Hadrian Crescendo :: Capitol :: Fin

to follow one's own song, is to find one's dream

He had grown up within a world of glass mirrors and fountains of gold. Flakes of freshly trimmed diamonds delicately traced the edges of his home, a mansion graced by green gardens and stone sewn paths. His parents had won their wealth through war and drank their success from a cup of rebel blood. Missile systems and defensive designs that had kept the Capitol safe from the swarming outer Districts became the crown jewel in Hadrian's General of a Father's crown. Meanwhile, his Mother relished in her muttation designs. They were a couple revered for their scientific excellence. So when they bore a son in the year of the 17th Annual Hunger Games, all the eyes in the Capitol awaited the rise of another scientific genius. 

Hadrian asked for his first violin when he was six. His Mother nearly fainted and his Father stood silent. However, they kept up hope that something as trivial as the violin, as they believed, would wane into nothing more than a hobby. Naturally, it did not. While they waited for their prodigal son to emerge, Hadrian awoke within the realm of diminished fifths and the mass movements of the ancient civilizations. At only eight years old, the young boy found bounty in the running lines of linear thirds within Chopin's scores. It took only until he was twelve for his parents to finally come to the realization that it was not mathematics which found fire in the fingers of their son, but music. 

At his first recital in high school, Hadrian stunned the audience with his interpretation of Claude Debussy's Violin Sonata. After he had finished playing there was a literal moment of silence. Not a soul knew what to say, such sound did not belong in a world freshly rebuilt from rampage. Then they moved, one mass onto their feet while their shouts stretched outward towards the stars of space. In their applause, Hadrian was humble and appreciative. However, the young teenager knew that it was not their recognition which he sought. All the boy desired was to play his music and share it with the world so that they would not forget the sound of the ancient art. 

Despite numerous offers from the Capitol City Orchestra to provide compensation for young Hadrian Hayward to leave high school early and join them, he shared one thing in common with his parents. His pursuit for intellect was unquenchable, in fact, it still is. Returning to the past however, Hadrian finished his high school career and went on to the Capitol's most notable University on scholarship for his skills with the violin. At University, Hadrian expanded even further than just the bow and strings of his violin. From one Major: Violin Performance, he became a double Major adding Music Composition as well. From one instrument, he insisted on learning piano, guitar, and the clarinet. He left his studies as one of the most talented musicians to ever attend the school. Yet even then, at the age of twenty two, he did not yet join the Orchestra. 

Only after acquiring his Doctorate Degree from the single Upper Division Private Music Program in all of Panem, did Hadrian accept his invitation to the Capitol City Orchestra at the age of thirty. He entered not only as the first chair violinist, but a frequent piano soloist and a star composer. His first major work, a Mass to the Forgotten Faces, debuted in his second season primarily driven by violin solos and chime flourishes. However, what garnered the most attention was that it was dedicated to the first fallen tributes of each of the Hunger Games while their images were played on video screens in the performance hall. Not a single paper in the entire city was without a review on the spectacle. 

Hadrian opted to drop his parents' famous last name for the common music term Crescendo when he was thirty four. He didn't make the decision lightly, but explained to them the importance it held for him. He wanted him and his music to be separate from the past, a new surge of volume into the ears of those who have gone deaf to the sound. Even though his Father wasn't entirely decided, Hadrian had already made up his mind. His dream wasn't something he was willing to compromise for pride.

He is odd, for a Capitolite of such fame and wealth. His skin is his skin alone, no special enhancements or alterations. His eyes are a lovely hazel that he's never drenched in dies or hid within other hues. The only aspect of Hadrian's body that is remotely Capitol-like at all is the single black tattoos on the palms of his hands. One for a crescendo, and the other for a decrescendo. Despite that, he's simply a little plump, rather short, white haired older man. 

Hadrian no longer plays with the Orchestra, they play for him. His pieces from solos, to concertos, to mass movements are the main performances that pack his theater as he conducts. One of the few main music hall theaters in the Capitol, the Crescendo Capitol Globe Theater, commonly known as the Crescendo Theater, glimmers with every ounce of Hadrian's wealth. Chandeliers and red carpets, details in mahogany. Nothing was spared on the space. This is Hadrian's world of wonder. 

What has made Hadrian the most famous though, is similar to his first Mass Movement. Each year he releases a new one, a new master piece. The Hunger Games. He takes their stories and translates them into music, into powerful ballads and chaotic group numbers. He works relentlessly until he finishes his newest edition. They are essentially fully orchestrated musicals/operas who's stories are already known, but the public devours them. Tickets are constantly sold out.

Who wouldn't want to hear Vargen Forrester's solo beneath the trees of the 83rd Hunger Games?

Who wouldn't want to watch Ike and Jacob's final duet and choreographed dance amid low humming violins and wind ensemble?

Away from the stage though, Hadrian ironically lives a rather quiet life. Since his parents' deaths, he has moved into their mansion where he lives alone with his three cats. He is also now the Head of Private Music Program he got his degree at and a guest lecturer at the main University. He finds pleasure in the growth of new young musicians. Aside from all this, he is merely a quaint old man who wishes for nothing more than to keep the world listening.