遲來兩年的慕特四重奏 Mutter Plays Quartets by Haydn, Beethoven & Widmann

Oct 11, 2022 8pm Isarphilharmonie, Munich

Anne-Sophie Mutter, Ye-Eun Choi (violin), Vladimir Babeshko (viola), Daniel Müller-Schott (cello)

Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, op.20 no.1

Beethoven: String Quartet No.2, op.18 no.2

Widmann: String Quartet No.6 “Study on Beethoven”

本來是2020貝多芬年的節目，兩或三次延期後終於能開騷。這也是我首次來到慕尼黑的新音樂廳「伊薩愛樂廳」，名義上這是臨時音樂廳，興建來讓Gasteig文化中心那個愛樂廳可以閉館重整音響，這個廳出自豐田泰久手筆，而重整的任務也交了給他。Gasteig有多麼糟糕呢，我這樣說吧，我去過後對文化中心寬容得多了。

慕特本來被港樂邀請在貝多芬年來香港，也有一場室樂演出，曲目包括這晚的新作品。上半場則是海頓及貝多芬，海頓第一首《太陽弦樂四重奏》，慕特在速度及音量的取態算是進取，不是聽慣的海頓那樣輕鬆，差不多等於貝多芬早期四重奏了。至於貝多芬《第二弦樂四重奏》則更為勇猛，既是比海頓再進一步，也有尋找極限的意圖。本來不算棘手的樂句，拉到這麼快就很刺激了。換個說法，慕特倣似宣示，不用等到後期四重奏，早期的貝多芬已經很大膽了。

明明是四重奏，為甚麼我總是慕特前慕特後？即使我一向不相信「弦樂四重奏是四人平等」這種誤解此曲式才說得出來的話，但慕特的主導，我覺得我也真的太強。絕不是說她忽略其餘三人，更是把他們都練到很精準，一副三星伴月的氣勢，但就令到他們毫無性格。

下半場只奏一首魏特曼《第六弦樂四重奏》，約半小時的樂曲。魏特曼是慕尼黑人，這晚也有到場，慕特請他上來談談作品。這場是慕特是次德國巡迴的第二場，魏特曼說自己是第一次現場聽到自己這首新作。慕特請他寫此曲時，他已經15年沒寫弦樂四重奏，經慕特這次邀約，他一次過寫了五首弦樂四重奏，都是從貝多芬得到啟發，好像差不多全部寫完了。

慕特深知此曲和上半場的海頓及貝多芬差天共地，特意演奏一些段落，教觀眾留意甚麼，不過我附近就有觀眾趁此機會溜掉了。貝多芬《第八弦樂四重奏》（作品59第二首）啟首的兩個和弦,是此曲的「錨」，不時回歸，雖然不能說魏特曼在惡搞貝多芬，但相去不遠，貝多芬的不同旋律不時零碎的出現，變成前衛音樂的模樣。

我欣賞魏特曼不是硬來，而且很會運用貝多芬這些旋律的姿態或戲劇效果，看看可不可以套在自己的音樂中，我覺得這樣運用，令此曲還是有相當方向。對前衛音樂興趣不大的朋友，我覺得看慕特拼搏演奏半小時，也值回票價。說難不是極端的難度，但一般協奏曲也沒這麼多而維持良久的難句。至於不是慕特去拉，其他人去拉又有沒有這種效果呢，我相信如果是拉得到，還是有看頭的。如果慕特把其餘四首魏特曼的貝多芬致敬四重奏，我洗耳恭聽。

This is the second concert of Annie-Sophie Mutter’s current quartet tour. This very Munich concert should have taken place in 2020 but covid interfered and after multiple cancellation and rescheduling the Munich audience finally got to see it.

Haydn’s First “Sun” Quartet was given at higher speed and volume range than we’re used to, so as to strip the “Papa” label attached to Haydn. It almost sounds like an early Beethoven quartet. So it was hardly surprising that Mutter pushed Beethoven’s Second Quartet even further, with close-to-the-edge tempi rendering everything virtuosic. I had the feeling that Mutter was telling us that one doesn’t have to wait for the Late Quartets for such challenge.

I emphasized Mutter because this was really her show. True, the first violin should be the dominant role in a classical string quartet but I felt that Mutter was too much so and the three other players lack character, despite being polished to perfection.

Widmann, born and living in Munich, was asked by Mutter to say a few words on his new quartet, commissioned by Mutter. Indeed Widmann went on to write a total of five Beethoven-inspired quartets and he has almost completed them. Mutter then took the trouble to play excerpts from this 30-minute quartet. Some concertgoers around me took this cue and walked out.

The two chords that started Beethoven’s Second Rasumowsky Quartet are the anchor of this Widmann work. Widmann’s stretching or disfiguring Beethoven’s melodies seems to be standard practice of avant garde composers, but I appreciate him not forcing his point. His special attention to Beethoven’s dramatic gestures is so essential to making this awkward-sounding piece quite followable.

As for the non-initiated, they might get their money’s worth from Mutter’s virtuosic displays. In modern music terms the parts aren’t really close to the verge of unplayable but we hardly get to see Mutter play such extended stretches of bravura even in standard violin concertos. Will Mutter and Co. go on and play the other four? I hope so.