Chapter 96

Fang Zhao's lecture at Muzhou Music Academy was a huge success . You could judge from the number of web hits .

The president of the academy was smiling so broadly his creases deepened . He was cocky about his wise decision . After the lecture, at least 10 percent if not half of the global music-student community was now interested in symphonic genres . People who tuned in were also exposed to the name "Muzhou Music Academy . " That was the biggest achievement .

Still, time was limited . There was only so much Fang Zhao could cover in one lecture . Many viewers hadn't gotten their fix when the lecture ended .

The president started brainstorming about how he could work with Fang Zhao again . Didn't he need a recording studio? "The academy has a recording studio . That would spare you the queue at Odd Music . We'll prepare the best recording studio for you . "

But others had the same idea . The chief executive of Odd Music had already extended an invitation in person .

The Odd Music CEO responded to the president's offer with a casual laugh . "Old friend, why don't you save that outdated equipment for your students . For a professional recording, you'll need to come to Odd Music . Let's put it this way: the best recording equipment in all of Muzhou is at Odd Music . Didn't you bring your own granddaughter to record here on account of our new equipment? Don't fight me on this one . "

The Odd Music CEO said that, as long as Fang Zhao was willing, he could offer him a recording studio for free right away . While the official word was that their studios were fully booked, the company reserved two studios for internal use in case of emergencies . They were equipped with the best gear .

The Odd Music CEO was quite enthusiastic and very polite . He also offered many perks . Fang Zhao had no reason to refuse .

"Have you contacted Teacher Fang from the symphony? If not, we can recommend a few alternatives," the smiling chief executive said .

Among the attendees of Fang Zhao's lecture were several key members of Muzhou's major symphonies . They had been waiting to approach Fang Zhao since the end of the lecture . When the Odd Music CEO made his comment, the small group, whose ears were already perked, pounced to pitch their own symphonies .

Musical tastes were not as sophisticated in Muzhou compared to Leizhou . There were few symphony orchestras and none of them had a global reputation . That was why every one of their collaborations with world-renowned master musicians was hard earned . With Fang Zhao's visit, the few major orchestras went at it again . Given that symphonies were gaining popularity among youngsters again and that Fang Zhao was a key figure behind this renaissance, this was too good an opportunity to pass up .

The Odd Music boss stood silently nearby and ignored the imploring looks from the folks that crowded over . He just stood and smiled, waiting for Fang Zhao to respond . Saying too much would come off as sycophantic and backfire . He had secured his deal . Everything else could wait .

Fang Zhao scanned the folks who had rushed forward to tout their services . Some of them were leaders of their orchestras . Others were first chairs of their respective sections .

"What's the name of your orchestra? How big is the orchestra? What's the latest?" Fang Zhao zoomed in on of the people in the crowd .

"I'm Daller, the leader of Soundcloud Philharmonic . I'm also first violin . Our orchestra is 10 years old . We have 80 musicians . "

Daller passionately gave Fang Zhao the lowdown on his orchestra . Soundcloud was one of the larger orchestras in Qingcheng . Now that symphonic music was more popular, he wanted to recruit more musicians . All these years, they had never worked with a master . It wasn't a matter of quality . The few large orchestras in Muzhou were comparable in skill, but things just never came together for Soundcloud . Lo and behold, he had been called on by Fang Zhao this time . Of course he would make a hard sell .

An orchestra comprising 80-odd musicians was a large one for Muzhou, where symphonic music wasn't the rage, but it still paled in comparison to the orchestras in Yanzhou .

Even Silver Wing had a company orchestra made up of 100-odd musicians, and there were many outstanding instrumentalists on the waiting list . Even if they were short a few musicians, they could find replacements easily . They could also expand on short notice . It was a well-endowed department .

But things were different over here . Even though Muzhou boasted many orchestras, most were smaller ones . There were no more than five large orchestras in the continent . Even though they advertised themselves as professional orchestras, they weren't up to par by global standards . A regular performance calendar was the first step toward professionalization . All top professional orchestras had fixed seasons, but not in Muzhou .

Muzhou's orchestras weren't treated with respect . They were invited for the occasional performance, such as at a major farm owner's banquet or the opening or closing ceremony of a shepherd-dog contest . Their sole purpose was entertainment .

It wasn't fair for Fang Zhao to evaluate orchestras in Muzhou based on Yanzhou standards . The reason he had called on Daller was because Daller had listened attentively during the lecture and showed a dogged passion . The enthusiasm brimming from his eyes suggested a purity of purpose lacking in the others . Of course, Daller was also angling for his own personal interests, but genuine music lovers were hard to find—one in a million . To spot someone in this crowd who was relatively pure was a decent find .

