She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 737

"Please explain the critical evolutionary logic from Schoenberg's establishment of the twelve-tone method to Boulez's total serialism. What were the core aesthetic demands and historical contexts driving this evolution?

Furthermore, explain whether this 'evolutionary logic' inherently proves that musical composition cannot be divorced from its specific historical and technological context."

"I... I..." Cold sweat poured down Jethro's forehead. His eyes darted around frantically, hoping someone in his posse would feed him the answer. But his lackeys were mostly D-Tier students—they knew even less than he did. They avoided his gaze awkwardly.

"The evolutionary logic is... is the composer's pursuit of stricter rules..." he stammered, regurgitating the most hollow, generic textbook buzzwords he could think of.

"Stricter rules?" Loyce's voice was steady, but her eyes were calculating. "That's far too vague. Did your professors not elaborate? An S-Tier student doesn't know this? Be specific."

Jethro's face turned from pale to green. He knew who Schoenberg was, he had heard of Op. 16, but what the hell was a motivic cell? What specific movement analysis? His mouth opened and closed, a strangled gurgle catching in his throat, but no words came out.

Resting her chin on her hand, Loyce tapped the desk with her other hand. She suddenly called out a name from the roster. "Roland, do you know?"

Startled, Roland was nervous but managed to confidently lay out a solid, coherent analysis. He waited anxiously for her verdict.

Loyce's lips curled up, and she checked off a box on the roster. "Very good. You pass."

Roland let out a massive sigh of relief.

Loyce immediately turned back to Jethro, firing off a barrage of brutally complex, esoteric musical questions. Every single time, he gave vague, stuttering non-answers, causing the other judges on the panel to frown deeply.

Whenever Jethro stumbled, Loyce would randomly select another S-Tier student to answer it instead.

The vast majority answered correctly. The few who fumbled like Jethro received a swift, merciless 'X' next to their names.

By the end of it, Jethro had been systematically annihilated. Unable to handle the humiliation any longer, he screamed, "What the hell is your problem?! Why am I in every single round of questions?! You're just doing this to humiliate me in front of everyone, aren't you?!"

He was fully hysterical now, desperately trying to use the authority of the award as his final shield and weapon.

However, not only were his underlings too scared to speak up for him, but the legitimate S-Tier students were now looking at him with open disgust. They had earned their spots through pure talent. Having a fraud like him dragging down the prestige of their tier was insulting.

Jude scoffed loudly. "Shut up, Jethro. An S-Tier student with a world-class nomination who can't even articulate the core mechanics of Schoenberg's early works? I could recite that in my sleep."

The other S-Tier students nodded in agreement. Loyce's questions were challenging, yes, but for an S-Tier musician, failing almost all of them was completely absurd.

"A highly anticipated 'genius' who knows absolutely nothing about the foundational arteries of 20th-century music history!" Professor William stated coldly. "What kind of genius is that? It's an insult to music! It's a desecration of this academy's century-old reputation!"

Chancellor Dennis stood up, his face set in stone, his eyes blazing as he surveyed the hall. "It appears we have placed far too much blind faith in so-called 'awards,' handing prestigious positions to opportunistic frauds with hollow foundations! It gave them the audacity to spout nonsense in front of true masters, using their dubious accolades to question the academic judgment of this institution!"

He took a deep breath. "I, Dennis, acting as Chancellor of the Royal Art Academy's School of Music, hereby announce—"