Schnittke: Concerto for Piano and Strings
Prokofiev: Symphony No.2
Yefim Bronfman (piano)
Franz Welser-Möst / Cleveland Orchestra (Cleveland Orchestra)
(scroll down for English review)
韋沙慕斯特和克里夫蘭樂團的自家品牌錄音終於推出第三張，兩首俄羅斯／蘇聯的20世紀作品，相隔五十年，用舒尼卡配搭普羅歌菲夫。兩個錄音都是2020年灌錄，舒尼卡《鋼琴及弦樂協奏曲》是封城期間的網上音樂會、樂手用社交距離灌錄，普羅歌菲夫《第二交響曲》則是疫情前，樂團每年於冬天作客的邁亞密的現場錄音。
兩首作品都肯定是冷門樂曲，但還有一個共通點：變奏曲。舒尼卡《鋼琴及弦樂協奏曲》（軌一）是一個樂章過，不過是一套主題在最後才演奏的主題變奏曲。舒尼卡的「多風格」風格，順理成章在不同變奏展現，但我覺得萬變不離其宗就是濃厚的宗教感覺。近來此曲得到兩位前列俄羅斯鋼琴家演奏，先是馬祖耶夫，現在在布倫夫曼。
普羅歌菲夫第一首交響曲《古典交響曲》平地一聲雷，但有幾多人聽過他《第二交響曲》？都不要分在錄音還是現場聽過了。韋沙慕斯特對普羅歌菲夫的冷門交響曲情有獨鍾，樂團自家錄音的第一集有《第三交響曲》，這次輪到《第二》。《第一》是普羅歌菲夫最著名、最易聽的交響曲，這首則是最古怪，他明顯想避免重覆自己。不過第一樂章的重量銅管及敲擊，雖在以後的交響曲都有，但這兒的鋪排最為乖異。第二樂章就索性是一首廿多分鐘的變奏曲，把慢板、諧謔曲及終曲都融合其中，但沒有跟那個順序，六個變奏聽來就是自由變化，它們之間未必有幾大連繫。
或者樂團的活動還未恢服，但在疫情之前又未重視自家製作錄音，這兩個錄音都令我有倉底貨之感。我相信用社交距離錄舒尼卡，削弱了弦樂的威力，而在樂團作客時錄下的普羅歌菲夫，錄音質素不夠表現樂曲的實驗性音色，演奏又未見得樂團及指揮將這冷門樂曲有夠熟練。
After a while Cleveland Orchestra finally resumed their CD releases, with this odd combination of Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings and Prokofiev’s Symphony No.2. The Schnittke was recorded late last year for online streaming and the Prokofiev was a live recording from their Miami residency shortly before the pandemic outbreak.
The form of variations might be the only thing in common between the two works. Cast in one movement, Schnittke’s concerto is essentially a set of variations whose theme only reveals itself in the end. Schnittke’s polystylism is now spread across various variations but a sense of religiosity somehow runs across them.
How many actually heard Prokofiev’s Symphony No.2 after his Classical Symphony? I guess it won’t get played unless in a Prokofiev cycle. Welser-Möst, whose interpretation of Symphony No.3 was in the series’ first issue, now followed it up with No.2. Twice the length of the previous symphony but with just half of the movements, this odd symphony features an allegro with an awkward overall sound and flow. Prokofiev then did away with the adagio, scherzo and finale with a massive theme of variations of 25 minutes. Various elements could be heard from the six variations but they don’t necessarily connect with each other.
To me, this issue seemed to be the result of the orchestra desperately finding something to put on disc. The Schnittke concerto was recorded in a social distance setting and that undermined the power of the strings. Recorded when the orchestra wasn’t at home, the Prokofiev symphony wasn’t set down at a quality that did justice to Prokofiev’s vision. And the performance didn’t convince me that the conductor and orchestra had this rare work under their fingers.