莫扎特安魂曲，卡拉扬指挥维也纳爱乐乐团，这张唱片是卡拉扬的1986年大病初愈后指挥维也纳合唱团和维也纳爱乐乐团演绎莫扎特安魂曲的录音。这个金装版是数字录音，规模宏大，“企鹅”评价三星

卡拉扬在这里的处理，气势非常宏大，戏剧性张力和节奏冲击几近白热化，音效坚定有力。4个声部的独唱都是一流的。

Bar code:
STEREO 289 457 701-2
0 28945 77012 3

--------------------------

NATHAN MILSTEIN, Violine

Milstein on Recording Bach

“I just stopped making records about ten years ago. I don’t enjoy recording much; it makes me very nervous. When I play for a live audience I am nervous only until I get to the stage; once I’m on stage I feel like a fish in water. Recording does make me nervous, with the extra emphasis on perfection, but I do want to leave a record of my thoughts on the music that has meant most to me. I am not adding new material to my repertoire now; instead, I devote myself to the music I have lived with and loved for a half-century and more. I like the way my sessions are handled by Deutsche Grammophon. Where there is an error or some reason for a re-take, I won’t do a ‘surgical’ job, slipping in a note here or there: repairs must be co-ordinated so the emotional impact, the instinctive quality will be continuous, so the idea, the fire, the lyricism will not be interrupted by patches. If something has to be re-taken, I play a big part of it, for the sake of the continuity. I think the Bach Sonatas and Partitas I recorded for Deutsche Grammophon in London actually are clearly superior to the set I did in the ‘50s. There is nothing in my repertoire that I don’t play better now than I did before — simply because of the added experience I have now — and it is especially gratifying to be able to record these works under today’s technical conditions.”

The Bach solo works [...] have been Milstein specialties for years. [...] Bach, though, was something he had to discover on his own: “In Russia we didn’t have respect for Bach as a great composer. Of all his works, only a single fugue was included in our curriculum. In my Bach playing I stress the bass and the middle voices separately, with particular emphasis on the bass almost as a separate entity.” In Milstein’s definition, “virtuosity” has nothing to do with mere display, but indicates “the highest degree of professional excellence — in any sort of undertaking, not only a musical one. I think War and Peace is a virtuoso work.” He also distinguishes technique from mere dexterity: “technique is not just a matter of muscular control — technique means adjusting the medium to what I want to do.” The instrument Milstein plays is a 1716 Stradivarius he acquired in 1945, formerly known as the “ex Goldmann”. He has renamed it the “Maria Teresa”, in honor of his daughter Maria and his wife Teresa.

From a conversation with Nathan Milstein (1975)
Richard Freed

--------------------------

This is marvellous violin playing... Milstein’s special virtues are those of commanding technique: never is a note out of true in pitch or in rhythm.
Gramophone (1975)

... this is a magnificent set by any standard; from a performer close on 70 it is an achievement bordering on the miraculous.
Records and Recording (1975)

...this must surely rank as the seventy-year-old Odessa-born violinist’s crowning achievement. His interpretation, immaculately recorded by DG in a penetratingly clear yet warm ambiance, is so extraordinary that this three-disc album not only must be rated as one of this year’s finest releases but deserves to take its place among the greatest Bach recordings ever made. First, Milstein playing is impressive on purely technical grounds. So often these works tend to sound as though the performer is just barely going to make it through, especially in the contrapuntal convolutions of the sonatas’ three fugues; even at best, the rapid arpeggiation necessary to sustain three or four melodic lines all at once frequently results in an unpleasant scratchiness [...].
Technique aside, Milstein renditions have an unusually human quality. I find these to be warmly expressive readings in which the music is allowed to flow forward sensibly and the rhythms evoke all their dance origins. Slow movements, too, are handled in a wonderfully graceful manner. Finally, there is Milstein sense of pacing, which is something quite apart from his judicious choice of tempos. Rather it is revealed in a subtle rhetoric that causes a movement such as the Chaconne to build and grow from one climax to another. The pulse is always strong, the architecture always apparent, and the rubato-like inflections clarify the sentence structure of Bach’s phrases. Tonally, Milstein’s playing is quite beautiful.
Stereo Review (1976)

