Stravinsky: Symphonies (Three Movements, Psalms, In C, Wind Instruments)
Simon Rattle / Berlin Philharmonic (Warner)
(scroll down for English review)
史特拉汶斯基一共寫過五首交響曲，第一首是青年作品，是模倣當時流行的俄羅斯風格而作，其餘四首雖然聲名不及他的芭蕾舞曲，但也值得發掘，這碟至少頭兩首（《三樂章交響曲》及《詩篇交響曲》）都算得上他的重要作品，而且音樂語言也不艱澀。
特別選了拉圖和柏林愛樂的錄音，首先是很少指揮真的全部指過、錄過這四首史氏交響曲，而且這個演奏的質素頗高。《三樂章交響曲》（軌一至三）第一樂章雖然很有逼力，但拉圖成功避免噪音及蠻力。第二樂章很有芭蕾的優美，柏林愛樂管樂手具獨奏家意識的演奏，是很多指揮的錄音都做不到。第三樂章我會把柏林愛樂比喻成頂尖的體操運動員，能有力、優美、富彈性的做齊所有動作。
《詩篇交響曲》（軌四至六）有既新穎，又有點中古風味的旋律，但如此種種，都和古典派及浪漫派以來的宗教音樂很不同，反而有種很直接的虔誠及熱忱。拉圖這個錄音勝在能帶出此曲的壯麗音響，如果你覺得總體音色好像缺了點甚麼，你沒有聽錯，因為此曲不用小提琴及中提琴。
《C大調交響曲》（軌七至十）比《三樂章交響曲》早幾年，同樣有較簡單的音樂語言，但我就覺得寫得比較長氣，例如第一樂章就是以差不多的材料扭來扭去，不過第二樂章又可以聽到管樂的優美獨奏。 實體版沒有但數碼版有附上《管樂交響曲》（軌十一），它是四曲最早的一首，口味較前衛的指揮往往喜歡這首，多過其他三首。我也記得迪華特很重視它，和港樂好像奏過兩次。其實原曲名的交響曲是眾數，似是代表這是多首交響曲，或多個交響元素的融合。喜歡《春之祭》的朋友，應該會找到一些類同處，例如《春之祭》的開頭及貫徹全曲的特殊節奏。
Stravinsky wrote five symphonies in total, the first one was a student work that took the romantic Russian symphony as its model. The other four had a lower reputation than his ballets but were still valuable pieces. At least the first two in this collection, Symphony in Three Movements and Symphony of Psalms, were among Stravinsky’s finest.
I chose this Rattle / Berlin Phil recording because hardly any conductor recorded all four of the mature Stravinsky symphonies. Furthermore, these are superb performances. The first movement of the Symphony in Three Movements (tracks 1-3) was powerfully played but Rattle avoided hard edges and brute force. The second movement had a balletic elegance, thanks to the marvelous solos of the Berlin Phil woodwinds. The Berlin woodwind principals approached their solos with the ears of soloists and you rarely got that in performances by other conductors. I’d characterize the third movement as being done by top gymnasts. All the moves were forcefully, elegantly and flexibly tackled.
Symphony of Psalms (tracks 4-6) had a slightly novel sound not unlike mediaeval music. It somehow set itself from the classical and romantic works of the same kind, but its religious fervour could be more directly felt. Rattle’s recording stood out for its spectacular sonics. If you feel something is missing you’re hearing right, because the instrumentation excluded violins and violas.
Symphony in C (tracks 7-10) was written before Symphony of Three Movements. It’s in a very accessible language but I felt it was too long. Stravinsky simply wouldn’t let go of the first movement. Yet the elegant second movement once again featured woodwind solos.
The last work of this collection, Symphonies for Wind Instruments, was actually written first. This work was usually the preferred Stravinsky symphony of conductors with a more avant-garde taste. Despite its brevity the title was in plural, reflecting the structure of some contrasting elements clashing with each other. Fans of the Rite of Spring would find similarities in the work, like the meandering woodwind solos and the irregular rhythms.