Re: 關於巴畢羅里的問題......
※ 引述《kerziage (a life so changed)》之銘言：
: 我想要請問一下,為什麼很少看到巴畢羅里的CD在市面上?
: 是因為他本身錄音不多還是比較少被人重視?
: 因為之前聽了他的馬勒九和艾爾加大提琴協奏曲(杜普雷拉的),
: 覺得其實他的指揮感覺上有一定功力,而朋友也說他是很強的馬勒指揮家,
: 但是為什麼他的音樂這麼少?
我把Mark Kluge的post偷偷貼在這裡（當然是無斷）。
寄件者：MWKluge (mwkluge@aol.com)
主旨：Re: Your Barbirolli Recommendations?
View: Complete Thread （共 37 條留言）
Original Format
網上論壇：rec.music.classical.recordings
日期：1998/10/31
In article <718ta7$1t4$1@supernews.com>, Michael Weston <rushwest@europa.com>
writes:
>Furtwangler and Barbirolli ...[snip] - might I ask where these two men rank
>in your affections? Not a ranking, but merely as someone who might enjoy
>more positive words on a conductor more easily dismissed (I have bad
>memories of a "engineer for a major record label" who claimed to have
>worked on the Berlin Mahler sessions and considered Barbirolli a "midget
>talent" and worthy of the company of Carlos Piata) than Furtwangler.
Please forgive my delay in responding, but I felt your question deserved some
thought rather than merely a superficial assessment. I quite agree that
Barbirolli is a conductor easily underestimated. A number of factors play into
this, perhaps the most important being the large number of recordings he made
near the end of his life after his physical condition deteriorated. Certainly
his late Ein Heldenleben, Verdi Requiem, and La Mer show little of the fire
easily discernible in his performances from the 1950s. Even so, some of the
late Sibelius and Mahler records shed a new light on the works, even though
they lack the sheer physical excitement others have found in these works.
Another factor is that Barbirolli
My personal assessment is that Furtwangler was a true genius, and Barbirolli a
very fine conductor. They shared certain attributes, and sometimes unexpected
corners of the recorded repertoire (e.g., Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings,
Strauss's Metamorphosen, the Franck Symphony, or Nicolai's Merry Wives of
Windsor Overture). I would love the opportunity to compare the two in many
other works they both performed, such as the Tallis Fantasia and La Mer
(recorded only by Barbirolli), or Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and the
Mahler Third (recorded by neither).
While one identifies Furtwangler strongly with Beethoven and Brahms, Barbirolli
conducted those composers much less often. There is a concert tape of the
Brahms Second with the Boston Symphony (1959) that is one of the best I have
ever heard, absolutely at the same level as a Furtwangler performance. The
latter found more depth in his interpretations of the Brahms First Symphony
than did Barbirolli, at least to my ears. Sir John is reported to have had a
particular affinity for the Beethoven Seventh, but never recorded the piece.
His recorded Beethoven Fifth is not in the same league as Furtwangler's best
efforts in that work. In other pieces, such as Tchaikovsky's Fourth and Fifth,
Barbirolli demonstrated more affinity than did Furtwangler in surviving
recordings (althoguh Furtwangler mastered the Pathetique).
Both Barbirolli and Furtwangler could be very flexible indeed, but I personally
find Furtwangler's manipulations more closely attuned to the structure of a
work. Barbirolli tended to be more openly emotive, responding to the moment
(even vocally!), and Furtwangler more spiritual. Barbirolli had a strong
working knowledge of the mechanics of instrumental playing, which he used to
good effect. Barbirolli achieved in particular a very expressive string sound,
despite working with an orchestra of fewer players than the majors. His
favored tonal palette was sunny and Italianate, without short-changing any
section of the orchestra. Furtwangler also created a very distinctive sound,
richer and darker, with weighty, bass-founded layering, but I believe the
process by which he achieved it was more intuitive.
I am puzzled that the producers of the "Great Conductors" video chose
Barbirolli to make a very unsubtle point about effective rehearsal. Certainly
both the short excerpt from his Bruckner Seventh and the snippet of an
interview with Beecham both should be viewed within a larger context. I admire
Beecham very much, but his remarks in the video about efficient rehearsal must
be balanced against Jerome Toobin's story of Beecham's 1956 appearance with the
Symphony of the Air. Beecham dismissed both of his allotted rehearsals early,
despite protestations from the orchestra(!) that more rehearsal was needed.
The resultant concert drew criticism that it did not represent Beecham's art
well, because it all sounded underrehearsed.
The Barbirolli excerpt seemed to me wrenched out of context. Although Sir John
conducted Bruckner fairly often, his Halle Orchestra was a group that
experienced considerable turnover (mostly because the major orchestras
constantly raided the Barbirolli-trained players). This repertoire was
unquestionably less familiar to them than was Delius or Elgar. Therefore, it
is reasonable that the Halle would require more effort to prepare the Bruckner
Seventh than, say, the Vienna Philharmonic. I found Sir John's attempts to
make the opening of the Scherzo sound more ominous quite interesting, and was
frustrated that the excerpt fades out just as he obtains the character he
wants.
Judging Barbirolli's art solely from this brief excerpt makes about as much
sense as evaluating Hemingway as a writer by watching him make a few false
starts and scratch-outs on a single page. I would welcome a recorded
performance of the Bruckner Seventh from Barbirolli, because I have heard tapes
of both the Third and Eighth that preserve compelling interpretations (the
Eighth is now on CD). He also conducted the Fourth a number of times. As for
Furtwangler, one can hear similar instances of repetition (and of
less-than-articulate instructions to the orchestra) in rehearsals of the
beginning of the Schubert Eighth and the coda of Leonore No. 3. I don't think
any less of him as a conductor either just because he couldn't get exactly what
he wanted the first time.
It is interesting that one conductor who admired Barbirolli was Stokowski, who
also admired Furtwangler. Stoki of course conducted a great deal in Britain.
When Barbirolli's name came up in conversation, he remarked, "Barbirolli, a
great conductor - what power!" This was an interesting attribute for the great
colorist to seize upon, but Barbirolli could indeed generate great considerable
power in his best interpretations. I personally believe Furtwangler did so
more consistently.
I first heard Sir John in recordings of Vaughan Williams, Bax, Butterworth, and
Sibelius nearly twenty-five years ago. I have since heard probably 70% of his
recordings, including many of the numerous 78s, and various live tapes. While
he did not consistently reach the highest plane of music-making, I would feel
poorer for not knowing his art.
Mark K.
--
沒有反對黨公開競爭的選舉叫假選舉。
--
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