发表评论-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

I must say, I wasn’t too particularly amped up for this year’s Golden Key music festival performance. Due to the last year’s blunder through the March of the Dwarfs, I had a sense of pressure like never before. However, my nerves settled from the previous events that same day.

On a Saturday in early June, I was scheduled for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) testing. And, coincidentally, it was the same day as my Golden Key Recital. Luckily, the performance was scheduled for eight o’clock in the evening, giving plenty of time for testing. So why am I testing? Well, Mom wanted me to get an idea of what the test looked like in Math, English, and Writing before high school, as my scores now actually don’t count toward anything. But some people think testing takes a lot out of your energy. And truthfully, it does. However, when there are more stressful events on your pallet, something to grab your focus isn’t the worst thing to have.

After the SAT exam, Mom and I directly headed to Metro Park to catch an NJ transit to New York City, where we would tour around the South Street Seaport in Downtown Manhattan for a while and then have a slow, nice dinner by the East River, followed by a stroll to Carnegie Hall in Midtown, enjoying the city life around us…

None of that happened. Instead, we missed the nearest train by ten minutes, and we just so happened to hit a break in the schedule. Therefore, we waited for forty minutes, only to discover that the train was late and would be arriving around half an hour late. By then, Mom and I had discussed and realized that we weren’t going to have time to tour. The moment we reached Penn Station in the city, we hopped on a subway to Chinatown and quickly ate a meal there. And then we rushed to Carnegie Hall where the fun really began.

For the first time since I started the Golden Key Music Festival, I wasn’t put during the night performance. Here, the level of play is elevated in general, from the list of songs to the guest artist. I wasn’t too nervous; my piece was quite easy to remember. And the Weill Recital Hall, as usual, featured a single pot of roses in the center of the stage and probably the best Steinway piano I’ve ever played. By now, I’ve gotten over the queasy, nervous feeling that plagued me for so many years. The performance went quite well; I can’t say flawless due to a fingering mistake near the middle. But I do believe that my childish stage fright has passed its turn. Coming onto the stage, I took deep breaths and calmly began the song, Prelude in C# Minor, by Rachmaninoff, one of my favorite composers. This tune features a contrasting yet repeating theme of the same melody, played through many different perspectives. From a soft, peaceful beginning to the raging storm toward an eventual finish, this musical piece sets me a large step forward. The song also, like many other preludes, features a very different middle section. In this case, the most annoying set of broken chords I’ve had to play ever. However, these issues greatly improved my ability on the piano.

This prelude, played by many professionals all around the world, is more than a kid’s song. The music, now in my back pocket, is a competitive, professional-level tune that I am very proud of. I’ve worked on it for months and seeing come this far really wonders what tougher songs of the future can show me.

【红霞译文】

我承认，今年“金色键盘音乐节”上本人胸有成竹，去年因为在表演《格里格·矮人进行曲》时出现失误，所以心里难免感觉一种前所未有的压力，好在今天上台前我早已摆脱以往那种紧张。

六月初的星期六，我按计划参加大学升学考试，无巧不成书！“金色键盘音乐节汇报演出”恰好在同一天举行，幸亏登台时间定于晚上八点钟，让我有足够的时间应付考试。为何考试呢？原来妈妈想要我在进入高中之前探试一下数学、英语及写作究竟高深到什么程度，反正成绩优劣都不记录在案，但有人认为考试太耗精力，此话千真万确。不过一旦各种压力向你袭来，抓住重点总归没啥坏处。

考完SAT之后，我和妈妈直捣都市火车站赶乘开往纽约的新泽西捷运，打算一到纽约先去下城南街码头闲逛，顺路到东河岸边慢慢享用晚餐时光，酒足饭饱后再消食遛弯至中城卡内基(意指“豁口堡垒”)音乐厅，借机体尝一把都市生活……

我们什么好事都没摊上，反倒因为晚来十分钟而错过上一趟班车，随即车站进入午休状态，仍需继续等待四十分钟，末了通知又说火车晚点大半个钟头，叫我们上天无路入地无门。情知人生无常世事难料，我还是找妈妈商量对策，既然已经意识到没工夫悠哉游哉，何不立刻从终点宾夕法尼亚火车站改乘地铁直捣中国城，突击解决温饱问题，最后火速冲向真正较劲的卡内基音乐厅。

自打第一次参加金色键盘音乐节，我从未被安排在晚场亮相，要知道无论是个人弹奏的音乐作品，还是友情出演的客座艺术家，晚上水平一般比较高。因为我所弹奏的谱子很容易背，所以并不感觉紧张。威尔(意指“别墅”)独奏厅装饰如旧，舞台中央摆放着一瓶红玫瑰和一台最让我称道的斯坦威钢琴。到目前为止，我已经克服困扰多年的紧张情绪。演出相当成功，但决非完美无缺，快弹到中间的地方指法有点纰漏，不过我坚信童年怯场的时代一去不复返。登台时我深呼吸，开始泰然自若地弹奏《升C小调前奏曲》，这首曲子由我喜爱的作曲家之一拉赫曼尼诺夫谱写，采用复三部曲式，突出宣叙调特点。从温情祥和的慢板到激情豪迈的快板再回归命运主题。这部作品让我受益匪浅，如同其它前奏曲，中间部分激情豪迈，表现手法卓有不同，难怪我这辈子从来没弹过这么多令人抓狂的分解和弦，琴艺水平因此而得到极大提高。

这首序曲不同于儿童作品，世界上许多专业人士都曾演奏过。现在它装进本人书包成为自己角逐实力的范本，让我甚感自豪。我已经练习了好几个月，工夫不负有心人，想必将来自己能够驾驭更难的曲目。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2012届光华中文学校毕业典礼(2012 GHCS Commencement)

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