Arthur turned his head to see Lionel and Mendelssohn standing behind him, and immediately picked up the white gloves placed next to the piano stand and greeted them with a smile.

"I didn't expect to be so lucky to see you here, Lionel."

Lionel quipped, "I don't really care about art collecting, but I really appreciate music." Not to mention that this concert has so many top pianists, and if I am absent from an event of this level, I am afraid that I will not have the courage to profess my love for music. ”

Speaking of which, Lionel introduced Arthur to Mendelssohn beside him: "This is Mr. Felix Mendelssohn, who is as young as you and has the same talent that ordinary people can't match, and he must have heard the overture to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", right?" ”

Arthur dared to try out the piano at the Coburg Theater today, so he naturally had already done a background check on the musicians who might be there.

But even if he wasn't prepared, the name Mendelssohn was familiar enough to him.

This most perfect master of form since Mozart is well-known both in today's Britain and in later generations.

However, Lionel was so close to him, which was somewhat unexpected by Arthur. It can only be said that Rothschild's social scope is much larger than he expected.

Arthur kindly extended his hand to Mendelssohn, both with the original intention of expressing kindness and a bit of superstition to borrow some musical cells from the pianist.

Mendelssohn, however, frowned, and his eyes fixed on Arthur's face as if he were stunned.

"Mr. Mendelssohn?"

It wasn't until Arthur reminded him that Mendelssohn realized his faux pas, and he hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, Mr. Hastings, I have felt that your playing style has a familiar feeling, but I can't explain it, you and Mr. Clementy are equally interested in difficult skills, but they are not exactly the same. I...... I always feel like there's someone's shadow in you......"

Speaking of this, Mendelssohn's mind flashed with inspiration, and he said in surprise: "Liszt! By the way, I just said, how can it be so familiar? Your madness is exactly the same as Liszt's. ”

Arthur thought that he was just quietly singing a piano piece, and anyone who would have thought that this would be seen by connoisseurs.

But fortunately, this "Bell" was originally adapted by Liszt Paganini, and to put it bluntly, he and Liszt both belong to artistic processing on the basis of the original work.

At least a year before Liszt, Paganini's European tour will not be in Paris until next year.

Arthur cheekily said: "I didn't expect you to have a relationship with Mr. Liszt, although I have not heard Mr. Liszt play with my own ears, but I still heard that he came to London to play at the age of fourteen, and the result was a sensation throughout the country, and he was received by the late King George IV.

Although I played so-so, it was reasonable. But I'm still far from you and Mr. Liszt, a musical prodigy who took to the stage at the age of nine. When I was nine years old, I didn't even know what a piano was. ”

When Mendelssohn heard this, he thought that he had accidentally touched Arthur's poor childhood memories, and he hurriedly relieved him.

"Mr. Hastings, a genius is a genius, and it has nothing to do with how old you are at the piano. Have you forgotten Mr. Clementy's experience? He studied piano at the age of 14 under the patronage of Sir David Beckford and did not perform in public until he was 23, but this did not prevent him from becoming a great monument in piano history.

You've been making your debut since you were 20 years old, and I'm sure your future will be quite smooth in the future. To be able to write a piece like "The Bell" and to be able to play it so passionately. Maybe we'll really get a Paganini in the piano world. ”

Lionel also opened his mouth at the right time to change the atmosphere, he asked with a smile: "Everyone says that Paganini made a deal with the devil so he can have such a pair of smart hands, Arthur, are you too?" ”

Arthur smiled, "That's right, at least that's what this song 'The Bell' is." ”

Everyone laughed when they heard this, and the red devil on the side also pushed his glasses with a wicked smile: "Oh! My dear Arthur, look at these stupid humans! When you tell a lie, they believe it. If you tell the truth, they are fake. Tsk, thousands of years have passed, and humans are still like this, they only believe what they believe. ”

Everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, and soon, Mendelssohn, who felt itchy, suddenly stretched his arm and said: "After playing all morning today, it's time to practice, and it's time to preview in advance for tomorrow's performance." ”

Before he could take the stage, he was stopped by Arthur behind him: "Mr. Mendelssohn, I think you'd better wait a while." When I first tried the piano, some of the pitches seemed to be wrong. ”

"Questions?" Mendelssohn was skeptical: "Yes...... When I first heard you play, everything seemed perfect. This piano was specially shipped from Mr. Clementy's piano deal, and even if the guys there were not careful, the theater staff should not be so careless. ”

When Arthur heard Mendelssohn's questioning, he just said haha: "You came late just now, and you stood far away, so you may not be able to hear clearly." But it's not a big deal, I've already told the theater staff to get a different piano. Calculate the time, and people should be almost there by this time. ”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, he saw the curtain of the theater lifted, and several staff members blushed and carried a heavy piano from the backstage to the front hall.

