Mozart...Herr Mozart...Eww
So, ever come across some article or post that introduces this new-found Prodigy, which always somehow lowers your self-esteem, and makes you believe that it's your parents fault, or someone's fault that you aren't as great or special as that Prodigy? Well, how about actually meeting one, or knowing one?
Anyway, I was driving home from somewhere the other night, and decided to listen to the local Classical Music station on the radio. As I'm driving though, this familiar song comes on, and I couldn't figure out what it was, but I was for certain that I had played it before with my childhood orchestra. I'm sitting there, humming along, trying to rack my brain in to figure out what song it is...and it's not like you can just go on Google and be like "Search: Classical Song with that one amazing cello phrase with that little flute/oboe duet". No! I mean, yeah I figured to go on the radio stations website when I got home, and find out what song was playing at 7:58pm. No, while I was listening to the song, in my head, I started to envision myself playing it on the flute (Yes, I play flute...this was waaaayyyy before I played Oboe), and I can see the entire orchestra, and the music infront of me...and then I look who was sitting next to me.
*Input picture of Mozart here*
Ok, ok....so it's not the real Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that people all know and love, it's just Tom Hulce playing Mozart from the movie Amadeus. If you've seen the movie, just imagine the laugh that he does. If not, here you go...
Anywho, so, being in this orchestra, the East County Youth Symphony, I learned many things. 1) that I have improved a lot on flute, but neglect to play it now. 2) that I love and Mozart (he didn't write a flute nor an oboe part for his Requiem). and 3) that Mozart has been reincarnated into this small, Asian kid. Asians...the stereotypes are being lived up to by them. I even live up to them because people hold me to be the perfect Asian, but there are some aspects of Asians that can be only perfect in one general area. For this kid, we go back...a lot, to the beginning of our time in this particular orchestra. His name is John, and he's about 2 years younger than me. The first time I met this Mozart was when we auditioned for the orchestra the same night. I was intimidated immediately. Both of us auditioned on flute, and the pieces we were playing could not even compare to each other at all. He was playing some advanced flute repertoire that was extraordinary, while I was playing out of my middle school solo pieces. I was dying on the inside.
We both made it in. I didn't know anything about him until later on though. So, after summer break, we were the two finalist to make it up to the Advanced Orchestra, and I'm like "Yes, I don't suck!", but on the night of the first rehearsal, I sit down next to John, and glanced over at his flute. No doubt, my flute was a piece of stick found at some pawn shop; I had a beginner's flute (Armstrong...eww), while he had an opened-holed Yamaha. Then...he opened his mouth, "Your case looks like crap...are you Asian or just really burnt?" And it goes on... He threw dirt in my hair once.
I think what bothered me most was that he was younger than me, and talented. I was indeed Antonio Salieri (Watch Amadeus! Then you will understand...trust me it's on netflix). At least I didn't kill him though. I grew out of the envious stage after I switched to Oboe, and was really not affected by him. I matured. We both got out of the orchestra around the same time, except I come back every summer to play, he doesn't. It's all good now. I wonder what he's doing.
So, yeah. The song on the radio was Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. I was playing 2nd flute to John - Principal chair. He really did make me a better player though because I just kept striving to be better than him. So, I thank him for my now succesful musician's youth.
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