#shosty 10

[jaycesplace]

I made it in to the 2nd-to-best orchestra :3 very happy

[skitskatdacat63]

This video made me need to sit down and take a breather cause jfc

Sometimes it almost makes me angry when I'm listening to a new Shostakovich symphony, like how the fuck are you this good at composing, god damn you. With that preface. Holy shit I mentioned it the other day but, Symphony 11 as a whole is sooooooo good, and I'll probably ramble about it more at some point, BUT PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS PART, ITS SO INSANE?????

[hayleylovesjessica]

Drop some classical recs, babe!

Okay, this is very weird and idiosyncratic on my part, but one of the first pieces of classical music to get me into that whole genre was String Quartet No. 8 by Dmitri Shostakovich, the preeminent composer of Soviet Russia. In his youth in the 1920s, he was an idealistic communist, but by the 1960s, he was incredibly jaded with the Soviet state. So, as an elder statesman of Soviet cultural life, when he was, at long last, forced by the state to join the Party, he wrote this piece as a su*c!de note. (BTW, the biographical and historical contexts are so important with Shostakovich's music. With him, you can't separate the personal and the political.) The four-note motif that recurs throughout consists of his initials in German musical notation (D-S-C-H), and there are lots of self-quotations from earlier works of his throughout. In the event, he didn't unalive himself, which is a good thing, but in some sense it doesn't matter: It's an absolutely haunting work that's a great intro to Shosti in particular and to chamber music in general.

The recording of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 made back in the early 1990s by the Kronos Quartet is the greatest that I've ever heard. In fact, the entire KQ album that it appears on, Black Angels, where all the pieces are in some sense about war and atrocity, is fascinating. What's more, all the classic KQ albums from the early to late 1990s are completely worth hearing because they're all thematically conceptualized in some way -- one is an African album (Pieces of Africa), another is a late/post-Soviet album (Night Prayers), one is a medieval and early Renaissance album (Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ)), another is an American album (Howl, U.S.A.), etc.

It's also well worth hearing Shostakovich's large-scale symphonic works, which are vital parts of the 20th-century repertoire, particularly Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 10. They've all been recorded so many times. So, for these four symphonies, I recommend the recordings by Neeme Järvi (Nos. 4 and 5), Yuri Temirkanov (No. 7), and Herbert von Karajan (No. 10). Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 is practically a symphony in construction, and most violinists consider among the greatest ever composed, alongside those by Beethoven and Brahms. There are awesome recordings of it featuring the violinists Lisa Batiashvili, Maxim Vengerov (my personal fave), and Nicola Benedetti.

Along with Shostakovich, the other two great 20th-century Russians, Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky, were my point of entry into classical. (I'm leaving out Prokofiev because I just don't think he was as strong, but by God he wrote some great pieces: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3, Violin Concerto No. 1, Romeo and Juliet, Piano Sonatas Nos. 6-8.)

With Rachmaninoff, it's all about two things: The first is his Symphony No. 2. There are great recordings by Ivan Fischer, Mikhail Pletnev, and Andre Previn/London Symphony. His Third Symphony and Symphonic Dances are also really good and worth seeking out. The second thing is his piano concertos, especially Nos. 2 and 3 and the work known as the Paganini Rhapsody. These are the Mount Everest of pianists in the classical music world. The best recordings, IMHO, are Krystian Zimerman in No. 2 with Simon Rattle/Berlin Philharmonic, Martha Argerich in No. 3 with Riccardo Chailly/Berlin Radio Symphony, and Daniil Trifonov in the Paganini Rhapsody with Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Philadelphia Orchestra.

As for Stravinsky, most people would say that the four great ballets (The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and Apollo) are the must-hears. They're all SO different from one another, and at the same time, they're all so unmistakably cut from the same musical cloth. I would also add another less-well-known ballet, Les Noces (The Wedding), which was written for chamber choir, four pianos, and lots of percussion (awesome textures, a really cool and fun piece), and the Symphony of Psalms, which is Stravinsky's statement on humanity's relationship with God, mortality, and faith. I'm agnostic, but I find the work extremely moving, as well as endlessly compositionally interesting. Pierre Boulez, who was probably one of the two greatest composer-conductors of the 20th century after Mahler, made what are probably the best Stravinsky recordings. Some prefer his early recordings for Columbia, which later became Sony Classical, but I've always preferred his later recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. With Les Noces, there are two standout recordings, those led by Valery Gergiev and Teodor Currentzis.

