Sep 2, 2022 8pm Philharmonie, Berlin
Simon Rattle / London Symphony
Berlioz: Le Corsaire Overture
Daniel Kidane: Sun Poem
Ravel: La Valse
Sibelius: Symphony No.7
Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite
Encore – Faure: Pavane
(scroll down for English review)
拉圖不只是柏林愛樂上任總指揮，更已定居柏林，這次再帶倫敦交響樂團回到主場，參加柏林音樂節。五個作曲家的節目看似拉雜成軍，其實全是炫技曲目，當中拉威爾、西貝流士及巴托都是一戰後不久寫成的作品，可以視為他們對一戰這個浩劫的回應，哪管是有意識還是無意識。
其實開場的白遼士《海盜序曲》已經是一首很挑戰的樂曲，這裏更覺得拉圖去到這個階段，比較喜歡「舞」樂隊多過「指」樂隊，不只是追求纖毫畢現，更要樂師對指揮能作出最即時的反應。Daniel Kadane這首《太陽詩》只是十分鐘左右，我覺得曲名中的太陽，較像沙漠中的灼熱及眩目的太陽，作曲家似是把樂隊當成一個大型的敲擊組，我不是說他把弦樂或管樂都當成敲擊樂用，而是他的寫法就像有異常豐富音色的敲擊樂。
拉威爾《圓舞曲》，拉圖超越了標準詮釋，把最後的段落化作殺戳戰場，就像千軍萬馬、炮彈橫飛，原來這才是拉威爾的真正意思。西貝流士《第七交響曲》我覺得拉圖推得太狠，刺激有餘，但帶走了不少顏色。最後的巴托《神奇的滿大人》組曲，應該是我第一次聽到一隊英國樂團被鞭撻到這種炫技境界，更可能是最後一次。這晚真的很意外，但也令我相信拉圖已經將倫敦交響樂團發揮到最盡，仍未到歐洲前列的水平，是奏得很集中、很快、很刺激，但音色非常單調，往往只能依賴音量的突變來營造效果，也難怪楊遜斯死後，BRSO的位置空了出來，拉圖就放棄倫敦了，但的確是此團未試過的高峰，能夠見證到也是值得。
This is Rattle’s twofold homecoming, not just as the ex-chief of Berlin Philharmonic but he has long resided in Berlin. The programme looks like a random choice but together they make up an immensely demanding evening of sheer virtuosity. Berlioz’s Le Corsaire Overture, possibly his most dazzling piece, was played not just with razor-sharp precision but also a high dose of freedom. Brit composer Daniel Kadane’s 10-minute Sun Poem evoked the image of the desert sun and the orchestra was treated as one big percussion group, but with very diverse colours.
If you look up the composition dates you’d find the Ravel, Sibelius and Bartok are all written in the aftermath of WWI. Rattle’s exceeded the standard interpretation of La Valse as a Viennese waltz gone awry and he shaped the final minutes as exactly the slaughtering battleground of WWI. Rattle pushed Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony excessively, seeking electricity in the expense of colours. Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite was surely a miraculous performance. I’ve never seen a British orchestra being whipped to such punishing virtuosity. But sadly this looked like the ceiling for LSO, the players can deliver the notes with room to spare but the orchestral sound tended to be monochrome. I understand Rattle’s decision to switch to BRSO as that position became vacant with the death of Mariss Jansons.