TIME FLEW BY QUICKLY.
WITH THE RECITAL COMING UP, I'VE BEEN SPENDING EVERY MOMENT TRYING TO FINISH THE COMPOSITION PIECE.
HOW LONG HAS THE DOORBELL BEEN RINGING...?!
RYAN EVEN CAME BY TO CHECK IF I WAS STILL ALIVE.
WHY WEREN'T YOU ANSWERING YOUR PHONE?!
WHEN MY THOUGHTS GET TANGLED WHILE COMPOSING...
...I COME HERE TO QUIETLY GAZE AT THE OCEAN.
WATCHING THE WAVES SHATTER AND SCATTER...
...MAKES ME FEEL AS IF SOMETHING INSIDE ME IS MELTING AWAY.
PEACEFUL YET INTENSE DAYS WENT BY.
FEBRUARY 27TH, AU 723.
ANNETTE ROZENBERG PERFORMED HER FIRST COMPOSITION.
A PIANO ÉTUDE IN C MINOR, OP. 1. UNTITLED.
COMPOSED OF ARPEGGIOS*...
...THE PIECE CARRIED A CALM, SOMBER TONE THROUGHOUT...
* arpeggio: a technique of playing chord notes in sequence rather than simultaneously.
...BUT ENDED IN A MAJOR KEY, LEAVING BEHIND A QUIET RESONANCE OF HOPE.
THE COMPOSITION RECITAL WAS A MODEST EVENT TO SHOWCASE NEW COMPOSERS...
...BUT IT DREW A LOT OF INTEREST BECAUSE ANNETTE WAS INVOLVED.
THE MELODY WAS TRULY BEAUTIFUL.
I THINK THE PIECE WOULD ALSO SUIT A MORE LYRICAL PERFORMANCE AT A SLOWER TEMPO.
IT'S A GREAT PIECE FOR PRACTICING SMOOTH FINGERING.
WHILE IT HAS NO OFFICIAL TITLE, I'D LIKE TO CALL IT WINTER WAVES.
THE PIECE RECEIVED WARM PRAISE.
FELIX KAFKA, PIANIST AND MUSIC CRITIC, LEFT A BRIEF REVIEW:
MS. ROZENBERG'S WORK IS WHAT I WOULD CALL THE AESTHETIC EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION OF PIANISM.
THANK GOODNESS THE PERFORMANCE WENT SMOOTHLY.
OH MY...!
CONGRATULATIONS.
H.W.
AND SO...
...THE FINAL BREEZE OF FEBRUARY GENTLY CLOSED THE WINTER SEASON.
Final Episode
GOOD, THIS SHOULD BE HIGH ENOUGH.
IT'S A GOOD THING I HAD SOMEONE COME AND RAISE THE FENCE.
...THE KEY ANNETTE SENT ME.
WHY DID SHE TELL ME TO COME SEE HER IN MARCH?
IS SHE GOING TO END EVERYTHING?
TELL ME WE SHOULD LIVE ON AS COMPLETE STRANGERS?
WHATEVER ANNETTE SAYS, I'LL ACCEPT IT.
IF SHE SAYS IT'S OVER, THEN SO BE IT.
IF SHE NEVER WANTS TO SEE ME AGAIN, I'LL DISAPPEAR FROM HER LIFE FOR GOOD.
AND YET...
IF, DESPITE EVERYTHING, SHE SAYS IT'S ALRIGHT...
THAT'S WHAT I WISH FOR MORE THAN ANYTHING...
THIS MELODY...?
AH.
IT'S THAT SONG.
THE MELODY FROM THE MUSIC BOX.
JUST AS SHE PLAYED IT AS A CHILD...
...A LITTLE SLOW IN TEMPO, THE MELODY GENTLY FALTERING...
...ANNETTE IS PLAYING IT AGAIN NOW, WITH HER INJURED LEFT HAND.
SUDDENLY, MEMORIES FROM THAT DAY ARISE LIKE AN OLD DREAM.
A BUILDING SO PURE AND WHITE THAT IT FELT UNTOUCHABLE...
...AND A MELODY DRIFTING THROUGH THE CURTAINS FLUTTERING IN THE BREEZE.
THE SOFT GRASS BENEATH MY FEET. AND...
...THE TINY HANDS MOVING ACROSS THE KEYS OF THE GRAND PIANO.
A GIRL, AS DELICATE AND LOVELY AS A DOLL...
THESE MOMENTS THAT LINGERED LIKE A LONG, DRAWN-OUT ILLNESS.
A FACE I NEVER SAW UP CLOSE...