Mahler's music is life-changing, period. Bernstein, who was the other greatest post-Mahlerian composer-conductor, is king in this repertoire. Like Boulez and Stravinsky, he began his recording career with Columbia and then moved to DG. I'm just not a big fan of his Columbia Mahler recordings, though mainly because the engineering just doesn't do these works justice. DG's engineers create a sound picture that really lets the glory of these works come through. I started with Mahler's end, his Symphony No. 9, and I have no regrets. It's emotionally and spiritually epic, and at times, its beauty is shattering.

As I said, Bernstein is the way to go when listening to Mahler, but there's one exception, Das Lied von der Erde, a kind of song-symphony that's basically sui generis in the repertoire. Pierre Boulez made a gorgeous recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, Michael Schade, and Violeta Urmana. Better singers have sung the six songs that comprise this work, but no orchestra-conductor tandem has ever played it better, and the way the last chord just hangs in the air, a C major chord with an augmented sixth that never resolves, like a glimpse onto eternity... I have no words...

Jaycee, I could do another post just as long on solo piano music (Bach! Beethoven! Chopin! Liszt! Debussy!), in addition to a long-ass post on OTHER orchestral works. Let me know if you want 'em!

[purplepintobean-blog]

This snapchat filter works perfectly with the 2nd movement of Shostakovich 10

[shes-the-king]

race: *pulls up in his dance studio's parking lot next to his not-boyfriend(it’s complicated)'s dad in his car playing Shosty 10 mvt 2 as loud as possible with the windows down*

[sad--pianist]

I'm so excited!!!!!! Tomorrow I'm off to the proms to see shosti 9 and his 2nd piano concerto ahhhhhhyhhyyy

[hotguysfugue]

fun drinking game

take a shot every time you hear the dsch motif in the third movement of shostakovich’s tenth symphony (i would’ve said eighth quartet but that’s just going to kill you lmao)

[classical-crap]

also I appreciate that there were people at the symphony head-banging but I was really disappointed at the lack of moshpits

[warningsine]

3, 6, 10, 16, 21

3:A song that reminds you of summertime

Mostly math rock tracks, 'cause that's when I occasionally have jam sessions with some friends of mine.

6:A song that makes you want to dance

Headbang more like.

10:A song that makes you sad

but also:

Cristin Milioti is like a siren to me. Enamored with both her voice and her acting.

16:One of your favorite classical songs pieces

Oh, that is such a broad question, but when in doubt, go with Shosty:

21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title

[schnitthead]

What your favorite composer says about you

Mozart: You love the "uh oh stinky" meme, youtube pranks, and/or fart jokes

Bach: You seem detached and emotionless but you're actually super sensitive

Beethoven: Your diet consists of only coffee and your own tears

Brahms: You love the dark academia aesthetic

Pachelbel: You're the kind of person to say you like all kinds of music, but only listen to pop

J F Rebel: You look for people who say that they like all kinds of music and show them mongolian throat singing

Bartok: Your biggest desire is to go absolutely feral and live in the woods

Kodaly: Your biggest desire is to live in a cozy cottage with like 10 kids

Dvorak: Your biggest desire is to be a bog witch and/or goblin

Berlioz: Yandere animes are your guilty pleasure

Paganini: You love showing off

Liszt: You're probably a huge simp for him ngl

Smetana: You get attached to places more than to people

Rachmaninoff: You love suffering

Chopin: You have a huge playlist of sad sounding pieces for you to cry to

Scriabin: You used to have a Welcome to my Twisted Mind tumblr blog

Shostakovich: You probably think he's cute and refer to him as "shosty" or "the shost"

