Busoni: Elegies, Toccatas, Sonatina No.6 “Carmen Fantasy”
Peter Donohoe (piano) (Chandos)
(scroll down for English review)
多諾浩老當益壯，近來不只多錄音，而且範圍廣闊，既有莫扎特奏鳴曲系列，又有普羅歌菲夫及史克利里賓奏鳴曲全集，這張是錄布梭尼，難度分頗高。我近來介紹過一些錄音是布梭尼對巴哈作品的鋼琴改編，這張則是以布梭尼的原創鋼琴曲為主，說起來我又未試過專心聽完一張布梭尼原創鋼琴曲的唱片。
開碟的《觸技曲》（軌一至三）是布梭尼的晚期作品，雖然採用了巴哈觸技曲的格式（像手指操的快板引子、慢板、壯麗的快板），但音樂語言及鋼琴技巧卻是布梭尼自己的風格，只可惜狂風掃落葉未能令我有深刻印象。
《七首悲歌》（軌四至十）佔全碟一半篇幅，照布梭尼專家Anthony Beaumont在小冊子中解釋，布梭尼對悲歌這個詞，並不單純是悲傷，而是一首詩篇、以音樂比喻成詩篇。我看它們（除了第四首）都帶着沉重的調子，但又並非典型悲傷音樂般很直接地訴說悲情。風格很像晚期李斯特，但又不會很刻意地用前衛的音樂語言去呈現虛無的感覺。王致仁早前來港彈布梭尼版《哥德堡變奏曲》後，就曾以第四首《杜蘭朵的閨房》作安歌。
之後兩首就易聽得多，因為都是改編曲。《第六小奏鳴曲》（軌11）的副題為「卡門室樂幻想曲」顧名思義是以《卡門》的旋律做材料。明確的炫技，不過有點膚淺。最後《C大調觸技曲、慢板及賦格》（軌12至14）改編自巴哈管風琴曲，我覺得多諾浩比起大多數彈布梭尼改編曲的鋼琴家，大膽得多，鋼琴非常神似地模倣到管風琴的宏大音色。
Peter Donohoe has been very active on record this past decade. He has an ongoing Mozart sonata cycle, and completed cycles of Prokofiev and Scriabin sonatas. Now comes this Busoni disc that consists mainly of original works, save for one Bach-Busoni transcription.
Toccata (tracks 1-3) is a late work but isn’t a Bach arrangement. Busoni took the form (a quasi-finger-exercise fast movement, a meditative adagio and a glorious finale) and injected his own musical and pianistic styles. But I’m sorry to say I wasn’t impressed despite many virtuosic passages.
The seven Elegies (tracks 4-10) occupy half of this CD. As clarified by Busoni specialist Anthony Beaumont in the programme notes, Busoni took the term “elegy” more as a lyric entity than simply a sad piece. I see them as dark and brooding (except the fourth piece) but the emotional complexity transcends a typical adagio. These pieces often reminded me of late Liszt but I don’t think Busoni intentionally estranged his listeners by using a modern or nihilistic tonal palette.
The last two pieces would appeal to more conventional ears. The Sixth Sonatina (track 11) has the subtitle of “Chamber Fantasy on Carmen” so it’s essentially some kind of paraphrase on the Carmen tunes. Virtuosic but too superfluous to my taste.
Bach-Busoni finally made an appearance with Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major (tracks 12-14), after Bach’s BWV564 organ work. I admire Donohoe’s nerve in unlocking the piano’s sonority. Surely a piano would never sound like an organ but Donohoe’s titanic rendition evoked the feel of an organ blasting majestically.