mtl008 Chapter 1295 Rehearsal
Chapter 1295 Rehearsal
Chapter 1295 Rehearsal
"You played wonderfully, Mr. Domoto. As expected of you. It was absolutely perfect."
"It possesses a completely different charm from the piano, yet you still mastered it; your talent on the piano keys is truly unparalleled."
The newly completed concert hall was brightly lit, and the soft seats and deep red carpet still had a slight odor, making it brand new and clean.
If there hadn't been only a handful of audience members during the rehearsal, the applause and praise at this moment would certainly not have been so sparse; the sound would probably have filled the entire grand auditorium.
"As expected of Domoto Kazuki, even at this age, he suddenly changed the instrument he was studying, and he still managed to give such a wonderful performance."
Shinichi Kudo, who had been looking up at the high dome and lights of the auditorium and silently assessing the safety, was brought back to his senses by Kogoro Mouri's voice. He looked at Issei Domoto, who was smiling as he walked down the steps on the stage, and the few people who were walking towards him.
In this concert hall built specifically for the pipe organ, the most prominent feature of the entire stage is, of course, the pipe organ that occupies an entire wall.
The organ was positioned very high up; after getting onto the stage, one still had to climb up the golden steps, and there was still a distance of two or three meters between the stage and the ground.
Even though most of the time the audience only sees his back, sitting at this height, all the musicians or singers in the audience are below him; it's like a throne.
This is worthy of the title of "King of Instruments" for this expensive organ, many of which were even imported directly from Germany, and also worthy of Domoto Kazuki, a highly renowned musician who has worked in the industry for many years.
At this moment, Domoto Ichiki, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with the crowd who walked onto the stage, was surrounded by a host of well-known faces. He appeared calm and composed, exuding an air of great poise. One could sense his status here without even knowing him personally.
"That guy with glasses looks so familiar. I feel like I've seen him on TV before," Ran Mouri whispered to her best friend, putting down her hands from her polite clapping.
Unlike the group of people who sat far away in the middle of the room, just there to watch the rehearsal and were mostly dressed in casual clothes, Sonoko Suzuki was wearing a dress that wasn't fancy but was very formal, and she even wore silk gloves, making her look very elegant.
"That's Mr. Fuwa Takumi, a piano tuner. He's been tuning for Mr. Domoto Kazuki for 35 years; they're old friends. This time, he's also the director of the Domoto Concert Hall," Sonoko Suzuki introduced softly, adjusting her dress. "And that man facing the audience is German, named Hansmüller, a professional organ tuner. Don't be fooled by how harmoniously he and Mr. Domoto are talking now; he spent a lot of time adjusting and refining the sound to meet Mr. Domoto's requirements."
"Hmm, as expected of a great musician, he does things with great method—" Kogoro Mouri remarked meaningfully.
Sonoko Suzuki's words were very tactful, but the subtext was quite clear.
The person who served as the director of the concert hall and had real power over the instruments and the stage was the piano tuner who had worked with Domoto Ikki for many years. Now that Domoto Ikki had turned to the organ, naturally, the music score and the taku lost their original jobs.
As longtime friends who had collaborated for many years, Domoto Ikki could not afford to give anyone ammunition, so the concert hall, which had cost a huge amount of manpower and resources, was given to Sho and Takumi as "compensation".
His actions in putting a renowned sound engineer like Hansmüller through such trouble might simply be a way to appease his old friend and prevent him from harboring resentment over being replaced in his previous position. Considering the Japanese way of socializing, he was remarkably thoughtful.
Sonoko Suzuki smiled, neither agreeing nor denying, and pointed to the young man standing next to Hansmüller: "The one who's interpreting for them is Mr. Domoto's son, also a pianist named Genya Domoto. He's also in charge of this performance."
"What about those two over there? I saw them standing on stage the whole time during the performance." Kazuha Toyama looked them over, raised her hand and pointed to the woman standing on the far side, smiling but not participating in the conversation.