Saint-Saens: You were always told that you're smart as a kid, and it messed you up

Debussy: You cried during every single disney movie

Ravel: Well, you're not a percussionist, that's for sure (alternatively: you love water)

Satie: You used to consider yourself "not like other girls" unironically

Schoenberg: You're either very chill or horribly elitist. No in betweens

Cage: You listen to those relaxing recordings of rain sounds

Xenakis: You are ready to fight anyone who says math is boring

Schnittke: You listened to the most unwanted song and you think it's a bop

[bozhydar]

thx @joof

-> last song listened to : shostie 2nd waltz

-> last movie watched : kill ur darlings

-> currently watching : nothimg

-> currently reading : the torah

-> currently craving :nestle resource 2.0 pineapple-mango

-> current project : letters for friemd

-> current mood : 2/10

-> current wish : to gain 15 kg

-> currently learning : hebrew

-> something that makes you proud : my puppy

[its-not-a-xylophone]

Reason no. 184619 why Shosty is a legend

So I'm analysing a bunch of pieces for a paper about how the use of timpani has changed between the Baroque era and now, and among those pieces is Shostakovich Symphony no.10.

As if shoving the second movement into Bb minor and giving the timps a bunch of solos wasn't enough, right at the end of the last movement, he gets the timpani to play the DSCH MOTIF, AS A SOLO, REPEATEDLY.

To me, as a concert timpanist, this is awesome, because we practically never get any melody at all, let alone a melody that significant.

Conclusion: Shosty is a legend.

[composerinprogress]

only just got started on this, but since my computer has the firepower to handle a project like this, I’m going to do a mockup of shosty 10 using the berlin series.

[lemonflavouredspatula]

Tagging Game

tagged by @sdewan6 (thank youuuuuuu:))

Rules: answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better. (bold of you to assume i know 21 people)

Nicknames: Luce, Loops, Loopy, Lucifer, Satan (i’m not evil, my name just means the same as Lucifer sooooo ye)

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 5′ 10″

Last movie I saw: I can’t tell you the last film i actually put on and sat down to watch cos i can’t remember lmao, but there was a film that came on after something i was watching the other day called the maiden heist(?) i think??? it had william h macy, morgan freeman and christopher walken and they were all like horny for art it was weird but yeah that happened

Last thing I googled: okay no this is too funny so i just googled the exact definition of bigot cos i needed it and this is what came up

I died 

(apparently it only comes up if you accidentally type ‘bigoty’ definition which i may or may not have done lmao but nonetheless, trump is the definition according to google and i, personally, 110% agree)

Favorite Musician: Tonight Alive is my all time fav band but classical wise it’s my main man Shosty

Song stuck in my head: heaven by bryan adams cos i've used it in the fic i’m writing and you can bet your arse it’s for a sad reason (i love my harringrove boys, i do, but this fic is currently 20k words of heartbreak and i’m not sorry, pls love me)

Other blogs: i have one but i barely ever use it and it’s just filled with sad shit tbh, i only ever use it when i’m mentally in a v bad place and tbh it probably doesn’t help but LOL oh well, queen of self destruction me

Do I get asks: occasionally and i treasure each and every single one like a dog does its human

Following: 1958 lmao

Amount of sleep: 6 hours on a weekday probably but like maybe 8 on the weekend providing my mental health is okay™, if not then like 4 maybe

Lucky Number: 10

What I’m wearing: grey ripped jeans, a black t shirt and my school leavers hoodie

Dream job: can i get paid to write fanfic for a living? I do that whilst i’m at work now lmao. But seriously, classical flautist in a classical orchestra would be my ultimate dream yet i currently work in tv go figure (i did previously want to be an editor but since having this job and being able to do some of the edit, i have realised that mentally i cannot cope with 12 hour days stuck looking at a screen in the same bleak office with strict deadlines and arsehole supervisors so yeah, tv is fun and all, i like the fact that you’re not bound to the same people forever and there are some lovely people in the industry, the hours make you go mad granted but i get to drive the actors around and stuff in my current job and they are lovely, but i need something more creative and freeing and yeah, i like my job, i really do, but i think mentally it is having a negative impact on me and that isn’t great™) music has always been the one thing i fall back to and never really leave though so if i can’t get paid to write fanfic for a living then i guess i’ll have to go with that lmao (jks, music is my life i can’t live without it, i need to work in music to stay somewhat sane)

Dream trip: travelling round Scandinavia because it’s all so pretty and also maybe a visit to Ōkunoshima island becuase so. many. BUNNIES.

