Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1
Aaron Pilsan (piano) (Alpha)
(scroll down for English review)
今年26歲的Aaron Pilsan，我是因為他和Kian Soltani（大提琴）的合作而認識他。在一些重要的歐洲音樂廳已見到他彈獨奏的身影，這張巴哈《平均律》第一冊也證明了他是獨當一面的鋼琴家。
先談我喜歡的。小冊子他提過調琴師並非以平均律調琴，但又沒有指明是怎樣調。我不肯定他這種調律對這演奏有幾大的影響，但我首先就是喜歡Pilsan的發音，所有音域及聲部都有很圓滑的琴音。而且他做到一種很自然的連奏，少年時同時用鋼琴及古鍵琴學習巴哈的他，不會胡亂模倣古鍵琴（很多人的模倣只是對古鍵琴的一知半解）。美妙又自然的發音，看似是基本要求，但現在彈巴哈的鋼琴家其實不一定做到。
不過，這套演奏對我來說就太老氣橫秋，聲音的確很好聽，但Pilsan的發音、速度、觸感、造句，所有演奏者能夠控制的元素，他都太過「平均」。聽一兩首不會發覺問題，但一併去聽我就覺得二十四首的前奏曲及賦格都倣如同一首，欠缺個別的性格，就像把這套作品從「音樂」推到「教科書」的領域。
Aaron Pilsan, 26 years old this year, came to my attention as the recital partner of Kian Soltani. I also got to see his name, in solo, on the roster of major concert halls and festivals. This Book 1 of WTC is proof of a new talent in his own right.
Pilsan’s interview included in the booklet mentioned of having the piano tuned on unequal temperament. But Pilsan nor the booklet mentioned how exactly it was done. I’m not sure how much it has to do with it but I really like Pilsan’s rounded tone. He also managed a natural legato that could be explained by his learning Bach on both piano and harpsichord. Pilsan didn’t fall into the pitfall of misunderstanding the harpsichord as a staccato instrument, and the wonderful tone and legato he obtained shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Yet I find this recording to be an old pianist’s Bach and shouldn’t be played like that by a 26-year-old. The sound is wonderful to my ears but all aspects seemed to be too “well-tempered”, or rather “equal-tempered”. It’s OK if you just listen to a couple of Prelude and Fugue but taken in as a set it lacked individuality. I agree with Pilsan saying one shouldn’t canonize Bach’s music, but the way he played it was pushing it towards the realm of textbooks.