looked into Soo-hyun's eyes, who couldn't answer, leaned on the piano and crossed his arms.
"What do you think Soo-hyun thought when he heard about my death?"
'Master Schubert worked even harder to find his own happiness, and the result was music. What would the master have been thinking at that time?'
Mr. Schubert continued.
"I think the reason why death exists for humans is because it is God's word to us to cherish life more. Death comes to everyone. However, no one fears it or wants to live carelessly because they will die anyway. Why? Because life is precious. A person who is sick and agonizing with pain may want to die soon, but if the pain is taken away, no, if there is hope of curing his illness, he will want to live. That's what we humans are."
'The word of God to cherish life more.'
The meaning of death, as perceived by Professor Schubert, seeped into Soo-hyun. Schubert, who had not lost his playful smile, snapped his fingers and said,
"That was exactly what happened to Beethoven, whom you and I respect. Wasn't he the one who truly understood death and suffering, who created music of joy, harmony, and happiness even in a silence that was like death?"
Something exploded inside Soo-hyun.
- - - - -
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