Favorite Food: any and all fruit, mainly strawberries, kiwis and pears though like omG they are a blessing but yes give me fruit all day every day

Do you play any instruments?: i play the flute mainly and i love it with my whole heart, but i can also play piano, sing and dabble on violin and guitar

Languages: I speak English fluently, but i know a bit of Italian, very basic Norwegian and i studied Spanish for like 4 years so i think i’d probably know a bit if i tried lmao (my teacher was s h i t)

Favourite songs: Power of One by Tonight Alive is like an all time fav of mine and 'Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente' by Ermal Meta&Fabrizio Moro has a very firm forever place in my heart but i’m currently obsessed with ‘Dance Like Nobody’s Watching’ - Saara Aalto, ‘Go Beyond’ - Rasmussen, ‘Чудова Мить’ - Mélovin, Candlelight - Jack Savoretti, La Venda - Miki Nuñez and Freaks - Jordan Clarke because i’m still in denial about our entry (i am severe eurovision trash if that wasn’t obvious lmao) but there are so many i love and like it depends what mood i’m in, they can all be my fav in that moment but you’ve caught me on a good day so you get the happy ones, not the really sad and depressing ones that would make everyone severely worry about my mental health lmao

Random Fact: i have metal plates in both of my knees cos i used to be a wonky bitch

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: a long drive through the night, warm enough to have the windows down but not too warm it’s uncomfortable, you’re favourite album is on repeat, the sky so clear you can see each and every star lighting your way, feeling so relaxed, there isn’t a single thing bothering you or making the moment seem less than what it is, it’s just seconds, minutes, hours of unwavering, blissful, happiness, it doesn’t solve your problems, but it makes you feel the best you’ve felt in a while. (whelp that got out of hand, but my god do that if you never have, it is so f r e e i n g)

Tagging: @billyscamar0 @harringtons-bf @billnsteve @absolutedad @call-me-haley @uncle-keery @bananase221 @pretty-pendragon @spacegaiys and literally anyone else out there who wants to do it, i tag you all 

feel free to ignore, i won’t take it personally lmao

[asoftpsychnerd]

tag game

rules: tag 10 people you want to know better and answer the questions below.

i was tagged by @secretstradivarius! (wow it has been a long time since i was last on tumblr... i’m surprised you still remember i exist!)

relationship status: single

favourite colour: pale pastel blue

top three ships: Casey and Issie from Atypical (OH MY GOSH I LOVE THOSE TWO), Newt and Tina from Fantastic Beasts, Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99 (is this even still a ship now they’re together??)

lipstick or chapstick: lipstick, although i wear makeup next to never because i feel like it’s rarely justified in my daily life!

last song listened to: Body Gold by Oh Wonder

last movie: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

i’ll tag @mahler-kart, @justanothertrumpetplayer, @flutenby, @flutissimo, @maes-music, @lavenderviolist, @shosty-induced-migraine, @gay-cellist, @viola-ing and @emmasuoh ☺️

[exidtotheleft]

The Devil’s Trill | 04

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader Genre: Musician AU/Fluff Summary: Min Yoongi is a harsh music critic and judge known for his brutally honest input. When it comes your time to face his judgement, things go down different than you expected. The judge may end up becoming more than just a person to be feared to you. Chapter Playlist: Trille du diable (The Devil’s Trill) Chapters: Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Epilogue

You groaned in bed as you turned over. You were starting to awaken, and you heard your phone chime with a text notification which was what woke you the rest of the way. You picked up your phone, squinting at the screen. Your eyes adjusting to the light. When they had adjusted just enough, you made out the contact name that had sent the message. It was Yoongi. Suddenly, after seeing that, you were fully awake. You shot up from your bed and sat up straight. You opened the message and blinked before reading it. It was the address to his house, followed by the question: "What time where you planning on coming?" You looked at the time on the top corner of your phone. It was 8:03 A.M. right now. You wanted to go as soon as you could. You could honestly bolt out the door right now if you wanted to, you were so excited. But you knew you should give him some time to get ready. You replied back with the closest time that seemed reasonable.