...BUT ONE I TRACED OVER AND OVER IN MY MIND EACH NIGHT.
I KNEW IT WAS FORBIDDEN, BUT I FOUND MYSELF WISHING...
...THAT HER BLUE EYES WOULD GLANCE MY WAY, EVEN JUST ONCE.
I WISHED TO SHARE A LONG CONVERSATION WITH HER.
SHE IS STILL SO BEAUTIFUL, EVEN NOW.
SO BEAUTIFUL THAT IT ALMOST FEELS WRONG...
...ALMOST FRIGHTENING TO WANT HER.
HEINER.
WHY ARE YOU STILL OUT HERE INSTEAD OF COMING IN?
BECAUSE...
...BECAUSE THE MUSIC WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.
THE FEELINGS I WISHED TO SHARE THAT DAY...
...AND THE WORDS I'VE LONGED TO SAY FOR SO LONG... I'M FINALLY ABLE TO EXPRESS THEM NOW.
HMM. MY PLAYING IS ALL OVER THE PLACE...
BUT THIS WAS ONE OF THE ÉTUDES I FREQUENTLY PLAYED AS A CHILD.
USUALLY, PIANO PRACTICE BEGAN WITH ÉTUDES...
I PLAYED SO MUCH I GOT SICK OF IT.
THE PIECE YOU PRESENTED THIS TIME IS ALSO AN ÉTUDE, ISN'T IT?
YES. THAT'S WHY I'VE BEEN PRACTICING THE PIECES I PLAYED WHEN I WAS YOUNGER.
THE PIECES ANNETTE PLAYED AS A CHILD...
EVEN IF I DON'T KNOW THEIR TITLES, I'M CONFIDENT I REMEMBER THEM ALL.
IT WAS WHEN YOU WERE PLAYING THAT PIECE.
HM?
THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU.
I SEE...
HEINER, DO YOU KNOW THE TITLE OF THIS PIECE?
...NO, I DON'T.
I DIDN'T LOOK IT UP ON PURPOSE.
IT WAS A MEMORY I WANTED SO DESPERATELY TO ERASE.
THIS ÉTUDE IS PART OF A SUITE CALLED THE IRREGULARITY OF LOVE.
IT'S A CLASSICAL STYLE PIECE, QUITE AN OLD ONE.
IT WAS A MELODY THAT DISTORTED THE COURSE OF MY LIFE...
...SO ALL I COULD DO WAS HATE IT.
MY BELOVED OPPRESSOR
THAT'S THE TITLE OF THIS PIECE.
...MY BELOVED OPPRESSOR.
AFTER A LONG AND WINDING ROAD, I ARRIVED AT AN ANSWER THAT FEELS INEVITABLE.
PERHAPS...
FROM THE MOMENT I FIRST HEARD THAT MELODY IN THE ROSE GARDEN OF THE ROZENBERG ESTATE...
...MY FATE HAD ALREADY BEEN SEALED.
HEINER, I CALLED YOU HERE BECAUSE I WANTED YOU TO HEAR ME PLAY.
MY LEFT HAND MIGHT BE A LITTLE CLUMSY, BUT STILL...
IF YOU CAN'T HEAR IT FROM FAR AWAY,
THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO BE CLOSE TO YOU.
CLOSE ENOUGH THAT, EVEN IF ONE DAY YOU LOSE YOUR HEARING COMPLETELY...
YOU'LL STILL BE ABLE TO SEE MY HANDS AS THEY PRESS EACH PIANO KEY,
RIGHT HERE, BY YOUR SIDE.
...I WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT IN PERSON.
THIS IS MY ANSWER.
YOU ARE MY ONE AND ONLY PIANIST.
AND I, YOUR ONLY AUDIENCE...
...SHARE THIS MOMENT WITH YOU, ONE THAT FEELS AS IF IT COULD LAST FOREVER.
Annette.
when my life eventually falls to ruin, you'll be the only thing that remains.
because you have been, and always will be, my everything.
Annette.
the punishment of my life.
my beautiful shackles.
with all of my heart, with all that i am,
i love you...
...my Beloved Oppressor.
Preparing for her recital, Annette devotes her days to finishing her composition and performs her untitled étude in C minor, Op. 1, on February 27, AU 723. The piece, which begins calm and melancholic and ends hopefully in a major key, receives great praise, earns a review from Felix Kafka, and a congratulatory note signed H.W. In the finale, Heiner comes to see her in March with the key Annette sent him; with the childhood étude and the My Dear Cruel One confession, the two bond with each other.
