Beethoven: Symphony No.1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9
Igor Markevitch / Orchestre Lamoureux, Symphony of the Air (Decca, DG Eloquence)
(scroll down for English review)
我以前聽貝多芬交響曲，將原音派奏法當成特別例子，現在愈來愈像是把原音派（包括古樂或現代樂器）當成正常，浪漫派舊錄音才是特例。我也承認我有selection bias，傾向挑原音派來聽，但這樣反轉過來，遇到一些浪漫派演奏又會有另一種樂趣。
馬克維奇的兩套Eloquence套裝，共有六首貝多芬交響曲，DG那套有三及六，都是單聲道；Philips那套有一、五、八、九，都是立體聲。除了三是紐約的Symphony of the Air（托斯卡里尼退休後，NBC交響樂團改用這個名掙扎了幾年然後解散），其餘都是巴黎的拉姆赫樂團。
既是不幸，又可以說是有幸，這批貝多芬錄音，單聲道及立體聲差得很遠，雖然單聲道還是聽到馬克維奇既能爆發、又能維持結實綿延弦樂的優點，但還是立體聲才能真正表現到出來，就例如連結中的一、五、八。我覺得馬克維奇的詮釋特點，還是在剛才所說的管弦聲響那方面，但那些特質已足夠令音樂提升熱度，更重要是原音派演奏做不出來，在浪漫派演奏之中也是異數。就是可惜馬克維奇沒有錄全集，否則說起早期立體聲的貝多芬交響曲全集，我們就不會立即搶答：卡拉揚及克倫貝勒了。
Six Beethoven symphonies are included in the two Igor Markevitch Eloquence box sets. The DG set has Third and Sixth, both mono recordings. Stereo recordings of First, Fifth, Eighth and Ninth are in the Philips set. All were done with the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris, except the Third was set down in New York with Symphony of the Air.
One is likely to say how unfortunate the Third and Sixth are in mono, but one can only be grateful stereo arrived in time to capture Markevitch’s Beethoven in its full glory. Markevitch used a large orchestra for Beethoven but the labels of “heavy” or “Teutonic” shouldn’t be applied to him, because he could sustain solid lines yet produce the most powerful sforzandos. You can’t hear those in HIP or HIP-inflluenced performances, nor can you find them in your usual performances that stick to a large orchestra. But it’s still a pity that we don’t have a complete cycle from him, or it’d definitely replace Karajan or Klemperer as the best set in early stereo.