Sometimes I make things for fun.
Sometimes I make things because I want to leave my own trace in the void of the eternity.
This time these reasons are combined.
I am immortal. And here is the reason why:
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My own legacy.
See the notes at the end of the story.
We are reporting from the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The “jewel box of sound”, as Herbert von Karajan once referred to it, saw the first performance of the Saki Enomoto’s twenty-third string quartet suite, called ‘Revelations’. She earlier announced that it will be the last music piece she will give us. Our reporter Naomi Inoue was at the performance and this is her impressions of it.
To be honest, I wasn’t always a big fan of instrumental music. Before I started working here, I rarely attended any concerts at all, not even popular ones. But this changed when I was tasked to cover one of the previous Enomoto premiers in this newspaper. Her music can’t be described with simple words. It’s an experience, in which you can’t believe what you hear. It feels like something completely different, something out of this world. You open the door into the void, and you dive into the thoughts of the most powerful neoclassical composer in Japan who breaks any stereotypes you had about classical music.
After I attended that premier three years ago, I interviewed her, and she told me what I can listen at to try to understand her music fully. I took a vacation, loaded my music player with her recommendations and started listening. From Vivaldi to Kreutzer, through Rimsky-Korsakov and into the modern madness of Stravinsky and Schnittke — you can hear all of that in her music, and much more. She doesn’t restrain herself with the means of expression, be it odd rhythms, polyrhythmic melodies or anything else that can make the ordinary listener feel odd. But once you adapt to this sound, learn how to dive into it, you start appreciating all the power behind it. This is not easy-listening music from a woman who has not an easy life.
She put her violin on the bench just five years ago, and she took all her time to write everything she wanted to present to the world before the inevitable fate that awaits her. Earlier this year she announced that the next, the twenty-third string quartet, which was performed yesterday, will be her last creation ever. When she announced the premiere date, all tickets to it were sold out in the first five minutes. We don’t know her plans yet, but, unfortunately, her health is constantly deteriorating, and everyone who was in Suntory Hall this day could see it. In the dim lights of the stage, left of the four young performers, she sat in her wheelchair and listened to the premiere with all of us. Sometimes she looked thoughtful, sometimes she smiled, and she looked like the fifth performer on the stage, expressing her feelings without an instrument.
The stage was lit with candles, which were stationed on the performers’ sheet stands, and nothing more. As subtle as the lighting, the first movement of the suite was quiet, thoughtful and lovely. In the progression of the suite, though, the music became much more aggressive and fiercer. Soon it became a battle, a fight between you, protecting something you value, and the outside world that wants to tear it apart. You could feel how Enomoto pulled all her personal struggles into this piece of music. This wasn’t just an ordinary string quartet suite — this is a story of her life and her farewell message to all of us.
Usually, the last movement of string quartet suites is the resolve part of the whole story, which brings the peaceful or at least satisfying end for the listener. This time it wasn’t the case. Enomoto is experimenting here: she decided to match the listening perception with the visual one, and asked performers to put down the candles in the end, one by one. It looked like slow leaving of the life in the room: each musician consequentially stopped playing and put down his candles, music became quieter and quieter until the last remaining candle and one violin playing left. This was the cue for Saki to play her role in the performance. She rolled towards the sheet stand of the last musician and waited. With the last note she raised her hand and put down the last candle, effectively stopping the music and the light at once. At the moment’s notice the hall became silent and completely dark. It looked like audience even stopped breathing for a moment, until the hall erupted in ovation.
When the lights were turned on, everyone stood in the hall, cheering and clapping in excitement. Some of the listeners cried, others rushed to the stage with flowers. Most of the flowers, of course, were for composer lady: the floor near her wheelchair was covered with enormous number of bouquets. She lowered her head towards the musicians, thanking them for the stellar performance. Her husband, the prominent scientist Hisao Nakai, climbed to the scene to help her. His face was somber, and I saw a few tears in his eyes.