 'How about 10, or is that too early?"

You pressed send and took a fast exhale. Turning your screen off immediately and dropping your phone as soon as your finger pressed the send button. You didn't want to even look at your phone as you waited for his reply. This was so nerve wracking to you. You heard your phone chime before you could even get out of your bed though. He was a quick responder.

Yoongi: '10 is fine. The earlier the better.'

You read. You pushed your lips together firmly after reading that, not knowing if you should respond or not. But you just replied with the first thing that came to mind.

 'Okay, see you then'

Once the message was sent, you threw the covers off of you and started changing. You took out a couple clothing options out, not knowing what exactly to wear. When you considered it, you didn't what to look too fancy and dressed up, but you had no idea what Yoongi was like. You didn't know what his living spaces were like and if he was a classy man or not. You assumed he was, seeing what he does for a living, and what your professor had said yesterday about him being a rich man. You decided you should put a bit of effort into what you wore. So you threw on a black blouse and nicely fitting jeans. You went into the bathroom and brushed out your hair, making sure it was tangle free before doing your normal makeup routine. Just enough to make it look like you put effort into your look.

Once you were done with that, you went go check your phone. Yoongi hadn't replied, but he saw your message. You checked the time, 8:20. You still had an hour, and then some, to kill. You sighed, not knowing what to do for that amount of time.

You lay down flat on your stomach on your bed and mindlessly scrolled through various social media posts and updates. You heard Lucy turn in the bed that was behind you. It sounded like she was waking up. "What time is it?" She mumbled through a groggy voice.  "8:20" you replied simply, even though it was a bit later than that.  "Damn." She replied, trying to completely wake herself up.

"You're dressed kinda nice for a weekend. Where are you going?"  "You know where I'm going." She went quiet for a moment to think.  "Oh!"  "Yeah."  "Ooo you look nice for him and everything."  "I only look nice because he probably dresses nice on a daily and I don't want to underdress."  "Sure." She teased.  "Really, that is why."  "Okay okay." She really was pushing that you and Yoongi thing. You heard her completely climb out of her bed, she came around and sat on the other side of you, where you could look up and see her. "What are you doing?"  "Nothing important. I'm just scrolling through twitter and what not."  "Ah." Silence thickened the air. You huffed and dropped your phone onto the bed when you came to the conclusion that nothing interesting was happening. "Do you wanna get breakfast or some thing?" You looked up at her and asked.  "I would but I honestly don't want to get dressed. We just bought stuff, we can make something. Isn't there pancake mix?"  "Yeah I remember buying that."  "Let's just do that then." You slowly stood up from your bed, both of you walked into the kitchen. Lucy got down a pan while you grabbed a bowl and the pancake mix. You opened the box of mix and held it up to pour some in the bowl, but Lucy stopped you. "Hey don't be doing that! Put it down." You furrowed your eyebrows and put the box down slowly. "You're gonna get pancake mix on your blouse."  "Oh my gosh Lucy I'm not your daughter."  "Well you are today and you're going on your first date!"  "Shut up!" You yelled back through laughter.  "No, you're gonna flip the pancakes and I'll mix them."  "Alright, what ever helps you sleep at night." You agreed while walking around the counter and to the stove. You put the small pan she had taken down on the electric stove, turning it on, waiting for her to finish adding the water to the bowl and mixing it.  "Here." She said while sliding the bowl over to you. You carefully picked up the bowl and poured a good amount of the mix into the pan and watched the bubbles form on top. Flipping it when you thought it was ready. It was a bit burnt, but could you ever really get these things cooked perfectly?

