Bet Harrington's making his life hell. Kids probably ready to quit. This is what happens when you let amateurs into professional spaces. Marcus turned off his phone and stared out the subway window at the darkness rushing past.
The anonymous commenter might be right. Maybe he was ready to quit. But then he remembered Christina's cold, perfect Liszt étude. He remembered Harrington's words, Talent is common. He remembered his mother's face when she told him about his father's lost dreams. He wasn't going to quit.
Week six brought a different kind of challenge. Concert in two weeks, Harrington announced at the start of the lesson. Small venue, invitationonly audience, about 200 people. All four of my students will perform.
You'll each play a 10-minute program of your choice. Start planning. Marcus felt panic rising in his chest. A concert.
But I'm not ready. You're never ready. Harrington said, That's not the point. The point is to expose you to performance pressure in a controlled environment.
Pick your pieces and start preparing. I'd suggest sticking to what you know well. This isn't the time for ambitious new repertoire. But Marcus didn't want to play it safe.
He'd spent six weeks being the weakest student, the charity case, the experiment that might or might not work. He wanted to prove something to Harrington, to Christina and the other students, to everyone watching online. So instead of choosing safe pieces, he selected a program that was just beyond his current ability. Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, the famous Sonata Facile, though it was easy only compared to Mozart's other works, Debussy's Clair de Lune, and because he couldn't resist, a brief piece by Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag.
When he told Harrington his selections, the maestro frowned. The Joplin? Why? Because it's part of my heritage, Marcus said quietly. Because Scott Joplin was a black composer who created something beautiful and original, and most classical music programs ignore him completely.
Because if I'm going to perform, I want to perform music that means something to me. Harrington studied him for a long moment. The classical music establishment doesn't take ragtime seriously. Maybe that's the problem with the classical music establishment.
For the first time in six weeks, Harrington smiled, not warmly exactly, but with something that might have been respect. Fair enough. But that piece needs to be absolutely perfect. Ragtime is technically demanding, and people will be looking for any excuse to dismiss it as inferior music.
Don't give them ammunition. I won't. Marcus practiced like a demon for the next two weeks. For hours a day at the church piano, another two hours on his keyboard at home, drilling the pieces until he could play them in his sleep.