Sep 3, 2021
Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Jaap van Zweden / Hong Kong Philharmonic
Raymond Yiu: Old Bei
Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Jing Wang), Symphony No.7
(scroll down for English review)
我是為了貝七而來，所以上半場恕我不談。但我並不是想聽貝七，單純想聽貝七的話，甚至不用開唱機，我對着樂譜在腦海重播就夠，我是想遇到我想像不到的貝七。
相比起幾年前的貝多芬交響曲全集，甚至是2020年奏過的一及二，我覺得梵志登的詮釋起了很大變化。首先是速度很接近貝多芬的拍子機讀數，所以老實說，如果你想聽你聽慣的貝七，你多數會失望，但如果梵志登是奏你聽慣的貝七，我覺得會是浪費我時間。
第二是弦樂聲響，他不再追求最厚實的弦樂，而且那往往是向小提琴傾斜。他選用這些速度，也決定了聲響不會像浪漫派詮釋那樣豐厚。於是梵志登做出的聲響，既讓管樂可以輕易穿透，也令低音弦樂不用去跟小提琴鬥力，整個聲響雖然不算大聲，但均勻得多。
第三是梵志登即使保持高要求，這次我覺得他毋須很用力去鞭策港樂。他傾向定立一個目標，讓樂手追趕，追不到才給你加鞭。所以我覺得整體上，梵志登的指揮少了無謂的壓力，但同樣奏到逼力。
記得去年有作者把港樂的星夜交響曲的網上轉播，和柏林愛樂數碼音樂廳由尼遜斯指揮的馬勒一比較，結論就是嘲笑港樂，叫它不要以為可以做亞洲的柏林愛樂。我覺得問題不只是音樂會性質不同，亦不是把港樂和柏林愛樂比較不公平，而是那位作者不知道港樂好起來可以好成怎麼樣，亦不知道柏林愛樂現場音樂會的水平。我覺得梵志登2019年的馬勒二，比我在2018年底在柏林聽尼遜斯指揮的馬勒二更值得聽，當然演奏水平港樂不是頂尖，但指揮的意圖及樂手的回應，令我覺得整體演奏比柏林愛樂優秀。
梵志登的這個貝七，追求的其實就是和我在2018年薩爾茲堡音樂節聽的貝七極為相似，由K佩特連科指揮柏林愛樂。有朋友覺得梵志登太四平八穩，我的回答是，梵志登開着跑車極速飛馳，逢彎過彎，沒有炒車，所以你身為乘客才感覺到四平八穩。不知道貝七可以去到幾盡，相信很難欣賞到梵志登及港樂的果敢。看不出梵志登視野的井底之蛙，還在笑港樂「妄想做亞洲柏林愛樂」。
I came to this concert for Beethoven Seventh, so I won’t cover the first half. But I didn’t exactly want to hear Beethoven Seventh. If I did, I’d simply play it in my head, with a score in hand. I wished to hear an unexpected Beethoven Seventh.
In comparison to Jaap’s full Beethoven cycle several years ago, and the First and Second that he managed to put on before covid, his interpretation underwent a noticeable transformation. First of all, his tempi were now close to Beethoven’s prescribed metronome markings. You’re very likely to be disappointed if you simply wished to hear a Beethoven Seventh of your liking. If Jaap conducted “your” Beethoven Seventh it’d be a waste of “my” time.
Secondly, he no longer aimed for the fullest string sound, especially one that was skewed towards the violins. The tempi had already determined the sound: a robust Romantic sound wouldn’t be possible. But the diminished violin sound resulted in a more balanced overall sound picture: the woodwinds could now penetrate the texture, and the lower strings no longer had to resist the violins’ onslaught.
Thirdly, Jaap now leads, rather than whips. He’d set a goal and let the players follow; he’d only use the whip if they fell behind. The same degree of tension was achieved with less undue pressure.
Local critics have a tendency to belittle Hong Kong Phil for trying to become Asia’s Berlin Philharmonic. In my opinion, not only do they not know how good Hong Kong Phil could be, but also the average standards of a Berlin Phil concert. For instance, to me Jaap’s Mahler Second in 2019 was a worthier performance than Andris Nelsons’ Mahler Second with the Berlin Phil, which I heard live in late December 2018. Of course as an orchestra Hong Kong Phil was no match to the Berliners, but Jaap’s conception and the orchestra’s responses made it a more dedicated performance than Nelsons/Berlin Phil.
Jaap’s vision of the Beethoven Seventh was very similar with Kirill Petrenko’s Berlin Phil performance at the 2018 Salzburg Festival which I also heard live. Once again our players didn’t deliver as adept as the Berliners, but Jaap did use them as top league players. A friend said he felt Jaap was too steady, I told him off with this metaphor. Jaap was driving a sports car at top speed without bumping into anything, it might feel boring in the passenger seat but you’d hardly find another driver who could pull that off.