Berliner philharmoniker, Abbado, Pollini!

Maurizio Pollini, Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker
Beethoven: Piano Concerto no.4,
Berlioz: Te Deum
24th May 2008, Waldbuhne, Berlin

經過一年籌備，發了數十封電郵，打了無數長途電話，終於能買到兩張一年一度的的Abbado Concert 票。固中辛酸，不足為外人道，只能說深切體會「一票難求」。始料不及Philharmonie火災，眼見美夢落空，殊不知改在Waldbuhne 露天劇場舉行，終於能一賭Abbado 和 Pollini的風采，真是謝天謝地了。

當晚Waldbuhne 擠滿八千多觀眾，氣紛熱鬧。Waldbuhne原為1936年柏林奧運所見，現多作大型音樂表演場地，以往也舉辦過European Concert。據當地樂迷說，傳統在Waldbuhne聽音樂氣氛比在音樂廳中輕鬆很多。大部份人也是帶老攜幼，自備水果小食，一同享受這個難得的音樂盛宴。

開場前Simon Rattle以德語作開場白，搏得柏林人一片掌聲。Pollini 和Abbado 皆比我從唱片封面認識的老上不少。尤以Pollini為甚，儼然是個駝背慢步的老頭兒了。

說回音樂，上半場的貝4鋼協，已突顯他們的身價，這才是第一流的音樂！一陣感動打從心底湧上來。1st movement Pollini奏得很有王者風範，有如一個博學尊貴的公爵。他指下功夫出神入化，Abbado 和 Berliner Phil也應對得宜。2nd movt更是引人入勝。短短的過渡樂章，Pollini充份展現出那份在斗室內沈思、慨嘆命運不仁的心情；而Abbado棒下則是屋外的橫風橫雨。身在現場，彷彿能「見」到命運之手在雷雨中控制一切，對比屋裡的貝多芬的solitude。這等以音樂繪形繪色出神入化的境界，真是聽音樂最高的滿足啊！3rd movt亦激動人心，開首的Tutti二人一唱一和，盡顯默契。加上絕妙的rubato，令人大呼過癮！

下半場Berlioz的Te Deum只能以「大開耳界」來形容。這曲是繼Requiem後另一大型宗教主題管弦樂作品。Full orchestra + Organ + Solo tenor, soprano + Male and female choir, children choir, adolescent choir,把碩大的舞台排得插針不進，連台兩旁的樓梯也站滿合唱團，陣勢幾能跟Mahler symphony no.8相比。此曲錄音奇少，較有名的只有Colin Davis/Philips 和Abado自己20多年前的錄音，現場也鮮有演出。開首orchestra齊奏，和Organ的回應，力拔山兮氣蓋世。全曲分六個movt,約60mins，雖然聽不懂歌詞，但看指揮彈指之間調度龐大的管弦力量，拼發出時而哀怨的禱告、時而莊嚴的聖詩，名副其實的驚天地泣鬼神。雖說是宗教作品，但音樂本身宗教味不濃，沒信仰的也不會吃不消。喜歡orchestral color and power的樂迷不可錯過！

第一次的Standing ovation，更是最難忘的生日禮物。感動。人生能聽十場八場這樣的音樂會，于願足已。

Lorin Mazzel, NYPO

julie said he looks like a 獅子狗..XD

Lorin Mazzel, NYPO, HK Arts Festival 2008

15th Feb, 2008, 2000, HKCC

thx to my smart lo por tht we got a wonderful post-exam celebration program---> ny phil concert!! ~so it was lorin maazel with NYPO, playing beethoven coriolan overture, barber violin conc, and the mighty dvorak sym #7.to be honest, the opening overture was rather disappointing, maazel not quite awake (jet-lag perhaps?^^), strings far from unison, and jeez, the concertmaster did NOT even had a glance at the conductor for like 5 mins! the rest of the orch was well, kinda lazy to say the least.yet things coming together with the barber's first real climax, now tht the whole orch awakens, the strings soars, the brass simply deafening, and the winds got a great deal to show off. the soloist was the orch's concertmaster...nth extremely impressive but gd enough overall.dvorak, simply stunning. BRAVO!!!!plus 2 encores of j. strauss, wht a remarkable night!btw..ran into a lot of ppl..famous ppl aside..actually saw prof. gabriel leung in the men's room..wht a shock haha

======================================live concert guo yin hai live....back home teng farn cd immediately saw the difference....well...maybe its better to save the $ for getting live concert tickets than investing in hi-fi systems hahaa

Stuttgart Ballet, Onegin

dance duc ho ho and very 入戲 gei 女鬼

keira knightly-like lang nui..looks better in the costume

Stuttgart Ballet, Onegin, HK Arts Festival 2008

19th Feb 2008, HKCC

didn't know the storyline at all againbut WOW..wht dazzling choreography tht was! bravo to John Crankoplus the virtuostic dancers with lang jai and lang nui hahathe leading female dancer is kinda like a ghost tho..=P but then she danced like there's no tomorrow...and made the rather ng g jo mud gei character utterly convincing.with the miraculous lighting effects and the absolutely beautiful stage setting!! ho leng hahamusic-wise...didn't really pay much attention..the show on stage is too breath-taking.