They couldn't help but scold as they moved: "No, the weight of the piano shouldn't be so heavy in the past, right?" ”

"Is there something stuffed in there?"

"Fuck, this one feels almost twice as heavy as most pianos."

Behind the staff was an embarrassed Wheatstone, who apologized with embarrassment: "Thank you for your hard work, this piano is an improved version of our Wheatstone Musical Instruments, and it may be slightly heavier in terms of weight." ”

Arthur found out that Wheatstone was present, and hurriedly said goodbye to Lionel and the others, and then walked forward quickly, and asked in a low voice at Wheatstone, "Are you sure you didn't bring the wrong piano?" This is the piano I used before, which can be connected to a gramophone with a long pole to record songs? ”

Wheatstone was sweating, after all, he didn't look like Arthur, and it was really the first time that the honest Wheatstone had done such a thing.

"Arthur, isn't it good for us to do this?"

Arthur just lit his pipe and spit out the smoke: "If you don't think it's good, you can send the sales profits directly to the pianists who participated in the recording today after the record is released." Also, if you don't think about it, these people are all at the top of the British music scene, and the old-school musicians are usually very conservative. If you don't use this method, you probably won't want to record their records for the rest of your life. ”

Wheatstone wanted to say more, but before Arthur could open his mouth, he took a document from the inner pocket of his tuxedo and threw it into his hand.

Wheatstone looked down and was dizzy with excitement.

There were only a few mediocre words written on the document - "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Patent Grant Document".

"Oh! O my God! No, Mr. Hastings! No, it's Arthur, my dear friend Arthur! You've really solved my urgent need. ”

Arthur looked at Wheatstone's excited look that he was almost eager to punch him twice, and just shook his head: "Everyone has a price, but Mr. Wheatstone, please don't show your price too low." You profess to be socially afraid, but if you continue to be like this, I'm going to start fearing you. ”

Arthur looked at Wheatstone's excited look that he was almost eager to punch him twice, and just shook his head: "Everyone has a price, but Mr. Wheatstone, please don't show your price too low." You profess to be socially afraid, but if you continue to be like this, I'm going to start fearing you. ”

Wheatstone grinned as he rubbed his stomach to calm down, "Yes, Arthur, you're right. I should have behaved decently, but I'm so happy about it. How the hell did you manage to get this done in a week? ”

"How?" Arthur patted the piano beside him: "It's like this, it's done in a not very good way." So, do you still have a problem with burning records? ”

"This ......"

Wheatstone struggled for a long time, but when Arthur put his hand on the patent document, he suddenly felt like an electric shock: "No opinion, I have no opinion at all." And I'm going to pay their share of the profits on time after the album is published, as you said. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but smile a little, and he leaned on the piano and folded his hands: "Moscheles, Mendelssohn, Potter, etc., these top pianists in Britain should all come to audition this afternoon and evening." How much do you think so many records from top players should be worth? ”

"Uh......"

Wheatstone frowned slightly, thinking about it for a long time, and just as he wanted to give a specific number, Arthur suddenly spoke again.

"With so many celebrities and musicians in attendance, it's almost inevitable that this concert will cause a sensation. How much money will you earn if you release a collection of musicians' performances on this spot? ”

Wheatstone's breath almost stopped when he heard this. It was as if he saw God pulling open his trouser pocket and shoving money into it.

Arthur spoke again, "And so many people have bought records, they have to buy a machine that can play it, right?" And you're the only workshop in London that can make gramophones, and if someone else wants to copy it, it's a misfortune that you've got a patent file......"

When Wheatstone heard this, he gasped for breath, he stretched out his hand to interrupt Arthur's speech, and said, "Arthur, you are my relatives and friends, what do you need my help with, just say it." ”

Arthur smiled slightly and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. I just think that the gramophone is good, and it should be enough for ordinary leisure and entertainment, but for some more private special work, the phonograph not only has a bad radio effect, but also this volume is too eye-catching.

