Schubert: Complete Works for Violin and Piano
Johanna Martzy (violin), Jean Antonietti (piano) (Warner)
(scroll down for English review)
經歷過1990年代的香港古典樂迷，應該都有聽到瑪茨（1924-1979）的名字，當時日本東芝EMI把她1950年代的英國及德國EMI錄音以盒裝推出，經一些樂評人盛讚後，掀起過一點搶購潮。現在華納把同一批錄音以2022年的mastering再版，我就趁此機會看看我現在又會不會喜歡她。
9CD的套裝對應九張黑膠，亦可工整的分為三份：協奏曲、巴哈無伴奏、舒伯特小提琴及鋼琴音樂全集，這次我就選了舒伯特來聽。在我決定到自己喜歡還是不喜歡之前，我倒是很快就明白為何會多人喜歡她。我接着這樣說，可能會令人覺得我在笑人，但也不管了：瑪茨的演奏很易聽，subtlety很低，於是令人覺得很直接了當、不用特殊口味或腦力便能接收。
但放在舒伯特，我又很受落，舒伯特的小提琴奏鳴曲（出版時被叫做小奏鳴曲）或多或少因為太過簡單，被當今演奏者及觀眾嫌棄，然而瑪茨就示範到如何演奏這種簡單音樂。她又不是要帶出甚麼純真、靈巧，就是有種不怕悶的堅持依書直說，就算在最難的《C大調幻想曲》（軌十至15）既能維持簡潔，就算最長的小行板變奏曲樂章（軌12），拉足所有重覆奏也沒有企圖去拉刺激一點、有趣一點。是不是真味我不敢說，但至少是一種在這套曲目很適當的口味。
The legacy of Johanna Martzy (1924-1979) was mostly remembered by her 1950s EMI recordings. Testament used to release those as full-priced CDs, now Warner brought all of them as a budget 9-CD box set and in brand new remasterings.
One third of the set is Schubert’s complete music for violin and piano. Starting from the first and simplest sonata (sonatina) I grasped instantly why Martzy made such an impact on many 1990s listeners. Her sound is so easy, so straight forward, a no-brainer. Perhaps in a neutral way, it’s so devoid of subtleties that you don’t need to have a refined taste to take it in.
I’m definitely positive of such approach in Schubert’s violin music, which is sometimes too simplistic for such performers and listeners. Martzy’s no-frills approach didn’t even bother to showcase the simplicity or innocence, as many Mozart interpreters are wont to. On the other hand Martzy underplayed the virtuosity in the more technically demanding C Major Fantasy, and she refused to make the da capos of the variation movement juicier. I wouldn’t say that’s the definitive approach to this repertoire but one that surly works.