Violin on Stage – Wieniawski, Waxman, Massenet, Saint-Saëns, etc.
Bomsori (violin)
Giancarlo Guerrero / NFM Wrosław Philharmonic (DG)
(scroll down for English review)
金本索里在DG的第二張碟終於以自己做主打，不用依附着知名鋼琴家了，而且也甩了姓氏，索性只叫本索里，反正那個姓常見，而名字又這麼特別。見到這張碟的選曲，想起DG絕少推出小提琴showpieces專輯，對上一張可能是接近三十年的慕特《卡門幻想曲》。這碟又不算純正的showpieces碟，因為有三首來自芭蕾或歌劇的改編曲。此外，維尼亞夫斯基的作品也佔了不對稱比例，時間來說是四成篇幅。
本素里三年前的香港獨奏會我有聽，印象很一般，而這張碟將我對她的觀感再調低一級。選曲明顯把音樂分成炫技及抒情兩種，她兩種都拉得不好。前者例如軌一維尼亞拉斯基《演奏會波蘭舞曲》及軌三華斯文《卡門幻想曲》，空有速度，愈快愈lur。抒情的如軌九維尼亞夫斯基《傳奇曲》或軌八聖桑《我心為你開》，都見到她歌唱感很低，而且琴音很薄卻又很單調。
DG令我覺得可悲之處，不只是簽了一個二流小提琴家，而是沒有心去錄好這張碟。監製盡力苛求她拉好點又好，將幾十個take剪成一個完美無瑕的錄音都好，她在現場演出令人覺得不夠唱片好，也都是正常，這張碟卻比她現場更弱。DG只是委托波蘭唱片公司Accord去錄這張碟，不只是獨奏，就連樂隊都好像在游魂。
Bomsori’s second album finally did away with a more famous partner; she did away with her oh-so-common family name too. Looking at the repertoire I was reminded that DG rarely had their violinists record a showpiece album, the previous one might have been Mutter’s Carmen Fantasy. And this CD, titled “Violin on Stage” isn’t purely showpieces, because three pieces from ballet or opera were specially arranged for violin and orchestra, for this recording. And Wieniawski took the lion’s share, accounting for 40% of the playing time.
I saw Bomsori in recital three years ago, and frankly I wasn’t impressed. And this CD further reduced that impression. The pieces here were distinctly virtuosic or lyrical but she couldn’t play either well. The virtuosic part, such as Wieniawski’s Polonaise de concert (track 1) or Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy (track 3) was sloppily played. The faster she went, the more inarticulate she became. The lyrical part, such as the Wieniawski Legende (track 9) and the arrangement of Dalila’s aria (track 8), lacked a singing tone. Bomsori’s sound was thin and dull.
I think DG is pathetic not because they signed up an inferior artist, but that they didn’t care to produce a decent product. I don’t care if the producer had her repeat takes after takes and spliced everything into a seemingly perfect recording. It’s really customary that soloists sound better on record than live, yet this CD gave a worse image of her than in the flesh. This recording weren’t produced by DG, but by engaging the services of the Polish label Accord.