Hilary Hahn – Paris
Chausson: Poème
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1
Rautavvara: Two Serenades
Hilary Hahn (violin)
Mikko Franck / Radio France Philharmonic (DG)
(scroll down for English review)
大碟名為巴黎，實質只有開碟的蕭頌《詩曲》是法國作品。普羅歌菲夫《第一小提琴協奏曲》（軌二至四）是他在巴黎所寫，芬蘭作曲家拉特化拿《兩首小夜曲》則是為了巴黎而寫，樂譜說委約者是本碟指揮法朗克，以及樂隊所屬的法國電台，不過唱片上就說是為了漢恩而寫。拉特化拿去世時尚差一點才寫完，由另一位著名芬蘭作曲家Kalevi Aho代筆完成。
正所謂巴黎不只是一個城市，實是一種感覺，這三首作品的共通點是頗有一種夢幻氛圍，我覺得很「霧都」，雖然巴黎是花都。還好這碟只是53分鐘，未有飽滯感覺。
我個人而言，拉特化拿《兩首小夜曲》（軌五至六）是全碟最值得聽的作品，兩個樂章分別名為「給至愛的小夜曲」及「給人生的小夜曲」，旋律簡單卻饒有微笑向塵世道別的意境。
至於其餘兩首標準曲目，我覺得漢恩有可能是避免用很多揉弦，例如《詩曲》要去到最後三分一她才肯用力揉，普羅歌菲夫也是在第三樂章最為深情的地方這樣拉。對我來說，她不想太依賴揉弦，卻又令琴音太過單調。此外，我覺得她不是很做得到一種hushed tone，那種欲語還休的弱音，於是這種夢幻音樂我就較難隨着她入夢了。
The disc title being Paris but there’s only Chausson’s Poème as the sole French work. Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.1 was written in Paris and Rautavaara’s Two Serenades was written for Paris. The score says it was commissioned by Mikko Franck and Radio France but the disc says it was written for Hahn. Rautavaara died before completing the piece and it was finished by Kalevi Aho.
Paris is more than a city, it is a feeling. To me all these pieces are predominately dreamy and foggy. The relatively short play time of 53 minutes prevents this album from being oversaturated.
Personally speaking, the Rautavaara Serenades (tracks 5-6) is the most memorable work of this album. The melodies are deceptively simple and they’re like the composer saying goodbye with a smile.
As for the other standard repertoire, I sense Hahn’s avoidance of excessive vibrato. For instance in the Chausson Poème she didn’t start really shaking it until the last third of the piece. Same in Prokofiev. I think it was good for her not to rely on a quick vibrato but her tone was quite often too bland. To me she couldn’t really deliver a hushed tone without which the sense of dreaminess couldn’t be rendered convincingly.