Shallow water is noisy
Deep water is silent
Consistent
"Are you in the fog?" The lobby on the first floor of the Beijing Concert Hall was also crowded with people.
picture from Weibo: Beijing Concert Hall
scalpers yelled vigorously, the fans pulled up a long queue, "you can't buy tickets even in line at night!" "As soon as the tickets are sold out!"
Which star is going to sing meeting? Or which veteran theater company is touring?
is neither.
, who is enthusiastically sought after by the audience and is being rushed by people from all directions, is an old aunt who seems to have never heard of over half a hundred years. The name
Zhu Xiaomei seems to have become popular in China overnight and set off a "phenomenal" heat wave. At , even Wang Sicong, the particularly poisonous "entertainment disciplinary inspection commission", praised her.
If you complain that you can't get her ticket in China, don't worry, you can't get it in Paris, Europe...you can't get it either, the venue is full, and it's hard to find a ticket to be her "standard".
"This is genius!" The famous French political and news magazine "Viewpoint Weekly" shocked her.
"Shock! Diapason 5 (Diapason 5)! Super (ffff)!" 's noble and glamorous classical music circle boiled for her.
, the founder of the French "Crazy Music Festival", known as the "Musical Miracle", made records for her and invited her to play every year.
Her CD of Bach's "Equal Temper" reached the third place in Paris as soon as it was released, and her CDs of Schumann, Beethoven, and Schubert are out of print...
However, this is regarded as a "genius" abroad. ", the Chinese aunts called "myths" in China seem to be very different from the "pianists" people imagine.
She has an old flower head with ears and a little camel on her back. She wears dark and plain clothes all the year round, usually pure black or dark brown. Walking in the crowd, she was inconspicuous. Even when she went to her concert once, she was blocked by the security guard as a "clean aunt".
She is not very talkative, but when chatting with you, she will put her hands on her knees, lean forward slightly, her eyes bright and humble looking at you, warm and kind like a mother.
Her fingers are a little short, they can hardly span an octave when they are crossed. You can't imagine that this is a pair of pianist's hands.
But when these "weather-beaten" hands jump on the keys, you will know why she is so "hot". Only when
45 had the opportunity to have a concert, borrowed money to record the first album at the age of 50, and made his debut on the domestic stage at the age of 65, , a talented pianist who was discovered too late, played silently and humbly for a lifetime.
Zhu Xiaomei’s first piano was a Robinson made in the UK, the mother’s dowry. Little, she watched the porters stop and rest several times, sweating and moved it from the door to the parents' room.
removed the dirty cloth covers that originally wrapped it, and the big guy revealed his true face.
She hid behind the chair with some fear, but her mother approached it, Turning the enclosure to check. She opened its lid, fingers pulsating on the somewhat yellowed keys, and a melody suddenly filled the room.
"I'm so happy," the mother said, turning her head to look at them.
"It can actually speak" Zhu Xiaomei smirked as she thought about it.
Picture from: "Zhu Xiaomei Documentary"
was born in Shanghai, but because the small clinic served by her father closed down, she could only follow her parents and two sisters to go to her aunt. Leaving the old Shanghai apartment hidden by phoenix trees and carved mahogany, the family lived in the crowded and noisy Beijing compound.
The two cabins are small and run-down, but the arrival of piano Robinson made her feel that "the world is wide."
's mother is her piano teacher. In the practice of "Ding Ding Dong Dong", the young Zhu Xiaomei showed an amazing talent: was 8 years old and played on Beijing Radio, and she was preparing to give a solo concert in junior high school. Just "prepare". People in the
era will never know what they are facing next.
It was a very hot day at the age of 14, and she could have a concert the next day. Zhu Xiaomei prepared Beethoven's "Sorrow" sonata, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, and Chopin's Etude No. 25 In the third song, she has practiced these pieces for a long time and has become familiar with it. At the concert, teacher Pan Yiming will also personally perform the string part of the Mozart Piano Concerto for her.
However, she lost this opportunity that could have been a blockbuster.
Zhu Xiaomei when she was young
Zhu Xiaomei, who is full of joy, is not waiting for a concert, but a criticism meeting . An unintentional joke when she was playing with classmates and her family background that had long been labelled as "bad background" became her "criminal evidence."
