Chopin Recital: Jan 17, 1964, Salle Pleyel, Paris
Samson François (piano) (Erato)
(scroll down for English review)
法蘭索瓦（1924-1970）去年逝世50周年，去年推出的全集有這張1964年1月17日的全蕭邦演奏。較早時聽了他一些蕭邦錄音，都是以全套作品，即是全套練習曲、全套波蘭舞曲、全套夜曲的聽。一聽這個現場錄音，感覺渙然一新。首先是在那些錄音室錄音反而聽不到的柔和觸感，但真的想大聲時，例如第二奏鳴曲的喪禮進行曲也會有爆炸式狂轟。
更重要是不受拘束，法蘭索瓦不只是所謂的左手規矩、右手彈性，就連基本速度也可以有彈性又不覺得作狀。他在此碟多數的樂曲雖然偏快，但我很能感受到即興隨意。
或者除了是因為錄音室要追求完美，更是因為要彈足全套作品，最為限制法蘭索瓦的自由思緒，甚至連手指頭的靈敏度也綁住。當年唱片公司願意為他錄大批蕭邦錄音，雖然是代表信任，但也給後世留下一個扭曲了的法蘭索瓦紀錄。
這個現場錄音更能代表法蘭索瓦的蕭邦詮釋，選曲沒有甚麼邏輯可言，很隨心的蕭邦精選，最後的幾首練習曲既可以欣賞法蘭索瓦的輕盈，也令我感到音符密麻麻卻沒有一個是多餘的。
Last year was the 50th anniversary of Samson François premature death and included in a massive box set is this all Chopin recital from 1964. I’ve been listening to some of François’ Chopin recordings, like the complete sets of Polonaises or Etudes but this live recording is so refreshing. François’ touch turned out to be lighter than in studio yet he could go so thunderous when he chose to, such as during the Funeral March.
But mostly it was the freedom that I cherished. Left hand didn’t just keep time but could also be flexible without indulgence. Although he chose faster tempi for most pieces but perhaps as a consequence, a higher degree of spontaneity was achieved.
Perhaps it wasn’t just the demand for perfection that inhibited François in the studio, but also the need to set down a whole set that caused him to lose some of his freedom and agility. On the part of the record company, asking him to do chunks of Chopin was a sign of trust, but it also left posterity with a distorted impression of François’ Chopin playing.
This recital was less comprehensive than his studio efforts, yet more representative of him as a Chopin interpreter despite the haphazard programming. François’ Etudes weren’t just light and agile, to me he showed that not one note among the torrents of notes was superfluous.