Stuttgart Ballet, Swan Lake

Stuttgart Ballet, Swan Lake, HK Arts Festival 2008
16th Feb 2008, 1930, HKCC

believe it or not, i don't even know the story of this classic repertoire in ballet before this nite!and believe it or not, the last time i stepped into the grand theatre of HKCC (ages ago), i was on stage playing the role of the little boy in Nutcracker. XDwell, just 24 hrs ago i was hearing new york phil, poor hong kong phil being 踩場 had no choice but to hide benneath the ballet stage to accompany the dancers above...^^ the difference between the 2 orch is apparent, lets face the fact.back to the dance, dancers are great, elegant, as graceful as a swan. i particularly liked the stage effect in the last scene when the prince was drowned. the 32 turns are a remarkable feat...the prince can literally fly when he jumps (and according to julie he's ok lang jai)..btw...it was actually quite 抵 to watch arts fest program...not only we got student half price tickets...we got to sneak to hear some of new york phil's another concert during the intermission of the ballet....we got free juices and wine during the interval.....and ultimately eacb concert and ballet ticket remnant can be used to redeem a free starbucks drink! wht a bargain hahaha

Edo de Waart--Bruckner 7th

HKPO, Edo de Waart plays Schubert no.5 and Bruckner no.7
21 Sep 2008, HKCC

HKPO begins a new season with a series of big symphonic works, thoughtfully featuring Mahler, his mentor Bruckner, and Bruckner's idol Wagner. One wrote the symphony orchestrated for the biggest orchestra (mahler 8), the other wrote the longest ever opera (ring of the nibelungs), and Bruckner happens to be my recent favourite composers.Schubert 5, a lively, light-hearted work that brings you into 18th century bourgeois Vienna. Generally well-played, yet at times sounded too controlled, lacking the natural flow that lies benneath Schubert's melodies. Everyone seems to be performing their duty, making the right sound at the right moment, without making enough music.Bruckner 7, the orchestra doubled to a full size band with extra brass players for the additional horns and wager tubas. Acoustically the sound was huge enough quantitatively, brass section especially having the much needed impact and brightness. Yet it often overshadowed the strings in the climaxes (HKCC acoustics has always been less than ideal), and thus sounded rather incoherent with the rest of the orchestra, with not infrequent misses in various entry points. 1st movt was unimpressive, the team were too self-conscious at times and simply did not build the orchestral cathedral the way Bruckner intended. From 2nd movt onwards, de Waart managed to unfold the Bruckner sound world layer by layer, and alas, i finally feel the long awaited moment of yearning in this movt written for Wagner's death. The exciting Scherzo is the best played, though a bit more punch would be appreciated. The momentum sustained to the grand Finale, ending the night with a gorgeous wave of symphonic power.All in all, a 70 marks performance.the good thing is, HKPO is playing a broader repertoire year by year, and attracting more world-class musicians, the bad thing is, my yearly concert expense therefore increases.the good thing is, HKPO done a respectable job in bigger symphonic works such as Bruckner's symphonies,the bad thing is, after attending a live concert with Berliner Phil and Abbado just 3 months ago, one just can't help wanting more from HKPO.

Rafal Blechacz --Chopin preludes

Rafal Blechacz
Chopin: Preludes OP.28, Op. Posth., Op.45 and Nocturnes Op.62

8.5 (music) / 9 (sound)



Admittedly, the CD cover was well photoshop-ed, and Blechacz pale complexion and lean built suits the perceived image of Chopin (whose chronic pulmonary TB no doubt caused significant weight loss and chronic disease anemia).

As the new winner of the Chopin Piano Competition 2005, and the 2nd Polish (after K. Zimerman in 1975) to win this esteemed prize, Deutsche Grammophone was quick to have him under its wings. The debut recording, needless to say, is an all-Chopin programme.

Preludes Op.28 had always been a difficult work to manage, both as a pianist or as a listener. Its a enormous petite work, almost like a bag of M&Ms of 24 flavours (except without the melamine). Blechacz rendering of them betrayed little of his young age, yet there is still some distance between the complete masterly playing of say Claudio Arrau or the rather eccentric Sokolov performance. Nonetheless, Blechacz positively displayed what he is capable of in terms of colour control, brilliance articulation, poetic phrasing and so on. Time will tell whether he will mature to what he may be.

