Debussy: Children’s Corner
Chopin: 24 Preludes
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Behzod Abduraimov (piano) (Alpha)
(scroll down for English review)
阿貝都萊默出道十年，近年錄音不多，終於在Alpha推出了獨奏專輯。Decca當年想捧他做新一代強力俄風鋼琴家，但這張專輯展露出他細膩一面。84分鐘的碟長，有44軌之多，三套作品都以微型樂章為主。
德布西《兒童角落》這裏少有地足本彈奏，我非常欣賞阿貝都萊默的輕柔觸感，而且不會矯情地裝童真，平淡的樂章就由它們平淡。蕭邦《24首前奏曲》他也沒有刻意戲劇化，簡單平淡的前奏曲就依書直說，猛烈的前奏曲就清脆俐落、點到即止。更難得是他很依從音量提示，當然不是說很「絕對」地彈幾大聲、彈細聲，而是他很注重強弱之間的相對感覺，尤其是同一首前奏曲之中的強弱對比。
《圖畫展》就是他，正確一點說，是我們覺得他最熟的一環。順着德布西及蕭邦之後，阿貝都萊默無疑繼續採用「古典派」的手法去彈，不企圖加添蠻夷風情，不過單獨來聽就好像平凡了一點。此外，我之所以留意到阿貝都萊默的弱音，是因為此錄音的強弱對比比一般鋼琴錄音大，所以從頭開始聽時不要以為太細聲而開大聲。
Abduraimov made a comeback to recordings with this solo album on Alpha. Decca, who once signed an exclusive contract with him, tried to market him as the next titan of the Russian Piano School. Yet this recital shows his delicate side. The 84 minutes play time is made up of 44 tracks, the three works all comprised of miniatures.
Debussy’s Children Corner don’t usually get played in full, as in here. I treasure Abduraimov’s light touch. He didn’t try to contrive some false naiveté and he played the weaker movements just as they are, without adding unwanted emphases. Likewise in the Chopin Preludes, Abduraimov didn’t dramatize and respect the dynamic markings of each prelude, and within each prelude. The point isn’t just loudness but the sense of contrast. The blander preludes were played just as bland, but the extroverted ones were played with intensity, but without excess.
Mussogsky’s Pictures would be the repertoire we associate with Abduraimov. If you’re listening to this disc in sequence you’d notice the same classicism but on its own this set of Pictures might sound underpowered. The reason why I notice so much the pianos and pianissimos is because the engineering which allowed large dynamic contrasts, so make sure not to crank up too much in softer passages.