1. Bach's "Goldberg Variations" by Morihara, No. 81610072-1
Sheng originally recorded the Gothenburg Variations twice, the first recording was a piano version, released a few years ago by Piano Classics, a record label specializing in piano recording. The second time was to play the harpsichord, released by NCPA Classics, the self-owned brand of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Shengyuan's harpsichord version of "Gothenburg" did not attract me very much at first, but I was curious for a while, and now there is such a decent and plain harpsichord version of "Gothenburg". Unexpectedly, I found myself completely in love with his interpretation, and regarded it as one of the most noteworthy new films in recent years, "Gothenburg Variations".
Domestically, Morihara may be regarded as one of the very few "specialized" performers. In addition to modern pianos, he also excelled at playing both the harpsichord and the early piano. At present, the harpsichord, as a representative of authentic instruments, has gradually become familiar to fans, but the early piano is another matter. The latter has a smaller audience and a complex classification, but Morihara has launched a recital of Chopin's works in its authentic form, which is admirable. When fans refer to him, they often refer to him as "The Disciple of Turek." Turek's influence was too strong, and although she played Bach mainly on the piano, she also had an in-depth study of authentic instruments and ways of playing them. It is not surprising that people always mention The Inheritance of Shengyuan. Listening to this harpsichord version of the Gothenburg Variations, first of all, I felt that the player really had a lot of Turek' true biography, and then, I could not help but remind the listener that the musical personality presented by the player behind the low profile is really quite strong, and I must not unconsciously put it in the shadow of the master.
What Turek advocated was a deep understanding of authentic instruments and early playing methods, and then not limited by simple instruments. In this regard, Morihara performed exceptionally well in this harpsichord version of the Gothenburg Variations. One of the things that I admire most about his performance is his extraordinary control over the structure of his voice. The three-dimensionality of Bach's creation is one of his most core characteristics, and the performance of such a voice structure puts forward high requirements for the player's finger control. Bach composes music for different purposes, and the vocal aspect is the general direction, but not all works are so difficult. However, "Gothenburg" is really the composer's most comprehensive masterpiece of the difficulty of interpretation. Compared with the Romantic super-performance, what is embodied here can be called another kind of super-skill.
The harpsichord itself has a natural advantage in clearly portraying the voice part, because of the pronunciation method, the lightness of the sound (relative to the piano), the ease of expression of the clarity of the voice part, and the characteristics of little reverberation are "innate". But Morihara recorded this record, not to make up for his shortcomings with the advantages of the instrument, but to do the opposite - he grasped the advantages of the harpsichord and exerted his voice control ability to the limit. At present, the clear expression of polyphony on the piano, although still valuable, is not an extremely rare achievement. But the meaning of "manipulating the voice part" really well is not limited to playing different lines clearly, but to give life to different lines, so that they have their own vivid and unique content. This is a completely different level of control than pure clarity. Because the structure of the work itself is too rigorous and "entangled", without breaking this rigor, the vividness and freedom of three-dimensionality (always multi-line parallel) is expressed, which poses the highest challenge to the skills and cultivation of the performers. The brilliance of Morihara's performance here is, without exaggeration, that every variation he plays is worth savoring.
The performer uses a wide speed, not for the sake of slow and slow for "depth", but because he does show such a rich content that it takes the appropriate time to accommodate. Such an advantage may be the real basis for the whole interpretation. The performers have expanded on it with a great deal of superb performance, and these aspects will be discussed later when there is time. (Zhang Keju)
2. Debussy, Faurey, Frank played by Ning Feng, No. 81610076-1
Xin Fengnian once added a wonderful pen to liu Yuxi's "Buried Room Inscription" in the Tang Dynasty: "The mountain is not high, there are immortals are named; the water is not deep, there is a dragon is the spirit" and then added a wonderful pen - "the song is not big, there is rhyme is the spirit". "Rhyme" is sometimes the divine stroke of inspiration for the composer, and sometimes it is given a unique charm by the hand of the performer. As the gold medalist and outstanding chamber musician of the Paganini International Violin Competition, Ning Feng and Zhang Weicong jointly recorded the "French Violin Sonatas and Sketches" album vividly interpreting the style of "the song is not big, there is rhyme and spirit".