Every Phrase is shaped with meaning, every line is musically alive and in matters of technique there are no question marks either.
Gramophone (1976)

The Milstein set is the finest to have appeared in recent years. Every phrase is beautifully shaped and keenly alive; there is a highly developed feeling for line, and no want of virtuosity. ... Milstein is excellently served by the DG engineers, and the sound is natural and lifelike.
Penguin Guide (1977)

Milstein’s performances achieve both authority and spontaneity: the phrasing is supple, and the playing deeply felt without any suggestion of romantic indulgence. This is wholly admirable and can be recommended without reservation of any kind.
Gramophone (1977)

----------------------------

MILSTEIN PLAYS BACH

To understand the fascination that the solo Sonatas and Partitas of Bach had for Nathan Milstein, we first have to consider the works themselves. They were written in 1720, at a time when the composer was concentrating on instrumental music in his role as Kapellmeister to the court of Cöthen. As in so many other spheres, Bach did not invent a genre but improved immeasurably on the solo violin music written by some of his German contemporaries and predecessors. He was a good player of the violin and viola himself and in his Sonatas and Partitas he created abstract shapes and forms in which the player could seem almost to be communing with himself, yet still dazzle the audience. This is music in which the spiritual and virtuosic elements of the performance are so finely balanced that it is difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. Bach is not satisfied with a single line of music but throws in chords and even counterpoint, in which the harmonic drift of the music implies extra voices which are not actually present. The most amazing displays of this counterpoint come in the great fugues of the three Sonatas. The Partitas are at first glance simply suites of dances. Yet they demand many techniques which express the very soul of the violin — the exciting bariolage in the ebullient opening Preludio of the E major Partita, for instance; and the D minor Partita culminates in a Chaconne, a basically slow dance built on a repeated bass, which is perhaps the mightiest single movement the composer ever created. Here, using one small violin, Bach traces out one of his most amazing edifices in sound.

The 19th century did not really comprehend this music, and various attempts were made to fit piano accompaniments to the Sonatas and Partitas. Only with the emergence of Joseph Joachim did a major virtuoso grapple with the vast possibilities of these works; and by then problems had arisen through the steady evolution of the violin and the bow. Bach used a bow with a convex stick and his violin was strung across a flatter, shallower bridge, with tar less tension, because the neck of the violin was shorter and less angled. In the search for more volume, most of the old violins were modified to take a higher tension. The bow evolved into using a concave stick, which again allowed for greater tension. These factors made it harder to play Bach’s chords and most violinists of the early 20th century worked out compromises between Bach’s demands and their own capabilities. There were aberrations such as the Vega bow, a contraption by which the player could sound every note of a chord, even on a modern violin; but until the rise of the period instrument movement, playing Bach on the violin was a struggle. It is one of the imponderable paradoxes of music that although a number of “authentic” violinists have tackled the Sonatas and Partitas in recent years, their best efforts have not so far eclipsed the finest “compromise” players. Among the latter Nathan Milstein (1904-1992) held an honoured place. He brought to Bach the same instincts for style and taste that made him an outstanding interpreter of Mozart and Beethoven. In addition he had a technical facility and fluency second to none.

The surprising thing was that Milstein emerged from a milieu, the Russian bourgeoisie, in which Bach was not appreciated. Under his famous teachers, Pyotr Stolyarsky in Odessa and Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg, he played virtually no Bach, nor was he taught to understand the style. He eventually developed his own view of Bach through playing the marvellous solo violin works of Max Reger, in which Bach’s style was seen through the prism of a modern German intellect. Once Milstein came to the West in the mid1920s, he quickly assimilated what he needed to learn from his fellow fiddlers. Pre-war recordings show that by the end of the 1930s, he was already a nonpareil Bach violinist. He came to esteem Bach, alongside Paganini, as the finest writer for the violin — not that he equated the two composers in terms of quality — and he named the Chaconne as his favourite piece of music, sometimes programming it on its own. He recorded the Sonatas and Partitas in the 1 950s but felt that in this second cycle for Deutsche Grammophon he had said his last word on the music.

