Haydn: Piano Sonatas No. 20, 34, 51, 52
Paul Lewis (piano) (Harmonia Mundi)
(scroll down for English review)
李維斯第二張海頓鋼琴奏鳴曲專輯，未見到他想像貝多芬或舒伯特般繼續錄下去，不過我是在未聽第一張之下聽這張的。我覺得他是在沒有時代忠實，亦即時沒有模倣古鋼琴的包袱下彈海頓，又不會令我覺得偏離古典派美學。首先速度上，他不會營造炫技或神經質的假象，快板也只是輕快，除非是急板，但也不是喘不過氣那種。
觸感方面，連奏、頓奏、極頓奏三者分得很清楚，連奏不會去到完全音黏音那麼極端，而極頓奏則是有鏗鏘感覺，強調了樂句最重要部分。李維斯在原曲有限的音域分野下，做出頗殊異的音色。綜合速度、觸感及音色這三方面來看，聽慣貝多芬（或更重口味）的朋友，李維斯的海頓不會令你忽然愛上海頓的奏鳴曲，但想知道這種曲目認真彈起上來會是甚麼模樣，這是一流選擇。選彈的四首奏鳴曲中，從最長彈到最短，我最愛最短，亦即是放最後的兩首（軌七至11）。
This is Paul Lewis’ second Haydn sonata album, whether or nor he’d give us more Haydn, I can’t say for sure. But I can tell Lewis approached Haydn without obsessing over historical principles or trying to recreate a fortepiano sound. Still, his good taste never put him away from classical aesthetics.
He adopted moderate tempi, and he never tried to pretend Haydn was smarter or more neurotic than we thought Haydn to be. The allegros were lively without rushing, except in prestos. Even so, the presto movements were never tackled in a breathless manner.
Articulation: legato, staccato and staccatissimo were clearly distinguished. The legatos retained a certain sense of touch and the staccatissimos served their purpose of highlighting a certain phrase. The Haydn sonatas aren’t known to spread across a wide span of registers, still Lewis managed to produce considerable variety of colours. All in all, Lewis’ Haydn wouldn’t convert those who’re used to Beethoven or something even grander. But if you wish to know how a Haydn sonata sounds when played properly, Lewis is a nice choice. The four sonatas were placed in descending order of duration. Strangely enough, I enjoyed the two shortest sonatas on tracks 7-12.