"Those two are both students of Mr. Domoto. The one on the right is Ms. Chigusa Lala, a soprano singer and a graduate of the ninth class of Domoto Academy. The one next to her who looks a little nervous is Ms. Yamane Shion, a violinist and a graduate of the eighth class of Domoto Academy."
"Oh, so she's the one who replaced the violinist Kawabe Kanade who was injured in the explosion, right?" Hattori Heiji said, first realizing, then glancing at Suzuki Sonoko out of the corner of his eye. "You know her so well, Ms. Suzuki. It seems your career is going very well lately."
As a relatively new figure in the art world, Sonoko Suzuki may not be directly involved in such a large project, but the fact that her family invited her to attend speaks volumes.
"Not at all. The main performers for this concert are still the organist and Mr. Domoto. The program isn't very long. With only a few guest performers, there's no way I wouldn't remember them all." Sonoko Suzuki waved her hand, looking nonchalant and unconcerned. "Not everyone has the opportunity to participate in rehearsals and program design at this level. I have to seize the opportunity."
"Sonoko, you don't need to be so modest in front of us," Ran Mouri nudged her shoulder. "You're like a real strong woman, really impressive. Shall we treat you to a celebratory meal later?"
Sonoko Suzuki wasn't deliberately showing off, but Ran Mouri could still sense her eagerness to demonstrate and share her achievements with her friends.
Teased by her best friend, Sonoko Suzuki, who had just picked up her cup, indeed showed a smug smile, then quickly composed herself: "No, let's save the celebration for after the concert. This inauguration ceremony will only be considered a great success if it lands smoothly."
As she said this, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at a row of people standing at the midfield entrance.
That was, of course, the group led by Inspector Megure from the First Investigative Division, which everyone was very familiar with.
With such a major accident involving performers on the eve of the concert, the safety of the entire concert has suddenly become a top priority. The police also need to step up their investigation into the suspects and the case, which is quite an energy-consuming task for both the police and the organizers.
"It's not easy to involve so many things in one concert." Kazuha Toyama sighed, then her gaze fell on the violin that Shion Yamane was carefully holding in her arms. "That's, uh, the very expensive violin, what's it called again—"
"Stradivarius." Heiji Hattori, arms crossed, uttered the name, then tapped Kazuha Toyama on the head. "You can't even remember the name of such a famous instrument?"
"I don't listen to classical music, how would I know?" Kazuha Toyama protested, then turned her gaze to the violin. "This violin is almost as valuable as the entire pipe organ behind it, isn't that right?"
"It's hard to say. Just considering the price of the instrument components, it's probably like this." Knowing the project's high cost, Sonoko Suzuki gently shook her head. "As you can see, the entire concert hall is designed and built around the style of a pipe organ. Custom-made pipes cost a considerable amount of the budget, so the pipe organ is more expensive. However, what you said isn't entirely wrong; normally, a well-maintained violin can indeed cost as much as a pipe organ."
Domoto Kazuki is a world-class performer, and his pianos are extremely expensive. There's no reason to compromise when it comes to his organ, so this organ is among the most expensive pipe organs in the world.
It's not surprising that he would invite the owner of Stradivarius to play the instrument, in order to be worthy of it.
"Is Ms. Kawabe alright? She was also a victim who was caught in the blast at close range. Could it be that—" Shinichi Kudo looked up when the bombing was mentioned.
The practice rooms at music academies are not particularly large. The other two people caught in the explosion died instantly, and it's easy to imagine that Kawabe Kanako, who was so close by, wouldn't fare too well.
"I heard it's not good." Kogoro Mouri waved his hand slightly. "Fortunately, the injuries to her hands aren't serious. If she recovers, it might not affect her career. But the rest of her body is another story. If she's unlucky, she might never be able to stand up again."
What Kogoro Mouri didn't say was that this was the reason the police immediately removed her from the suspect list.
Having dedicated so many years to the music industry, and even having Siqin at home, the importance of Kawabe Kanade's musical career to her is self-evident.