The performance was televised, so if you haven’t attended the performance (or want to experience it again), you can watch it on TV next week. This is something you shouldn’t miss, and this concert definitely recorded itself into the book of world’s most successful neoclassical premieres in the world. It also left us with some unresolved questions. Why is the suite called ‘Revelations’? What Enomoto tried to tell us for the last time? What she wanted to reveal to us today? Guess music critics now will argue between each other trying to find the answers to these questions, because Saki left us with none. After the show I tried to approach her for interview, but she refused, because she was really tired, which is understandable given her current condition. She leaves us with the huge legacy which would require no small amount of time to grasp. I’m glad I met her all these years ago and I’m really sad I won’t listen to any new music from her anymore.
The proceedings from the premiere and the airing on the TV will be fully given to the Nakai-Enomoto family to help them cover their medical expenses. The required payout for the four playing musicians was covered by the Yamaku Foundation chief, Shizune Hakamichi.
— Naomi Inoue, reporting for Japan Times. You can watch the 23rd String Quartet by Saki Enomoto this Sunday at 23:30 on TV.
During the writing of that one-shot I listened to the 8th String Quartet Op. 110 by Dmitrii Shostakovich. You can listen to it here.
Thanks Sharp-O for proofreading! <3
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My own legacy.
I love this. Doing it from the perspective of a newspaper article really adds some serious gravitas to how awesome Saki is. Makes me wish I had thought of it as something of a prequel to Learning to Run!
I also like that you tell us not only about Saki's post-Yamaku life, but also Shizune's, Hisao's, and Naomi's, and you do it with very few words.
My FanFics
Learning to Run (Complete) - Emi x Hisao in their 30s
Yamaku: the Next Generation (Complete) - Emi and Hisao's daughter goes to Yamaku.
Oil & Vinegar - Mutou and Nurse buddy one-shot
This is a brilliant story, Vlad!
See the notes at the end of the story.
The worst thing in the world is to wait and to chase.
After opening her own personal lawyer bureau, she almost never came in on Sundays. This Sunday she has a reason to. There is a call she must be prepared for and a task she was assigned not long ago that she must execute impeccably.
“Ding-dong, Floor 21”.
She leaves the elevator and walks to the left, until she finds the lone room awaiting her. Renting the office space in Sendai Trust Tower was quite expensive at the time but it allowed her to arrange her work meetings in the most convenient way, so the price was justified. For the last three years, this tiny office was her place to work — the first workplace she liked in a lifetime.
The familiar beep of the lock recognizing her keycard welcomes her. She walks across the room and sits in her chair in the middle of the room.
“Okay, where is…? Ah!”
She ruffles through the bunch of papers that are lying on the table before her until she picks a green folder, titled “Case 1249”. Opening and scanning the contents of that particular folder with her eyes, she wonders if she researched thoroughly enough and if this was really all of the options she could offer.
Looks like we only have six options to offer, unfortunately.
When she took the request to research this specific topic, she thought that there would be more to consider but the amount of actual research on the subject is far more limited than expected. Guess our modern world isn’t modern enough for this…
Canada. Somewhat far away from Japan and they only established the required legislation the last year. Not the most comfortable option but it’s there.
Colombia. Even more expensive than Canada to travel to. Also the service provided there may not be the best quality.
State Victoria, Australia. Still hasn’t passed the required legislation yet, unfortunately. Not an option.
Luxembourg. Belgium. The Netherlands. Three European countries that are basically on the other side of the Earth, but will be the most accommodating in our case. Guess she’ll have to pick one of those based on her personal preference.
The cost of travel back and forth will be a small fortune but they seem to be willing to spend it to handle things properly.
Might as well open a beer while I wait. It’s still my day off, after all.
Cracking open a cold one from the mini fridge, she looks at the remaining papers from the folder. These ones contain a somewhat detailed plan of executing the deal she was assigned to. From start-to-finish, to the grand finale that she dreads the most.
I only agreed to do this because I want to help them. I want to help him.
...
Patience and stubbornness can do all the tricks.