You continued doing this till you made 3 pancakes for both of you. You plated them and put them on your TV tray of a kitchen table and grabbed the syrup out of the small pantry. "Here." You and Lucy sat down on opposite sides of the table. You checked your phone before eating anything. It was still only 8:40, everything was going by so slow. This was killing you. You finally turned so your legs were fully under the table, and poured syrup on your breakfast. Taking a bite of what you had made. It was bland and clearly store bought, but it was still satisfying.  "What time where you going to Yoongi's?"  "Ten." You answered simply before taking another bite. "Dude, this is going by so slowly. I just want to go already." You vented. It was truly painful.  "I mean after this we can have like a two person party to kill time. I'll bust out my blue tooth speaker we can rock out to Shosty," You chuckled at that joke. Shosty was short for Shostakovich, who was a Russian composer. "Or that pop whatever you like. We can listen to what you want and totally annoy our neighbors."  "That sounds like a good idea."

_____

You took a deep breath as you pulled up the drive way of Yoongi's house, not surprised at what you saw but, very intimidated. His house was huge and all modernized. Your professor must to have been right about him being rich. Either that or he was swimming in debt. You said a quick prayer as you turned off your car and grabbed your violin from the passenger seat, sliding out of your car. You shut the door behind you and walked up the cement path way leading to his front door. There were bushes of flowers, all different colors along the way. It was really aesthetically pleasing.

Your heart was racing as you walked up to his front door. You checked the time on your phone. It was 10:05. You rang the door bell and held your breath for a moment in anticipation. This was the moment you had been waiting for. You watched the door crack open, expecting to see your new mentor looking just as nice as he did the other day when you saw him for the first time. But you were wrong about him dressing like that on a daily occurrence. He was in a black V-neck shirt and a purple flannel with casual jeans. You had worried about under dressing. Suddenly your makeup and nice flat shoes made you feel over dressed. "This isn't what I had expected to see." You joked, still standing on his porch.  "I'm not as classy as you think I am. You didn't have to dress so nice." "Whatever, I always try to look nice." You covered casually, you didn't want it to look like you dressed up for him.  "Sure. Come in." He invited stepping aside for you. You stepped onto the dark hardwood floor of his house. Even the floor seemed to be nicer than anything you owned. Besides your violin, that was.

"Jeez. You got quite the bachelor pad going on here."  "Yeah. I get that a lot." You looked around his front room. His house wasn't that big. It was just incredibly spacious. The front room was the living room. The entire back wall of the house was glass, so you could see into his up kept backyard. It made the house feel huge. To the right of the room, there was a pearl couch on top of a maroon rug, facing a marble fire place with a flat screen TV mounted over it. Next to the fireplace was an archway that seemed to lead to the kitchen. But, behind the couch a few feet was a white grand piano. Yoongi shut the front door as you took in the amazing design of his house and walked past you, straight to the piano you had been looking at.

"Well let's not waste time."  "Right." You agreed, taking your violin and putting it the coffee table that was in front of his couch. Taking out your violin and making sure it was in tune. "Alright. What you got for me?" You asked while standing and walking to the music stand he had set up for you.  "Are you familiar with Tartini?"  "Yeah, the Baroque composer."  "So I assume you know his most famous violin piece." You thought about it for a moment. You hadn't studied Tartini, you just knew him. So you weren't sure what piece we was referring to.  "I feel like I should. Isn't it in G minor?" Yoongi didn't say another word. He just took a book of music off his piano and looked at you, holding it up before taking a step toward you and putting the violin score on your stand. The second you saw the title your heart dropped. Suddenly, you remembered the piece he was most known for. The music book placed on your stand read: Trille du Diable across the top. Or what was better known as The Devil's Trill Sonata. It was an incredibly demanding piece, possibly one of the hardest violin sonata's written. Playing it had never even crossed your mind.