When she was young, she was detained in a small dark room for 3 days to "self-examine", and the criticism would be one after another, leaving her with no hope.
during that time, became the source of her unusual humility and being sought after. She always "reflects": "Did I do something wrong?" When praised by everyone, she said: "Don't hold me too high, how old I am."
chasing dreams, always leaving home. After the Cultural Revolution, Zhu Xiaomei embarked on the "road to study" to the United States. "I know she will leave, her mind is not here, she is a fierce person." is now a well-known piano educator Chen Da recalled.
In order to collect the ticket money, my mother wanted to sell the old man Robinson, but when the buyer came to pick up the piano, my mother suddenly cried, "You are leaving, and the piano is also gone, how can I live?" "No sale! Not for sale!"
In that era of inconvenience, parting was painful, and what was even more painful was drifting to a foreign country alone after parting.
What is the distance like? Is cruel. “I don’t understand English and I don’t have money.”
Zhu Xiaomei, who has never stopped to practice piano, can only start working frantically under the pressure of life: as a cleaner, as a nanny, as a waiter serving dishes..., In exchange for the opportunity to practice piano, she also asked to clean up the family hygiene for the female flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the other party’s condition was that "you can touch the piano when she is away, but when she hears her garage door ring, the practice stops immediately. ".
"As long as you can practice piano."
, the red light district of Boston, USA, this genius pianist is hidden among the running and toiling people at the bottom. With those hands that can play wonderful music, lifts up the roughness of life.
"At that time, I smelled my Bach and Beethoven scores, and I smelled a strong smell of soy sauce."
She did five or six jobs at the same time. The only time she could play the piano was short, and she was staying at someone else's home. She will be reprimanded as soon as she plays the piano:
"Can you play less" "It's annoying" "We all have jobsPeople at work"...
? What about
? The cautious Zhu Xiaomei found a solution in many trials: play Bach! Play "Gothenburg Variations"!
If Beethoven is passionate, Mozart is elegant, and Chopin is romantic Yes, Na Bach is peaceful and joyful. Bach, known as the "Father of Modern Western Music" and "Unsurpassed Master", is a "milestone" in the eyes of performers.
"I find that when I play He didn't talk about me when Bach, I thought, I have to find a Bach song, a bit longer, so that I can sit on the piano a little longer, , and that’s how it started. "
has experienced too many people, and cherish every gift of life. Zhu Xiaomei, who got the opportunity to practice piano, didn’t want to waste every second.
got her first chance to perform on stage in Paris in 1994. , she was 45 years old at that time.
"There is no opportunity to perform in the United States." After getting a master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, Zhu Xiaomei decided to go to Paris. Paris is a paradise for artists, and even the melody is floating in the air.
She eats a small orange every day, and a basket of small oranges only costs 10 francs. Carrots are the cheapest. Buy some carrots, add rice, and pack a few boxes of instant noodles to live like this.
"When eating instant noodles, I will beat another egg. . "My friends were worried about her malnutrition, but fortunately, she did not get sick.
Zhu Xiaomei bought small oranges in France
for fear of disturbing others. Zhu Xiaomei waited for her neighbors to go to work every day before starting to practice piano, "I only practice one every hour. Touching the keys and playing a song for 6 months is a very bitter thing. " Zhu Xiaomei sees every work very sacred.
In 1994, the Paris City Theater invited her to give her a solo concert. She was excited but did not dare to look forward to it.
"I just want to play. If there is one that can understand, then I I am very happy. As a result, more than two hundred people went to that night. I think this is an incredible thing. What made Zhu Xiaomei even more unexpected was that those neighbors she was afraid of "disturbing" not only "eavesdrop" at home for a long time, but also bought more than 60 tickets in private to listen to her concert.
Since then, her concerts began to be full.
However, "hot" she seldom agreed to hold solo concerts, and was unwilling to choose a large-scale concert hall, and hardly did interviews or publicity. For her, life has not changed except for more people listening to her music. Before going on stage to play, she will spend more than 6 months to practice a piece of music. When there is no concert, She is still in her small attic, playing from morning to night.
is on her, you can still see the "clumsy" of the older generation of geniuses.