The album contains four short and concise works by debussy, Forré and Frank, three French Romantic composers, and the French instrumental works do not deliberately pursue complex and difficult musical logic, but prefer the delicacy and delicacy of the "cooking small fresh". However, if it is simply summarized as a fixed style to interpret, it ignores the rich and changeable personality behind it. Therefore, showing the unique charm of French music without losing its personality requires not only exquisite skill, but also the meticulous timbre control of the performer. Debussy's late Violin and Piano Sonata in G minor, although the background is slightly bleak, is still full of vitality in the twilight. The ethereal and surging piano lays out a dreamlike artistic conception, and the violin sound seems to be real and virtual, quite a "blank" charm, just like the Impressionist paintings leave the audience with unlimited reverie. Debussy is beautiful with the "virtuality" of the mood, and Forray and Frank are victorious by the "reality" of emotion. Known as the "French Schumann", Fore is known for his "small", and two beautiful pieces show the elegant and lyrical temperament of the French. The quiet, soft tone shows Ning Feng's excellent control over the tone, the tone is stable but not stiff, soft but not vain, like a gentle spring breeze lingering in the hearts of the listeners, intoxicating. Frank's sonata was a new wedding gift from the composer to violinist Issayi, and has since been adapted into several versions. Each of the four movements has its own charm, but the third movement is the most impressive to the virtuoso. The violin solo plays a narrative fantasy theme, which is echoed by the piano, and the violin high-pitched performance is like a gossamer, which is a test of the player's control. The fourth movement of the violin and piano show a moving romantic affection, and every appearance of the theme of the chant style in the melody is unique, which shows that Ning Feng's fine treatment of excellence, bright, open and tender interpretation makes the audience bathed in the morning light of love.
Emotion is in rhyme, rhyme is strong in emotion. This French dessert cooked by Ning Feng and Zhang Weicong, while the lips and teeth are fragrant, are worth savoring again and again. (Bai Jiahuan)
3. Sun Yingdi's performance of Ravel, Barber and Lister, No. 81650088-1
After listening to this record, I knew that Sun Yingdi's writing was also so good
The solo piano album "Sun Yingdi's Interpretation of Ravel, Barber and Liszt" recorded and released by the National Centre for the Performing Arts Records shows the strong influence of the piano master Liszt from one level, from the middle of the 19th century to the 20th century, which is breathtaking.
Liszt is known as the initiator of Impressionist music, such as "The Play of the Waters of Este's Manor", which can be regarded as a prelude to the works of Debussy and Ravel; Liszt was also an explorer of music and discord in the 20th century, such as the experimental "Chardash of the Dead", "Mephistopheles (No. 2)", "Atonal Sketches for the Piano", "Cross", "Haze" and "Lamentations".
The album's "Mephistopheles (No. 1)" is mainly in the national symphonic poetry style, but the audience can already appreciate The charm of Liszt's modern use of modern techniques to express the devil Mephistopheles in the continuous tremor at the beginning of the song. Sun Yingdi's rich and dazzling playing technique fully reflects Liszt's light and shadow effects. He said: "The theme of the phantom in 'Ghosts of the Night' is highly similar to the theme of the middle section of 'Mephistopheles (No. 1)', which sounds quite interesting to 'the present people do not see the ancient time and the moon, and this month once followed the ancients'. ”
Ravel was called a Swiss watchmaker by Stravinsky, and many people misunderstood that Ravel was only a master of rhythm, in fact he was also a lyric master of French composers. In the first paragraph of "Ghost of the Night", the situation of the big beads and small beads falling on the jade plate of "Water Demon" still conveys the touching and profound music of "Mother Goose" and "Pafan Dance Song in Tribute to the Princess". Sun Yingdi's exquisite playing skills and rich musical expression interpret the chiaroscuro contrast of harmonic colors, the control of timbre and dynamics, the sense of telling of musical pictures, the hierarchical control of emotions, the fluidity of melodic lines and granularity in the works.
Although Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata is a multiplicity of works that combine a variety of modern compositional techniques such as twelve tones, color, and sound with a rigorous classical framework, as long as you listen in order, the listener will not have any "generation gap" because it is too much like Ravel!
This work is also the most careful performance of Sun Yingdi in the album. As he puts it, "Barber's Piano Sonatas seem to be an example of old bottles of new wine." Twelve notes, jazz swing, blues... These new musical elements were incorporated into a well-structured standard sonata genre.". His performance is structure-based, firmly controlling the rhythm of the music to reflect the charm of the still and deep flow of Barber's water - no matter how jumpy the music is, the temperament is always so calm.