"Are you serious? You want me to play this?" You asked skeptically. Who did he think you were?  "I haven't heard this piece done the way I think it should be done. You could play it."  "You've heard me play once!"  "Yeah but it wasn't an easy piece that I heard."  "Yoongi I had been working on that since high school. I'm a senior in college and that was the first time I ever performed it. It took me that long to learn it."  "You didn't have help when you learned it."  "Yeah but, still! You don't even play violin! I know you're a pianist." Yoongi went silent, staring at you blankly before sighing and standing up.  "Do you ever shut up." He mumbled while walking to you, stopping in front of you with his left hand out like he wanted something.

"Violin." He demanded monotonous. You handed him the instrument slowly, you had a feeling he was about to prove you wrong.  "If I can play the first page of this sonata, you don't get to question me until we finish this. Deal?"  "I know I can't decline." You said quietly. You knew all too well that he was going to play it just fine and he was going to embarrass you for speaking out against him. You needed to learn to keep your mouth shut.  "Well then you're a smart girl."

You sat down on his pearl white couch and watched him as he opened the music and looked at the first page. You could see him trying out some of the notes with just his left hand and no bow as his eyes scanned the page. You could tell he was probably trying out the double stops and harmonies. He tilted his head back and to the side for a moment before took a breath in through his nose while putting the instruments under his chin. You watched him intently as he played the first note. You knew from the moment he started playing he would play this just fine. It was perfectly in tune. His vibrato wasn't specular, but violin wasn't his principle instrument so it was too be expected. As you watched him play, you got chills. You tried to fight them off but they still came anyway. It wasn't so much his playing or the way it sounded, but more that he was playing it. Something about him made it sounds so emotional and passionate. He really did know just how he wanted it to sound.

You rested your arm on the back of the couch and placed your chin on your arm. Admiring him as he played the double stops of the piece. You thought about the things Lucy said about him. You probably shouldn't be thinking of him like this, you were drinking in what you found to be attractive about him, but he just looked so good with your violin in his hand, you didn't care that he was showing you up, he looked good doing it.

Yoongi let the last note fade off your violin and pulled it out from under his chin. Not wasting a second before handing your instrument back to you, as you stood and walked toward him. "Welp, you know what this means. What I say, goes." "Yes yes, no more questions I know." You took your violin and he went over to the piano, lifting the hood that covered the keys and looked at you.  "Whenever you're ready."  "How fast do you want it?"  "I said no questions." You looked at Yoongi in disbelief. How were you not supposed to ask that? He looked at you blankly before looking away with a smile.  "I'm kidding. However fast you think it Should go. We're both sight reading so I don't think either of us would care much if we took it slow."  "Alright." You looked nervously at the music on your stand. The beginning was easy but the second page was when things heated up.

You put your bow on the string and looked at your new mentor, taking a breath in that was in time with the tempo you were planning on taking, which wasn't very fast. It was the same tempo he had just played it in. No way you would let him play this faster than you. Your pride wouldn't let you. The beginning was melodic and you really loved it. It acted as the calm before the storm. Some thing to really draw the listener in for the kill. You knew the second your eyes shifted to the next page that you were in for it. There was a reason this was the Devil's trill and not any one else's. You had a feeling your left hand and bowing arm Would be burning like hell when you were done with this.

You braced your self as the first high grace note of the of the second page hit. You played it confidently, but as soon as the fast 16th notes came in, that confidence vanished. You didn't even attempt to do the trills. You just tried your best to get the notes right. You were doing pretty well, but when the notes seemed to get denser and harder to read because of the amount of them, you started having to skip some notes. You made it out of the first section of demanding 16th notes by a thread. Yoongi stopped you when you got to the repeat.  "Let's take it a big slower."  "Please."  "How about..." Yoongi thought for a moment before tapping his fingers on the side of its piano, giving you the tempo. "That slow enough?"  "Yeah."  "Alright." Yoongi counted to four at the tempo you were going to play at and you started playing again once he got to one. Continuing the piece. You still got lost a few times but not as many.