To prove his orchestra's worth, Daller summoned his fellow musicians to perform a few pieces at the recording studio Odd Music had arranged . Even though they couldn't rival Silver Wing's highly paid orchestra, Fang Zhao couldn't spot too many mistakes .

"These were all original compositions?" Fang Zhao asked Daller after the set .

"Yes . It's nothing compared to what you find in Yanzhou, but we learned a lot from your lecture and will improve from here on out . " The middle-aged Daller was quite uptight before Fang Zhao, who was dozens of years his junior . His tone conveyed a mix of caution and expectation, like a student showing off in front of a teacher .

Since Daller himself acknowledged there was room for improvement, Fang Zhao didn't offer any feedback . He instead asked, "You plan on going professional?"

"Yes, that's the plan, but we still have a lot of work to do . " Daller didn't hide his ambition . When he had founded the orchestra, he'd wanted it to become Muzhou's first professional orchestra in the New Era .

Fang Zhao slapped Daller on the back and said, "Pretty good . "

Daller instantly felt more confident and couldn't refrain from smiling . But when he turned around to manage the orchestra, his serious face returned .

Many of Soundcloud's musicians were puzzled . He's so authoritative when he speaks to us . How come he acts like a primary student in front of that kid Fang Zhao?

Fang Zhao started recording soon after . Sometimes composers would double as conductors . Such was the case with Fang Zhao . Because of his high standards, the session didn't start smoothly, but things eventually improved .

Zuo Yu was a bit baffled . It was only a matter of days before they returned to Yanzhou . Why not wait and record with the orchestra at Silver Wing? They might even finish earlier .

Was Fang Zhao worried about fuel costs for the flying transport? Considering his winnings from the shepherd-dog contest, there was no point in being stingy .

But Fang Zhao had decided to stay put in Muzhou and work with a local orchestra at a local studio .

The recording ended up taking up 10 days . After completing a rough cut in seven days, Fang Zhao recorded additional segments in the final three days . And these were all preliminary recordings . Postproduction would be necessary for a finished product, but that would wait until Fang Zhao returned to Yanzhou .

All parties had signed a confidentiality agreement, including Soundcloud and Odd Music . They would be barred from divulging the contents of the recording session before their official release .

"Done yet?" It was the third time Xue Jing had called Fang Zhao .

Fang Zhao had been busy recording the past few days, so he was in sparse contact . Xue Jing had waited until he felt the timing was right before reaching out to Fang Zhao again .

"We just finished," Fang Zhao said .

"Then hurry on over to Huangzhou . We're waiting for you . "

Xue Jing wanted to go on a global lecture tour with Fang Zhao . He'd made up his mind after watching Fang Zhao's live webcast . He had sorted out the details with the Music Association and more or less confirmed their itinerary . All they were missing was Fang Zhao .

After finishing recording in Muzhou, Fang Zhao packed up his things and headed to Huangzhou with Zuo Yu in tow . Curly Hair stayed at Shanmu Farm to continue training and entering competitions with Su Hou . Before he left, Fang Zhao gave Wu Yi 10 million dollars to bet on Dongshan Farm every time they competed .

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The point of the global tour was to promote his own book, but Xue Jing also wanted to give Fang Zhao the exposure . How many musicians of Fang Zhao's age could stage a global lecture tour? It would help pad Fang Zhao's resume .

Many people thought Fang Zhao had practically become Xue Jing's final disciple . Why else would Xue Jing spend so much effort helping this young man?

Xue Jing's close friends in the industry also brought up the matter with him in private .

"Final disciple? You mean Fang Zhao?" Xue Jing got a kick out of the question . "Perhaps you have overestimated me and underestimated the kid?"

Xue Jing's answer was also made public, but no one bought it . Everyone thought Xue Jing was simply promoting Fang Zhao . Even though he gave a decent lecture, it didn't mean that Fang Zhao had achieved the same stature as Xue Jing .

Out of the world's 12 continents, the most frequent stops on any global lecture tour were the eight regular continents . Because of their unique histories, musical tastes were less sophisticated in the four special continents . Even though Fang Zhao's appearance in Muzhou caused a stir in the local music industry, for the masses, it was still less important news than other local happenings .

But the eight regular continents were a different story . Xue Jing and Fang Zhao drew more attention . Many folks marked their calendars well in advance .

Rare was the fool who was willing to reveal his trade secrets . Who didn't want to tune in? Admission wasn't that expensive and it would spare you the agony of figuring things out yourself . What a great deal . Why not attend?

Fang Zhao had no time to play tourist after arriving in Huangzhou . The next day, he kicked off his lecture tour with Xue Jing . Their stops were mainly higher education institutions . In continents with a greater passion for music, they scheduled extra sessions to include stops at other schools . Even though these stops were less popular than stops at music academies, attendance was still decent .

Fang Zhao's name was gaining more and more currency in the music industry by the day .