And now in this era, every touch of a key is not negligent, There are too few people who are willing to spend 6 months to prepare a piece of music.
Zhu Xiaomei has also deeply felt the difference between generations while teaching. "I have a student in a conservatory of music, and he will prepare one in two weeks. Beethoven's sonata, I said you are not kidding me? As a result, he said, Mr. Zhu, it’s not necessary to be as serious as you! "
However, Zhu Xiaomei, who lives a low-key life of "a scoop of food and a drink", did not expect that one day, she will become the first person in the world who can play in front of Bach's tomb.
How many pianists are this in a lifetime? The "recognized" award that she could not get, was a miracle for her.
In November 2014, Thomas Church, Leipzig, Germany, in front of Bach’s tomb.
Zhu Xiaomei wore a black middle-aged suit, and the same-eared girl's hair was combed neatly.
The moment she walked in, there was a burst of applause from the quiet and silent audience sitting below.
staggered to the piano, placed her right hand on her abdomen and bowed deeply.
gently dropped her hands on the piano keys, Zhu Xiaomei raised her head, tears flickering in her eyes.
When the first note is pressed, all the suffering and exhaustion of the past seem to disappear, leaving all the taste of getting what you want. The
fingers are beating on the piano keys. When it is soft, it flows like a stream, and when it changes, it drops down like a mountain waterfall, falling into the rippling valley of the blue water. It is natural and spectacular.
has no pretentiousness, no exaggeration, simple and touching.
The sound of the piano that reverberated in the empty small attic before, at this moment, remained in front of Bach's grave along her fingertips that touched the keys.
closed his eyes, pursed his mouth, and nodded. The 65-year-old man, sitting in front of the piano, seemed to have a conversation with Bach across time and space.
More than 70 minutes of performance, experienced lyrical adagio, friendly and natural fugue, inspiring toccata... But in this magnificent and timeless variation, the fixed bass lines are the same, just like Zhu Xiaomei's life.
Life is so complicated and changeable, my heart is always the same. After pressing the last key of
, the sound of the piano stopped. Zhu Xiaomei sat in front of the piano without moving for a long time, and took a deep breath, seeming to suppress the choking coming up.
"Life, what I want is fulfilled, and I don't have any more wishes."
Applause rang out, everyone involuntarily stood up and applauded, and the applause lasted for a while, making her who had left turn around and come back again. Put your hands together and bow again and again.
until she left again, the applause continued.
You must go and listen to Zhu Xiaomei's "Gothenburg Variations", she played as pure and innocent as the work was written. —— "Le Figaro"
Like in the old spring of the forest, crystal drops of water lie on the keyboard, breathing calmly, and expressing comfort with the body. ——Humanist Zhao Yuesheng
is not so much a late bloomer, as it is the audience's afterthought of genius.
In 2014, Zhu Xiaomei, who had spent most of her life abroad, returned to China and performed "Gothenburg Variations" in Shanghai. Although
was born in Shanghai, she moved to Beijing with her family when she was young, so most of her love for the city came from her mother's talk. In the 50 years since she moved out of Shanghai, this woman with "Shanghai feelings" is looking forward to going back again, but unfortunately she left before she could realize it.
So "returning to Shanghai", for Zhu Xiaomei, is also fulfilling a wish for her mother.
"My biggest regret is that my mother has never listened to my solo concert."
Many music fans in China know about Zhu Xiaomei, starting with the article "Looking for Zhu Xiaomei" by the well-known music critic Zhang Kexin. Why did
look for Zhu Xiaomei? Because I can't find it!
After the concert in China, she returned to the small attic on the Seine River again, still playing in silence.
A reporter asked her: "Will you come back often in the future?"
Zhu Xiaomei: "Depending on the situation, there is a Chinese saying "knowing oneself".Excuse me, it depends on my ability to continue playing. "
is very silent, very proud, never dependent, never looking.
70-year-old Zhu Xiaomei is still playing.
Tencent video: Zhu Xiaomei "Gothenburg Variations"
Youku video: Zhu Xiaomei documentary "The Mei Secret" English translation: The Mei Secret Piano"
FT Chinese website: "Breakfast with Zhu Xiaomei"
Shanghai Caifeng Monthly: "Zhu Xiaomei: Seclusion on the Keyboard"
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