So, I have a relatively preliminary idea, I wonder if you are interested in participating? By the way, out of friendship, I can tell you a little bit about this project, which is that this project comes from a government organization that is not very easy to name. ”

Wheatstone's eyes lit up when he heard this.

The project came from a government organization, and that phrase alone had a fatal appeal to Wheatstone, a businessman-turned-businessman.

Because this often represents a stable scale of high-volume purchases, as well as guaranteed payment delivery. Even, if the project can attract enough attention, it can also get a lot of scientific research funding. Babbage's difference machine, which lost more than 10,000 pounds, is a typical case.

With the support of the pound, at this time, in Wheatstone's eyes, even Arthur, who had always made him feel hateful, immediately became handsome and handsome.

Wheatstone suppressed his ecstasy and asked in a low voice, "May I be lucky enough to know...... No, could I be lucky enough to be part of this project? ”

Arthur saw that he had been carried away by money, so he was relieved and boldly proposed the research project that LPS wanted to set up in fact, which had no office funds.

"Mr. Wheatstone, you have studied acoustics quite a bit, and now we have figured out that the principle of sound is vibration. So then, maybe we have to think about connecting this to electromagnetism, I heard that you've been going to Mr. Faraday a lot lately to discuss electromagnetism, is that the case? ”

Wheatstone nodded, "Mr. Faraday has treated me very well, and with his help, I have entered the field of electromagnetism. ”

Arthur smiled and said, "That's easy." Now that you're in the door, you must know about Mr. Faraday's amazing electromagnetic induction experiment this year, right? ”

"Of course. Electromagnetic induction experiments have proved that electricity and magnetism can be converted into each other, which is the most significant scientific discovery of the year. But ......"

Wheatstone scratched his head: "But what does this have to do with acoustics?" ”

Arthur said: "It is well known that when a copper wire is wound around an ordinary sewing needle, when the copper wire is energized, the needle becomes a magnetic needle. So, if a steel wire is slowly passed through a coil with a change in current, what interesting changes will occur? ”

When Wheatstone heard this, the hairs on his body stood up: "If you do this, as the strength of the current changes, several small magnets of different strengths will form on this wire." If we can relate this change to the vibrational change of sound, we can realize the storage of sound. ”

Arthur smiled and nodded, "Thankfully, there is such a thing as electricity that is much more sensitive than a mechanical phonograph. So, it must be great for recording people's voices. ”

Wheatstone took a deep breath: "Arthur ......"

"What's wrong?"

Wheatstone swallowed violently and spitted: "How did you come up with these things?" To be able to come up with such a genius idea, you can do it on your own! If this had been the case, the gramophone would have been beaten and would have been powerless. ”

Arthur shook his finger slightly, "No, Mr. Wheatstone, I don't have the skills of yours, nor do I have the mind of a serious engineer, all I have is worthless ideas."

And most importantly, this technology cannot be used to make a profit, it must be controlled within a certain range to exert maximum power. So you can rest assured that the phonograph market will not be impacted.

After all, even from a cost point of view, the fact that it doesn't require electricity alone makes a mechanical gramophone that twists a wind-up machine more suitable for this era than the thing I mentioned. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur was suddenly stunned, and he looked at Wheatstone with a smile: "So, when do you think I will get the sample?" ”

Wheatstone took a deep breath, patted his chest and reassured, "Although this thing sounds difficult, the direction is at least clear." I had no obstacle in acoustics and handicrafts, and as for electromagnetism, I had to make a few more trips to the Royal Society to find Mr. Faraday. As long as the principle is smooth, it will be a month at most, and at least two or three weeks. ”

"Two or three weeks?"

Arthur couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard this, it seemed that even if Wheatstone was asked to work overtime, he did have a limit. At least during the London meeting, he couldn't count on doing things through the tape recorder.

Wheatstone didn't see Arthur's disappointment, and he said happily, "Arthur, go back and get the money ready for the department that can't be named." I'll be able to get this kind of directional thing out of it sooner or later. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just pursed his lips with a subtle expression, and he nodded, "Okay, next time." ”

(End of chapter)