Eventually, when you got to the parts with the crazy trills, you just tried your best and hoped it was good enough. You were really trying but you laughed as you did knowing it was way wrong. You could see Yoongi smiling too. He seemed amused. To you it felt like you were trying to do the impossible. When you got to the cadenza at the end of the piece, that was all solo violin and no piano, that feeling of trying the impossible only became stronger. Since it was a cadenza though, you had freedom with it, you could do what you wanted with it. Or, you could what you wanted with it to Yoongi's approval. Luckily because you were sight reading it, you could stop a lot to figure out what was happening in the music, and you didn't have to make sure you could catch up with Yoongi because he didn't play again till the second to last measure. So you played away, well, you tried away. This was unlike any cadenza you had ever played, or even seen before. It was insane. The whole page was practically black, like ants had been smashed on top of blank sheet music and it was your job to determine if these were even notes or not.

You slogged your way through to the last few measures, then Yoongi came in on the piano again. You started laughing again while you played, laughing at your pathetic attempt to get through this piece. Yoongi started laughing too when you tried to play the last note but ultimately gave up, not really caring anymore. "Good enough for you yet?" You joked.  "It was good for a sight read." It had taken you about 20 minutes to get through the whole piece. Which was 5 minutes longer than when it was up to speed. "You really think I can do this?" You asked after a silence filled the air. You weren't sure of yourself. You knew he probably already had a recital he wanted you to play this for, you didn't know how soon it was but you were afraid that maybe you wouldn't be able to prepare it that quickly. A piece like this could take years, depending on the musician.

"I know you can. You just have to assure yourself of that."  "Why are we working on this? I know you're not having me play a piece like this just for fun." Yoongi nodded.  "You're right. Truth is that, there's a recital on December 17th. Its not a competition, just a recital. A lot of people I know will be there and I wanted them to hear you." You didn't know what to say to that. Part of you was bummed it wasn't a competition, but the fact he felt like others needed to see you was touching.  "What's wrong? You don't seem pleased with that."  "Nothing is wrong, it's just that, I kinda wanted to do a competition with you." "Just a one rounder?" He asked, seeming disappointed with that decision.  "Yeah."  "You want to do a one round competition with this." He asked, though it was more of a statement.  "I know its not ideal, but, I just want to do one."

"No." That word stung you. He was so quick to answer.  "I'm not going to mentor a sandbagger. You're not gonna play a piece like this even if it is an advanced competition. It's a waste of a piece, no one could even touch you if we did. There would be no honor in it."  "Yoongi come on. Shouldn't I have a say in this?"  "Don't question me!" You fell silent, sighing as you put your bow on the stand in front of you.

"Fine." You agreed. Thinking up a proposition that could change everything. "Take me to nationals, then. You said if yourself that third place isn't first. Get me to first."  "Nationals aren't until February next year, its only September."  "So? Just more time to prepare. Yoongi, please. Let me have this." You pleaded, you really wanted to show him that you could do this. Then he would really have something to brag about to his colleagues.

You two met eyes, holding the eye contact, you hoped that how much you wanted was evident in your gaze.  You could practically feel that tension you had felt from him the other night at your evaluation building again. Like you had some kind of affect on him. He swallowed and looked away, closing his eyes and shaking his head in defeat. "Okay...okay. We can go to nationals." "Really?!" You yelled, you thought for sure he would deny you this.  "Yes."  "Okay! Okay, if that's the case, then let's play!" You exclaimed in excitement, putting your violin back under your chin and picking up your bow. A smile was spread across your face, eager to play what he asked you to.

He laughed at how you had reacted before looking up and at his score. "Let's Start the second page. No trills and about half as slow as normal, just get the notes in tune and we'll put everything back in later." He instructed before taking his music off the piano's stand and setting it in his lap. "Go ahead, I'll follow along." Without another word, you put your bow to the string with a new found desire. A want to go above and beyond with this piece, even if a few minutes ago you were doubting yourself. You wanted this now, and as you played the piece slower, you could hear that desire in every note. Yoongi noticed it just as much as you did.