‘The reviews were ecstatic,’ Gabriel observes mildly.
‘Of course they bloody were,’ Harvey says as if explaining a simple concept to an amazingly stupid toddler. ‘You did something new. They’re bound to lap it up. But when the dust settles, people will be asking what level of arrogance it takes for a person to imagine they can improve on one of Liszt’s masterworks. It may all be flowers and kittens now, but they’ll turn on you soon enough. Another fucking headache for me to manage.’
‘Let me save you that headache,’ Gabriel says, his voice now steely.
‘Absolutely not. I don’t want you dragging yourself any further into this. You need to focus on your work. Tori has set you back enough.’
‘Harvey, shut up for a minute and listen. This is important. You’re not going to have to deal with that headache, because I’m letting you go.’
‘What? Go where?’
‘Letting you go, as in I’m firing you.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Harvey says after a brief pause. ‘I’m not sure I heard that right. You can’t fire me.’
‘I think I can.’
‘Let me rephrase this,’ Harvey says menacingly. ‘You don’t want to fire me. I know where all the skeletons are buried. I willfinishyou.’
‘There are two ways this can play out,’ Gabriel tells him, evidently unmoved by the threat. ‘Either you go quietly, in which case I will tell people how sad I am, but you felt it was time to look for new challenges. Or you can fight it, in which case I’ll have no choice but to fire you publicly on the grounds of gross misconduct.’
‘Gross misconduct? For what?’
‘I think fraudulently impersonating me is grounds on its own, before we get onto you vastly overreaching your remit. If necessary, and I really hope you won’t force me down this path, I will hire a forensic accountant to look at your expenses. One decimal point out of place is all it takes. So, what’s it to be?’
‘You’re going to regret this.’ Although the words are still menacing, I can tell that Harvey is finally capitulating. ‘You won’t last five minutes in this industry without me.’
‘That’s a risk I’m just going to have to take. Goodbye, Harvey.’ Gabriel presses the button to end the call. Barely five seconds pass before his phone rings again, and the caller ID shows it’s Harvey. Gabriel rejects the call and we wait to see if he’ll try again. It seems, however, that Harvey has finally got the message.
‘Is he right?’ I ask eventually. ‘About the critics turning on you?’
‘He isn’t right about any of it. Let me show you something.’ He picks up his phone again and fiddles with it briefly, before turning it around and pushing it towards me. It’s a newspaper article.
GABRIEL CAMPBELL WOWS AUDIENCE WITH VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCE
Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Gabriel Campbell delighted his home crowd with a commanding performance at the Shell Bandstand, Hope Gardens last night, showing yet again why he’s one of the most sought-after pianists in the world. His opening rendition of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jamaica conducted by Frederick MacDonald, was a masterclass in how to interpret the great composer’s work. Sensitive and yet bold, Campbell’s playing perfectly complemented the orchestra, and he captured the playfulness of the final movement perfectly.
‘You don’t need to read it all,’ he says. ‘Skip to the end, if you like.’
I scroll down to the final paragraph and read.
Undoubtedly the crowning glory of the evening, however, was Campbell’s encore. He’s famous for his rendition of Liszt’s ‘La campanella’, so it wasn’t a surprise that he chose this piece as his final gift to the audience. What nobody was expecting was the dedication to someone called Tori, nor what happened next. Campbell seamlessly and wittily incorporated modern themes into the piece, including a number of tracks by Lady Gaga, and even (if this writer is correct) a theme from Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia’. To my knowledge, no pianist has ever attempted to mix classical and modern music in this way, but it was an absolute triumph. The identity of Tori may be a mystery but, if this is her influence, then she is to be congratulated.
‘Wow,’ I say.
‘That’s just one review,’ he tells me. ‘The others were the same though. Let me show you something else.’ He takes hisphone back, presses the screen a few times and then pushes it back towards me. I’m looking at an email this time.
Hi Gabriel!
My name is Emily, and I work for Stefani Germanotta (who you may know as Lady Gaga). She heard about your encore at the concert in Jamaica and asked me to find out more about it. It took a bit of work, but one of the audience members had filmed it and uploaded it to YouTube. I played it to Stefani, who was blown away and asked me to let you know that she’d be up for a collaboration any time if you wanted. Let me know if this is something you think might be of interest.
All the best
Emily Wooton
‘Lady Gaga herself,’ Gabriel says, taking his phone back with a smile. ‘So, let me ask you a question. Is Harvey right, and you’re destroying me? I don’t think he is. I think you’ve opened up an opportunity that I’m passionate about, which is to bring different genres of music together and showcase them in new ways. You’ve set me free, Tori, and I want to celebrate that freedom with you by my side.’
I’m very aware of the repercussions of what he’s saying, but my mind is struggling to catch up with the whole Gabriel the lovely/Gabriel the bastard/Gabriel the lovely again roller-coaster. Instead a totally random question forms, but I can’t let it go.
