Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

Episode 3 marks the return of everybody’s favourite perverted Maestro Franz von Stresemann to the fray, much to the delight of many who considered him the source of most of last season’s comedic moments. And with the Platini Conductor Competition over, things are just getting started in Paris, as Chiaki wastes no time - or rather, is not allowed to - while Nodame continues to play catch-up with her new stint as a Conservatoire student. Thankfully unlike the previous episode, the dice-and-chop of source material returns to an acceptable level in this episode, so I believe most of you would be glad to see me not dissing this episode nearly as hard as I did last week. So my offer; let bygones be bygones, as we go into the third episode of the Paris Chapter.

Nodame Cantabile ~Paris Chapter~, Episode 3.

While not as nearly as insane as any of Liszt’s compositions, this one still requires a fair amount of skill, but also a great deal of interpretive power. It’s simple, written in binary form (which means it only has two main themes), in D-flat major. There are sections which require lots of attention and detail, especially to tempo."  - Akira, The Nihon Review

Although the appearance of Son Rui adds another dimension to the Chiaki-Nodame relationship, the fact that she’s not just a cameo character and in fact, will become a recurring character later on if this series gets that far, makes me worry that discussion about the Paris Chapter will fall victim to that which is scourge of all discussion on anime blogs and forums these days; the Shipping Wars Scourge. Seriously, I hope I don’t have to see any shipping in the future, particularly because Nodame Cantabile is nothing like that. XD

Nodame plays the same piece that Rui is playing here later on, so I’ll add Akira’s analysis on it then.

"An "etude" is, literally, a "study." It’s supposed to hone your skill in one particular area of piano technique. But not this one. This etude tests your ability to FUCKING PLAY the piano!!!!

I can not stress how difficult this piece is. There’s a reason why these etudes are called the "Transcendental" etudes; they TRANSCEND EVERY HUMAN BEING’S PLAYING ABILITY. To play this is to literally become a piano god. I’m not even joking about this." - Akira

The Transcendental Etudes were only the third version of a series of 12 compositions that Liszt has ever written, and they are the most often recorded version of the three. It was first published as the Étude en douze exercices in 1826, when Liszt was only 15 years old. Later on in 1837, Liszt revised the series and published a second version the next year, titled Douze Grandes Etudes. This version is the one that I linked to Akira’s exclamation earlier, and it is considered the most technically challenging version of what is already considered amongst the most difficult piano pieces ever written.

Leaping chords also make this a nightmare for anyone with small hands. The chords are literally HUGE. Not only are they huge, but they are also FAST. Everyone knows that chords played at an extremely fast tempo is one of THE most challenging things to do correctly in piano. Liszt spared no quarter when creating this piece. He really did want to make sure that anyone who played this was indeed a master at the piano." - Akira

The 4th Transcendental Etude, "Mazeppa", is based on Victor Hugo’s poem of the same name, which in turn was inspired by Lord Byron’s dramatic poem of yet again the same name. It tells the tale of an Ukrainian youth who was strapped naked onto a wild horse which was then set loose, after his involvement in a scandal with the wife of a gentleman. The youth barely survives the ordeal, and later rises to become the hetman (leader) of the Cossacks of Ukraine. It was loosely based on the life of Ivan Mazepa, a real-life Cossack Hetman in 1687–1708.

Sometimes, in the course of our life pursuit, we lose track of what is truly important, and sometimes even why we embarked on the pursuit in the first place. Sometimes, we confuse what we really wish for in our hearts as our goal for embarking on a pursuit, not realizing that it doesn’t naturally happen that way. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to just pause at a particular moment in one’s life, and review what one is workings towards, and what for. And that is one of the main underlying themes of the Paris Chapter, as both Chiaki and Nodame take the time to think about the reasons for their own actions and choices they’ve made. Things have never been easy for them despite all the comedy and hijinks the both of them had gotten up to, but it’s just going to get harder from here.

Ascaloth, out.