Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 (Hammerklavier), Eroica Variations
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) (Pentatone)
(scroll down for English review)
艾馬爾上一次推出全貝多芬專輯，應該是接近20年前的鋼琴協奏曲全集，哈農庫特指揮。以現代或前衛音樂著稱的艾馬爾，選了《大鋼琴奏鳴曲》並不令人意外，更會令人期望他在前衛曲目的技術及分析力，會否帶來更高層次的詮釋。
第一樂章卻沒有懾人的力量，不是說大聲就是好，但我覺得艾馬爾的和弦沒有妥善和聲，於是也聽不出厚薄對比，其實也就是顏色的對比。第二樂章艾馬爾的觸感頗為細膩，彈得出多數人彈不出的短促漸強效果。第三樂章我欣賞他沒有濫情，不會像知識分子對此樂章過度詮釋。他讓音樂如變奏曲般穩步向前，只是我嫌他在後段彈得比較機械，旋律的自由度不足。第四樂章的賦格對我來說最為失望，他用這個不算快的速度，其實可以再加強勁度。
用中期作品《英雄變奏曲》（軌五至21）去配搭就有點意外，尤其是這不是很有深度的音樂。不過這套作品以賦格作結尾，艾馬爾又將《大鋼琴》的慢板定位為變奏曲，所以這個組合絕不突兀。我認為艾馬爾也是令我覺得炫技不足，個別變奏的個性不夠突出，不過他在第15變奏（軌20）的耐性，令短促音符很有音樂感。
Aimard recorded a Beethoven piano concerto cycle with Nikolaus Harnoncourt some 20 years ago. Now he finally recorded an all-Beethoven solo CD featuring the Hammerklavier Sonata. Such choice was hardly surprising for a modern/avant-garde music maverick and I expected a heightened sense of virtuosity and analytical power from him.
Yet the first movement failed to stun me, although I didn’t mean the louder the better. To me Aimard didn’t pay enough attention in voicing the chords. Bigger chords didn’t sound as such so the distinction of chords and colours were lost here. I appreciate Aimard’s softer touch in the second movement and he managed to produce the brisk crescendos that eluded many pianists. The third movement was played without excessive sentiments and over-intellectualization. Aimard allowed the music to unfold like a set of variations. Still, as the notes got quicker Aimard seemed to play them too mechanically and didn’t allow the melodies to soar. I was especially let down by Aimard’ fugue finale. He should have put in more power at such tempi.
Coupling Hammerklavier with the Eroica Variations (tracks 5-21) was totally unexpected. But its fugue finale and Aimard’s shaping the Hammerklavier adagio as a set of variations showed that these two works weren’t that apart from each other. Once again not enough virtuosity was the problem here, but Aimard’s patience in the 15th variation made this variation sounded very musical.