The day she decided to leave the company, that was designed to be inherited by her, was one of the most terrible days of her life. It was a path predefined by her father. Like everything else, he wanted to control her future to a massive extent.
Trying to dictate how and where she would work for the rest for her life, who she will or will not date, and so on. He always told her that this was how he showed he cared for her and for her sister. She eventually got fed up with all of that.
She knew that she might fail. That the saving she did for the past five years may be not enough. But she was willing to bet on herself, to stand on her own two feet, and to prove that she was worth something.
She went to him with her resignation papers, that he’d unfortunately need to sign-off on, in order for her to leave. It ended, as it often did, in a big shouting match in which she told him everything.
How smothering his attitude towards the family was. How hypocritical he was to disguise his fear for the company’s future as "caring” for someone else’s. How she would do anything just to be herself, not just an extension of his legacy.
He threatened to disown her and she walked away, slamming the door as loud as possible on her way out. They would never meet again.
She started her own small bureau and eventually made it profitable before her savings ran out. Working for herself filled her with pride and satisfaction. She proved what she set out to do and then some.
Her father died two years ago. In his will, he apologised for his behaviour and said that he was proud of her finally becoming self-reliant. He gave her half of his fortune to possess. She took nothing. Instead sending the inheritance to the Yamaku Foundation charity program.
She decided that they needed it more than her and she had worked too long and hard to forge her own path and legacy to break the promise she made to herself; to never fall back on his money.
...
Nothing is eternal under the moonlight.
She flinches when the phone on the table rings.
“Hello, Satou speaking.”
“Hi, Akira. I’m somewhat in a hurry now.”
She exhales, bracing herself for the hardest call she’s taken in a long time.
“How much time do you have left?”
“Two-to-three months, I think. In the worst case scenario; I can wait for half a year but no more. You already saw my medical records and they’re… not good.”
“Okay, got it. I researched the foreign legislation per your request and, unfortunately, we don’t have many options. How do you feel about a little travel to Europe?”
“Guess I don’t have other options?”
“Well, there’s also Canada, but it’s even more expensive. And I don’t think your family have that much money.”
“Well, we do have some money from the music records but it’s definitely not enough to sustain, especially afterwards. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to visit Europe but never got a chance to. So, maybe it’s an opportunity to make one more of my dreams come true as a nice bonus.”
“Got it. Basically you can choose from Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands…”
Over the next fifteen minutes, Akira relays everything that she found in the last month’s worth of dedicated research. The person on the other end of the line listens intently, sporadically asking one-or-two questions about specific details. Some were more difficult than others to answer, causing Akira to pause a little because it wasn’t covered in her papers.
After finishing describing all the legal details and possible cost of all these options, she asks:
“What place you would like more?”
“Let me think about it for some time. I’ll write you soon. Please, send to my e-mail information about the hospitals in these countries that can work with my case. I’ll need some time to think what option I will pick.”
“OK. Does he know about your detailed plan already?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell him when we’ll choose the final path with you. It will be hard for him to follow this through, but he promised me once, so… I hope he will endure. Keep this in secret as much as you can, please.”
“I always keep secrets of my clients. And my friends.”
“Thank you. You are one of the best friends of the family and I really value your help, especially now.”
“I’m honored to help you, of course.”
“Well, he returned from his morning exercise, so let’s wrap up the call. Have a nice day, Akira!”
...
“Have a nice day, Saki”, says Akira, but the only response was the beeps — she already hung up the phone.
She moves to the window and looks outside. The city is moving slowly with the rhythm of the day. She lights a cigarette — the bad habit that she picked in the university, unfortunately, never died, — and puts it in her mouth. Her hands are trembling slightly.
Guess, I found what is worse than waiting and chasing. The worst thing of all is to be responsible for someone else’s…
“Death.”
Thanks Sharp-O for proofreading (again)!
The music I’ve listened while writing the story is HIM’s live show “Digital Versatile Doom”.
I provide tech support for this forum. Ping me by email, Discord or DM.
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Fleeting Heartbeat Studios: site, Discord.
My own legacy.