Even if she had some personal grudge against the two deceased, it certainly wasn't to the point of risking her own life.
"Indeed. Her Stradivarius was in for maintenance that day, so she didn't practice with it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to keep the violin at all," Sonoko Suzuki agreed. "It's such a pity to be able to share the stage with a musician of this caliber."
As she spoke, she gestured with her chin to indicate that the only person still sitting in the front row, not going up to exchange pleasantries with Domoto Ichie, was standing there.
The figure had its head bowed, with thick, flowing black hair tied back, as if deep in thought or preparing something.
"Isn't that Reiko Akiba? The very famous soprano—" Kogoro Mouri, who knew a little about the repertoire, pointed in her direction.
"Yes. Besides her, there aren't many singers who can perform on the same stage as Siqin and the organ in this kind of setting, right?" Sonoko Suzuki affirmed his statement and praised him.
In this theater-style concert hall, there is no modern music equipment like those used in concerts that cater to the singers. There are no mixing consoles or live in-ear monitors. At most, the singer is treated the same as other instruments, and having a microphone to amplify the sound is already quite good.
In such an environment, the human voice is just a component of the music. To be able to suppress the magnificent and sacred organ music is a huge test of a singer's ability. The vocal pressure cannot be lowered even slightly.
At this moment, she was staring at the people on the stage with a very critical eye. When she saw Domoto Kazuki return to his organ playing position after finishing his conversation with Hansmura, she looked at Yamane Shion with disapproval.
Such excellent instruments, such an important occasion, and all the conditions of this stage are what musicians dream of.
It would be a real shame if the failure was due to the musician who was brought in at the last minute after the incident.
"Shion, that's about right. Get ready, let's test our coordination. You also need to confirm your performance position." Domoto turned his gaze to Yamane Shion, who was holding her violin and nervously biting her nails. "Let's start with the first piece, Ave Maria."
"Ah, yes!"
With a loud reply, Yamane Shion quickly grabbed her bow and strode toward the center of the stage.
She placed the nut on her shoulder, assumed the correct posture, took a deep breath, and began testing the sound.
After listening for only a few seconds, Akiba Reiko shook her head bluntly: "Judging from your current state, you are simply not capable of cooperating with our performance."
"I'm sorry, Miss Akiba, please wait a little longer." Her rebuke was blunt and rude, but Domoto Ichiki still spoke kindly, then turned to his disciple, "Shion, focus."
"Yes, I'm very sorry!" Yamane Shion quickly bowed, then readjusted her breathing and began to play the bow again.
After listening for a while, Akiba Reiko lowered her head and began flipping through the sheet music in her arms, seemingly losing interest in the upcoming practice sessions.
Another half minute passed, and Yamane Shion indicated that there were no problems. Domoto Ichie sat up straight, placed his hands on the piano keys, and prepared to begin.
"Are we about to hear Stradivarius play?" Takagi Wataru exclaimed excitedly from the sidelines. "That's really lucky."
He didn't know what made this instrument so special, but he knew it was really expensive.
When I come out to work and hear this, it feels like I've gotten free money.
"I still prefer Amatichin to Stradivarius—" Shiratori Ninzaburo expressed his objection with restraint.
"You can tell your girlfriend that on the day of the performance," Sato Miwako said, raising her hand to stop him from continuing his act. "Anyway, judging from the situation, we'll all have to be there for the concert. Let's be quiet now."
'
They came to investigate the suspects in the bombing and to learn about the case, but judging from how focused they were on performing, it would be difficult to find out anything before the concert started.
Domoto straightened his back and pressed down with his raised finger.
As the solemn, beautiful, and deeply resonant sound of the organ filled the air, Yamane Shion gently pushed her bow, and the ensemble began.
The onlookers had all adjusted their expressions, ready to enjoy the performance, but after only three short bars, the solemn organ music abruptly stopped.
Turning around, Domoto Ichiki's expression turned serious: "No, this won't do. Shion, what have you been doing these past few days? You've been completely unqualified. Have you really been taking Stradivarius seriously?"
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