Liszt: Années de Pèlerinage
Georges Cziffra (piano) (Erato)
(scroll down for English review)
去年是季佛拉100冥壽，華納出了一套他的錄音全集，焦點當然是李斯特，我趁此機會聽了《巡禮之年》全集。有趣是這套錄音可以用兩張CD裝得下，時間不到兩小時半，比大部分錄音短十幾至廿幾分鐘。
以季佛拉的技術，彈得快是意料之內，不過聽他的詮釋又對《巡禮之年》有新的體驗，又真的和那快了的20分鐘有關。因為季佛拉令我覺得，這套作品的大部分樂章其實只是小品，不過用了炫技的寫法來包裝，一般或者就是正統的彈法，可能就是太認真、太「崇敬」，季佛拉就有一種隨心。當然，第二年的《但丁奏鳴曲》（軌16）或第一年的《奧伯曼山谷》（軌六）就不是小品了。
又會問，季佛拉這種技術是不是空前絕後，我看未必。問題是現在的口味難以接受這種彈法，一來會嫌太快，二來會嫌發音不夠好聽，三來我們對錯音的容忍度變到很低，一去到現場就難以掩飾。又或者，要又快又準又響的鋼琴家去彈，才不會被評論家或比賽評審質疑，這種人是有的，只不過成了名後輕輕鬆鬆彈同樣的協奏曲或獨奏會曲目便賺到盤滿砵盤。
Erato released a mega box set to celebrate Georges Cziffra’s centenary last year. As Cziffra’s name was synonymous with Liszt I took this opportunity to go through his complete recording of the Années de Pèlerinage.
Most sets of Années de Pèlerinage took three CDs so I was surprised that this one fits into two discs, about twenty minutes faster than average. But it’s not surprising at all, given Cziffra’s virtuosity. Although speed shouldn’t be a parameter of goodness but I must say these 20 minutes do make a lot of difference, even fundamentally. Cziffra convinced me that this set of works is basically small-scale pieces clothed in transcendental pianism. Of course Vallée d’Obermann or the Dante Sonata aren’t small pieces but most are, although very hard to play. The common approach was to view this set as profound meditations and that explains the slower tempi.
After listening to this set I feel I have the answer to this question: Why don’t pianists today have Cziffra’s technique? My answer is there could be such pianists, but our tastes would shut them out. We would eschew such speed, the inferior tone production. We’re now very intolerant towards wrong notes, which would definitely pop up in live performances when the pianist plays so dangerously. Unless there comes someone who could play so fast, so accurate and so sonorous that even competition judges and critics wouldn’t dare object. Impossible? Of course not, but when these virtuosos got famous they would just play the same concertos over and over again, and getting paid big bucks for doing that. Who cares about exploring Liszt?