Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Revisit Wilhelm Kempff


Wilhelm Kempff plays the piano light-touched as for style but deep-filled as for thoughts. It was after years that I began to appreciate his clear and crispy performance.

Now when I come back to his recording again and again, I am totally sold by his music and have to ask myself why on earth I ignored such a great pianist in the past! I used to hate that he plays everything too loud and too clear. But ironically, now I think the piano works become quieter and quieter under his fingers.

In my mind, no one plays Brahms’ late piano pieces (Fantasy and Intermezzi ) better than Kempff. He left two recordings for the same repertoire, one in DG and one in DECCA; however they sounds consistent except DECCA’s version bears a bit more a touch of effacing intimacy. He instilled the music with such spiritual calmness that music is more beautiful poems of self-revelation than piano sound. Compared with Gilels’s performance which is filled with contrast, tension and emotion, Kempff’s playing is light and plain, however deep in thoughts and understanding. At some points, after some incredible space of silence, the music goes so light but deep simultaneously that piano sound disappears and dissolve in his immense musicality.

His grace climaxed at the slow movement of Hammerklavier of Beethoven in which he played extremely soft but never as sentimental as Gilels. He didn’t slow down like what a lot of nowadays pianists do and make the whole movement breathable. The pulse, almost flexible has its own Beethovenian backbone. He also turned away all those lousy “condiment” and whispered the “nocturnal sigh” in a heavenly voice. He himself described that the recapitulation of the second theme shining through like a distant star piercing luminous clouds and that is the way he did.

Some of my favorite Kempff’s recording:

Beethoven Complete Piano Concertos with Kempen, BPO, DG 435 744-2
Brahms Fantasien, Intermezzi and Klaverstucke, DG 437 249-2
Beethoven Late Piano Sonatas, DG 453 010-2

And here is an old article in Chinese.

幽径香兰

早些时候,喜欢Brahms的狂想曲一号,是Argerich的Debut的珍贵录音。秋凉瑟瑟,绪而不乱,恍然有浮生若梦为欢几何的感慨,至今仍是甚爱。

与Op116七首小品组成的幻想曲的不期而遇却是一年前。那是DG画廊系列的一款。封面朴素雅致,黄花零落,颇有寂寞无主、幽香如故的诗意。不错,我是冲着这封面才买下CD的。

Op116、117、118、119几部作品被认为是Brahms在钢琴音乐领域的遗嘱。Hanslick恰切地将他表述为独白,那是一种省察的独白。Brahms称之为忧伤的摇篮曲。

第一首D小调随想曲带有粗砺的质感,右手的切分音符隐现出一种不安的渴望,左手的和声象是无为的慨叹。于之相应的是最后一首D小调随想曲,不同于Beethoven在月光第三乐章中的那种狂燥和激情,近似生硬的旋律中可以体会出其特有的整殇和肃穆。这显然不同于Brahms所处的环境:洋溢着均衡优美氛围的维也纳;而是内在上趋向于童年时代Brahms所喜爱的德国的黑森林,浑厚广袤,粗糙质朴。这些缺乏华丽和唯美的艰深段落常令人退避,甚至也会引起老柴苛责地评论:在他的音乐中惟独缺乏美。

第二首A小调间奏曲的静谧祥和也许会让老柴汗颜。三连音的音型里透着徐纡委婉的气质,细微而入情。中段的甜美曾被Clara Schumann比作夜莺的歌唱。E大调间奏曲具有叙事曲的幻想性质,腼腆的忧郁娓娓到来,"寄至味于淡泊"。它常将我带到一种空虚的状态,大音若隐,恍惚中忘却钢琴的存在。

Brahms晚年的作品趋向善感而又个人化,愈发精悍凝练,这种独白的方式尤为多见。在"新音乐"炽焰面前他注定经常是寂寞的。一八六○年反对"新音乐"方法的《宣言》的签名里,只有Brahms、约阿希姆等寥寥四人。那个时代,生机勃勃的浪漫主义音乐绘制了绚丽夺目的音画世界,音乐无论在精神实质还是物质基础上都开始了不断的膨胀。从Berloiz的幻想交响曲起开始了文学和音乐的结合的尝试,Listz把贝多芬的命运移植到钢琴上使其沦为炫技的工具(Brahms居然在第一次参加的Listz演奏会上睡着了,多少具有讽刺的意义),Wagner的音响洪流泛滥到整个欧洲,傲立于新音乐的浪潮之巅。

Furtwangler著文说:"Brahms的艺术保持了肃穆和人性。他能守住纯粹彻底的质朴风格、坚持自己的个性;他知道如何面对危机,如何在自己的作品里自由而不妥协。"Brahms成了孤独的守望者,静静地俯视眼前的风云变迁。屈原在《橘颂》中有"苏世独立,横而不流",应是晚年的Brahms最好的注解吧。

第五首E小调间奏曲象一鸿流动的清泉,短小中节奏的错落交织蕴涵着期待,抑制里的冲动象爱恋中的感觉。在7首短小的曲子中,这首多少有些奇妙,是作品复杂性格的一个侧面。

Brahms圄于传统,含蓄内向,心中却充满着挚爱。习惯性地介定Brahms是一生为了克拉拉而不结婚的痴情种子,会使公众忽略其一生中谈过的多次恋爱。承然,Brahms的气质可能不适合作浪漫的恋人,但他内心深处无疑是无可救药的浪漫主义者,充满着爱的渴望。Furtwangler指出衡量一件艺术作品内涵的标准,并非视其在某种角度上的所谓"大胆"创新的程度,而应是艺术家内心所受到的强烈驱使,一种深切的需要以及对人性的表现力的程度。这样谨严沉静的音乐正是Brahms内在浪漫激情的产物和明证。爱和孤独组成了晚年里Brahms生命中的两支曲子(这里的爱应是广义的)。由于爱的存在,孤独才是可以忍受的,甚至是甜蜜的。在OP116里这两个主题十分明显,交织成映。

第六首E大调省审沉思,延展的气息中游荡着温柔和抚慰,是我的最爱。Brahms音乐中最吸引我的是对生命的省察和探索,就象这支曲子,旋律不甚上口,只是一个布衣之士谦逊地叙述,却可以听到他心底处深深的感悟和叹息。

晚年的Brahms早已功成名就,虽然始终没有象Wagner那样显赫一时,却在爱乐的维也纳被奉为大师。他的口袋里装满了散步时款待涌簇而来的孩子们的糖果,而同时仍然倾心于研究源自Bach开始的古典大师的作品:对位、变奏和奏鸣曲式。 没有必要从对音乐的发展角度来考虑一个智者晚年的这些独白。

在淡泊中追求,在沸沸扬扬时沉默,在名利场外甘于寂寞和清贫:追求未必总是显示进取的姿态。

每次听完这部作品---我常看作那是Brahms的7段箴言---,我总会将DISKMAN停下来,留下巨大的空白。泰戈儿曾说过:不要试图去填满生命的空白,因为,音乐就来自那空白深处。闭上眼睛,就浮现出封面上那些孤独的黄花:无语凝伫,却并非顾影自怜。

想起一段文字:种种热闹的吹嘘和喝彩后,终是虚声浮名。在万象喧嚣的背后,在一切语言消失之处,隐藏着世界的秘密。世界无边无际,有声的世界只是其中很小的一部分。 Brahms的随想曲属于那无声的世界。许多个夜晚,一个年轻的生命在感动和敬意的沉默中颤栗了。

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