Ondřej Adámek: Follow Me, Where Are You?
Isabelle Faust (violin), Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano)
Peter Rundel, Simon Rattle / Bavarian Radio Symphony (BR Klassik)
(scroll down for English review)
聽這張當代捷克作曲家Adámek（生於1979年）的專輯，無非是兩首樂曲都由頂尖演奏者演出，都是BRSO的（共同）委約作品。《跟着我》小提琴協奏曲（軌一至三）顧名思義是獨奏小提琴擔任音樂的領導者，由樂隊跟隨。我覺得這首音樂就寫好了一個劇本，再以音樂去實現獨奏者及樂隊之間的互動，本來這樣不怎麼樣，但每個樂章後段，Adámek都寫得出有力的管弦樂高潮，否則這首協奏曲就太過依重概念了。
《祢在哪兒？》（軌四至14）是為拉圖夫婦所寫，說是為郝珊娜度身訂造也不為過。11個樂章的中心主題是人類找尋神，但總是遍尋不獲，音樂及多國語言的唱詞，主要和基督教有關，但最後一曲是出自《薄伽梵歌》，用了印度教去解答了基督徒的疑惑：神無所不在。之所以說此曲是為郝珊娜訂造，因為郝珊娜近年很想打破音樂及戲劇的界限，這首作品就有很強的戲劇表現，不過只聽錄音，不在現場看，效果肯定大打折扣，而音樂同樣是有勁度，但本身不怎麼樣，未足以推介給少聽現代音樂的朋友。
It’s very unlikely that I’d listen to this Ondřej Adámek (*1979) album if not for the top soloists. Follow Me (tracks 1-3) is a violin concerto with the solo part acting as the leader, “followed” by the orchestra. I felt as if the composer first wrote a scenario then filled it up musically. I don’t think the repetition, tossing back and forth, and the orchestra’s overwhelming the solo violin meant much had not Adámek backed it up with powerful climaxes in each movement.
Where Are You? (tracks 4-14) was written for Magdalena Kožená and Simon Rattle. The multilingual texts depict an ostensibly Christian believer trying desperately to find God. But the last movement was a setting of a text from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita (in its original Sanskrit) with the answer that God is indeed everywhere. I’m pretty sure this work fit Kožená’s urge to reinvent herself as a singer-actress breaking the barrier between music and theatre. I could hear many theatrical gestures but the full power of the work has to be experienced live, so it isn’t really something I’d recommend to ordinary listeners with no particular penchant for modern music.