Schumann: Symphony No.1-4
Daniel Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin (DG)
(scroll down for English review)
巴倫邦幾天後八十大壽，DG為他賀壽而推出這套舒曼交響曲全集。不過就如在七月替布倫斯泰特賀壽一樣，巴倫邦又是在生日時期要休養，歸期未定。
這是巴倫邦在45年來第三套舒曼交響曲全集錄音，在沒有比較（雖然以前聽過）前兩者下聽，很意外的是聲音很酥軟，既不是原音派的速度或室樂感（所以單薄），又或者是舊式德國樂隊的重量。
從《春天交響曲》第一樂章已是這樣，表面上不夠陽剛或陽光，但音符奏得很清楚，不只是木管很用心吹，連弦樂的發音也有像管樂的呼吸感覺。弦樂短促或伴奏的音符亦再沒有機械感覺，在《第二交響曲》的諧謔曲便可聽到，速度好像不快，但拉得很貼弦，音符拉得很足，反而比一味貪快更有速度感。
如果單聽《第四交響曲》很易覺得力水不夠，但從頭聽應該會感到風格本應如此。頗有莫扎特靈巧的一套舒曼交響曲，未必人人接受，但對我來說，還是證明了樂隊聲響其實也有一些實驗空間，而不只是往原音的方向走。
DG’s homage to Barenboim on his coming 80th birthday, this is his third Schumann cycle in 45 years, after Chicago Symphony (DG) in the 1970s, and this very orchestra in the 2000s (Teldec). Some reviewers might take a comparative approach but I’m afraid I don’t have time for that.
The chief reason is that I was already surprised by the orchestral sound of the Spring Symphony. Some might demand a higher masculinity or sunniness, but I was amazed that the notes were unbelievably well-articulated. Even the strings breathed out their notes like the woodwinds did. There was no rush, nor any attempt to make the fullest sound.
If you dive in this set through the Fourth Symphony it’s very likely that you find it lacking in weight, but if you have started from the beginning this should be taken as stylish coherence. This is a new Schumann set which clings towards Mozartian charm than to Brahmsian grandeur. Like it or not, this is a recording that shows HIP isn’t the only way to achieve a novel sound.