A seventeen-year-old German boy named Erik Brandes stepped out onto the empty vast stage of the Cologne Opera House. It was the most exciting day of Erik’s life. (a) The youngest concert promoter in Germany had persuaded the Opera House to host a late-night concert of improvised jazz by the American pianist Keith Jarrett. The concert was a sellout, and later that evening, Keith would sit down at the piano and play.

* improvise: 즉흥적으로 연주하다

When Keith began to play, everybody immediately knew this was magic. Erik too was deeply touched. Keith was unexpectedly producing the performance of a lifetime despite the shortcomings of the piano. (b) His left hand produced thundering, repetitive bass riffs as a way of covering up the piano’s lack of resonance. Keith really had to play that piano very hard to get enough volume to get to the balconies. Standing up and sitting down, Keith played the unplayable piano to produce something unique. It wasn’t the music that he ever imagined playing. But faced with a challenge, he accepted it and flew high.

* bass riff: 저음 반복 악절 ** resonance: 울림, 반향

Understandably, Keith didn’t want to perform. He left and went to wait in his car, leaving Erik to anticipate the arrival of soon-to-be furious concert-goers. Desperate, (c) the German teenager caught up with Keith and begged the jazz pianist to play. The pianist looked out at him standing in the rain, completely soaked, and took pity on him. “Never forget,” Keith said. “Only for (d) you.” A few hours later, Keith walked out to the unplayable piano in front of a packed concert hall.

But when Erik introduced Keith and his producer Manfred to the piano on the stage that afternoon, it didn’t go well. Keith and Manfred played a few notes. Then after a long silence, Manfred came to (e) him and said, “Erik, if you don’t get another piano, Keith can’t play tonight.” Erik knew that Keith had requested a specific instrument, which the Opera House had agreed to provide. What he hadn’t realized was that the administrative staff hadn’t been able to find the requested Bösendorfer piano, and they had instead installed a tiny little Bösendorfer that was in poor condition.