"Sun Yingdi's Interpretation of Ravel, Barber, Liszt" is a vivid presentation of piano magic, and the article written by the pianist himself is also quite fascinating, as a music fan can read such a moving musical imagery in the record manual is also a kind of happiness, it is inevitable to sneak to Paris with the author in a trance, with the music, the text lingers. (Kou Yi)
4. Schumann's piano works played by Sheng Yuan, Film No.: 81660017-1
Under the national centre for the performing arts, Schumann's Fantasia in C major (Op.17), Butterfly (Op.2) and Childhood Scenes (Op.15) were recently released by Morihara. Schumann's group of works has been circulated with many classic recordings, and there are not many opportunities for Chinese pianists to record them. The author recently had the privilege of listening, and deeply felt that there are two aesthetic moods stirring each other, one is narrative, and the other is embodied in the philosophical attribute of introspective temperament. Therefore, in this sense, Schumann's sketches may be more difficult to control than Liszt and Chopin.
Recording quality is good, piano particles are clear, low voice lines are comfortable and layered, and Shengyuan's grasp of the crescendo and fading breath is undoubtedly excellent. "Butterfly" belongs to Schumann's early works, and its fresh and romantic atmosphere depends largely on the contrast of speed, the use of rubato and the right blank space; the famous "Childhood Scenes" is like a set of musical language group poems, shengyuan refers to the bottom, the dense changes between the voice parts, properly interspersed with rest or thickening and the vocal layer, it can be said that it is like a leader, leading the audience to find new riches between the familiar verses; a "Fantasia in C major" is dedicated to Liszt, with many variations and twists, Always let the wings of the imagination soar. The key factor in the narrative of the music is, I think, the strength and weakness of the skeleton of the variation, the polyphonic texture of the second half of the movement is handled by Shengyuan and driped; and the sparseness of the notes of the third movement can be said to have obtained the key purpose of the word "ethereal".
Of course, we can compare the strong narrative of these three songs to a literary thing, but it is hazy and uncertain. For example, the twelve short musical sketches in "Butterfly" are really all descriptions of the prom? Could it be something else?
Canadian scholar Cady Keane has said that the ear provides a more inclusive, understanding of the world than the eye. Let me guess that it was not difficult for the creators of Schumann's time to discover the meaning of the narrative from the aural level, and even to experience the symbolic meaning contained in the interval relationship. However, it must also be admitted that the excessive expansion of visual culture in the "era of reading pictures" has made several senses unbalanced, and it is helpless for people to lose their inherent sensitivity to sound (especially natural sounds).
Schumann often used the contrasting technique of Lesi, such as using the middle part as the axis, and the two ends with different emotional materials, so that the German habit of rational thinking was enough to make each fantasy unrestrained period of self-examination with enough recycling. In addition, the combination of the main key and the polyphonic texture makes the horizontal melody close and intertwined, and the vertical is also supported by a full harmony, which is an example of the first movement of "Fantasia in C major" that is spread layer by layer. Schumann's use of fugues has always been flexible, and the sophisticated technique of mixing textures lies in the thematic clues in some of his passages, often with hidden accompaniment clues, and the polyphony of the main key music is about to come out.
Since the Bach era, the main key and polyphonic two kinds of textures can be parallel and not contradictory, Jun, his keyboard suite, again and again played a role in the "background" reversed into the protagonist, almost like a suddenly open spotlight, the real full song proposition suddenly illuminated?
The author read that these three favorite songs actually have a subtext. The status of Schumann's Aberg Variations (Op.1) must be said. why? The ethereal elements of Abeg are inherited by the lesser-numbered Butterfly, while the innocence is inherited by Childhood Scenes; Fantasia in C major is similar to the second half of the fluidity of Aberg Variations. Schumann, who was good at playing word games, took the note A-descend B-B-B-E-G-G from Madame Aberg's name as the theme of the variations and wrote the first unattainable Op.1.
Music critic Antonni Tommasini once divided pianists into two basic genres. One has the ability to play any repertoire; the other doesn't, they just play "what is meaningful to them" with whatever skill they need. Interestingly, day after day of piano competitions, people sometimes have a better impression of the perfect skiller than the "meaning seeker" who can pop up more charm. And Schumann, about the construction of the narrative body on the keyboard, or to open a channel to explore the heart, in terms of depth and variability, can always be regarded as the best. But any grand pianist who wants to contact "meaningful" can never avoid him. (Zhan Zhan)