What draws my attention, however, is the filler Nocturnes Op.62 no.1. Blechacz claimed in the CD booklet that this late Nocturne of Chopin looks forward to impressionistic style like that of Debussy's. Whether you agree or not with such remark (I personally don't), you ought to be impressed by how he effectively communicates his insight to the audience. His graceful trills and phrasing vividly portraits a lovely duck swining its tail on a peaceful lake. The nocturnes is something that cannot sound too bad if you play according to the score. Just like an instant noodle can't taste too bad if you follow the instructions. Yet to turn it into a great meal requires much creativity and skill, here Blechacz shows a glimpse of both.

A great musician needs not be right always, but he will make believe what he thinks is the truth. Blechacz certainly has more than a hint of greatness in him.

Goldberg variations

Andras Schiff
J.S.Bach: Goldberg variations BWV988

ECM 9(music) / 9 (sound)
Decca 10 (music)/9(sound)

古典音樂最重要的作品之一，有著聖經舊約般的地位的J S Bach, Goldberg Variations ，傳說最初竟是寫給一個失眠的公爵幫他排解漫漫長夜的寂寥。怪不得我數年前首次聽的時候聽著聽著便呼呼嚕嚕的睡去了XD
Study leave 時再度度挑戰它，終於給大概聽明白了！頓覺茅塞頓開，驚為天人。
Bach這首鉅著，開首的Aria (詠嘆調) 同時也是Theme，中間夾著3組10個，共30個 variations，結尾是一個和開頭差不多完全一樣的Aria，來個首尾呼應，結構工整。此曲有如一個智者老人，對你細說自己的人生往事、和其中領悟到的人生道理。開始的Aria就是那句 「想當年，我....」，然後的variations就是娓娓道來的故事。當中包羅萬有，妙語連珠。睿智的、風趣的、語重心長的片斷此起彼落，就象巴哈爺爺跟孫兒說故事，甚是有趣。
聽這曲不妨也抱著聽老教授說哲學的心態，雖然偶爾有點悶，其至令人不耐煩，但若能心平氣和的聽完，必然有所感悟，對人生有新的看法。過一段時間再聽一遍，又有另一番體會。(至於有多少得著，就看聽者的悟性了...~)
至於說道理說得動聽不動聽，能不能啟發聽眾，就考鋼琴家的功架了。我聽的是Andras Schiff 的版本，他2001年的Live錄音由ECM發行，現場感和音響皆一流，而且Booklet的內容詳盡，適合有志鑽研樂理結構的朋友。但我更喜歡80年代Decca的Studio版，感覺更親切，更有氣氛。Decca版像在火爐邊聽老人家談人生道理，溫暖窩心；而現場版就變成老智者在佈道了。

Berliner Phil 大火!

柏林地標音樂廳大火 (明報) 05月 22日 星期四 05:10AM
(photo form NY times)
【明報專訊】著名德國柏林愛樂廳（Philharmonie）周二發生大火，濃煙從這座位於柏林市中心的地標建築頂部不斷冒出，部分柏林愛樂團團員憂心樂廳內大批珍貴樂器的安危，奮不顧身入內搶救這些無
價之寶。大火燒了約9小時才撲熄，幸無人傷。這場大火在當地周二下午2時發生，愛樂廳頂部冒出濃煙，在幾公里外都清晰可見，當局出動170名消防員灌救。起火時，柏林愛樂團成員正準備為周五的演出綵排。當時音樂廳內約有300人，全部緊急疏散，包括樂團的前音樂總監阿巴多（Claudio Abbado）。一名低音大提琴手說﹕「我來這裏綵排，看到這場面實在令我很吃驚。」
消防隊爬上金屬屋頂，並在屋頂剪開一個個洞，令他們可以更容易地將火撲熄。當局使用了泡沫代替水來救火，減少破壞建築物及裏面的珍貴樂器。
團員奮勇搶救珍貴樂器
部分樂團團員擔心大火殃及樂器，在消防員協助下，他們冒險進入音樂廳搬走樂器，在3小時內共「救出」約50件珍貴的弦樂器，其中幾件價值數十萬歐元，惟一些大型樂器如鋼琴和定音鼓等，則未能立刻搬動。消防局表示，火勢未波及樂器，目前只擔心搶救時噴灑大量水柱會損壞樂器。樂團發言人稱，火災可能由屋頂的焊接工作引發。大火燒毀了1600平方米的金屬屋頂，但在石屎天花下的演奏廳則沒受損，數日內演奏會可再舉行。
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計劃了大半年的Berlin phil/Abbado/Pollini 之旅眼見成功之際，居然就在Concert 前三天發生大火。 真是..真是 可怒也! 也不知是哪個白痴焊接工人的傑作。
萬幸的是，音樂會如期改在室外場地舉行，雖然不能感受philharmonie hall 的無敵音響，但能現場聽一聽top conductor, top pianist, top orchestra 的演出，夫復何求！