Milstein’s Bach is based on a secure sense of rhythm — vital for the slow movements as much as the fast ones. The dance movements really dance but always in an aristocratic way. Milstein’s tone, although of great beauty, never draws attention to itself through the overuse of vibrato. The listener’s attention is always focused on the musical line, because the player’s feeling for line and legato is so strong and his tone is so well focused. The big fugues and the Chaconne are spaciously laid out but urgently played, with such a comprehensive intellectual grip that the interest never flags. The same intellectual grasp ensures that Bach’s counterpoint is fully realized. The quieter, more inward moments are not italicized by romantic rallentandi. Instead Milstein relies on gradations of tone and volume and the tension of the musical line. Above all, these interpretations have the “size” of a great actor’s soliloquy: using no props other than his bow and his 1716 Stradivarius, Milstein comes before his audience with complete confidence that he can hold the stage. And because he is a musician of refinement and elevated ideals, the spiritual charge that should always inhabit Bach’s greatest music is present, alongside those equally characteristic outbursts of joy and exhilaration.
Tully Potter

--------------------------------

ADD
Produced by Werner Mayer
Tonmeister (Balance Engineer): Klaus Hiemann
Recording Engineers: Joachim Niss/Volker Martin
® 1975 Polydor International GmbH, Hamburg
© 1998 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg Cover &Artist Photo: Siegfried Lauterwasser
Art Direction: Hartmut Pfeiffer

--------------------------------

THE ORIGINALS
LEGENDARY RECORDINGS FROM THE DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON CATALOGUE
Deutsche Grammophon ORIGINALS — milestone recordings from our LP catalogue, now reproduced with unprecedented fidelity on CD. This new series of critically acclaimed performances features the great names of Deutsche Grammophon’s past and present: celebrated interpreters whose recording careers flourished at 33 rpm, as well as outstanding artists of today whose early achievements were documented on black vinyl. All recordings in the series have been newly refurbished using Deutsche Grammophon’s latest technology in order to “recreate” the original sound-image of these legendary interpretations.

ORIGINAL-IMAGE BIT-PROCESSING
To reproduce the original sound-image of a recorded performance as faithfully as possible: this has been the aim of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft in developing its innovative digital mixdown technology ORIGINAL-IMAGE BIT-PROCESSING.
This technology, developed in conjunction with Deutsche Grammophon’s new 4D Audio Recording system at the company’s Recording Centre in Hanover, is based on the notion that the technical medium itself should become inaudible. It is only the means to an end, that of allowing the listener to enjoy an entirely natural sound quality.
ORIGINAL-IMAGE BIT-PROCESSING now makes it possible to remix older recordings in order to “recreate” the original sound- image. This recreation employs—wherever possible — physio-acoustical principles to compensate for delay factors (such as the time required for sounds to reach the main microphone) as well as an extremely high-resolution processing of the musical signals.
Authentic Bit Imaging, the requantizing procedure developed by Deutsche Grammophon, allows the extraordinarily high quality of this mixdown to be transferred optimally to digital sound carriers.
It is Deutsche Grammophon’s philosophy that technology alone is never sufficient. Optimal sound quality can only be achieved when technology is guided by the trained ear of an experienced Tonmeister Deutsche Grammophon’s Tonmeister combine technical expertise with a solid musical education.
For the listener to these performances, the audible results of this latest alliance of modern technology with traditional craftsmanship will be greater presence and brilliance and a more natural spatial balance than previously attainable.

-------------------------

WARNING! All rights reserved.
Unauthorized copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting prohibited.
Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Classics & Jazz, a Division of PolyGram Records, Inc., New York, N.Y.

-------------------------

LP released 1975
Grammy 1975
Grand Premio del Disco “Ritmo” (Madrid) 1985
Recording: London, Conway Hall (Wembley, Brent Town Hall), 2, 4 & 9/1973

为了录制他的第一张唱片《哥德堡变奏曲》，古尔德于1955年6月来到设在纽约东三十街207号一座废弃的长老会教堂中的哥伦比亚录音室。他还随身带来了一大堆稀奇古怪的私人物件，其中有他的专用椅子，是他父亲为他做的，坐在这张椅子上他离地只有14英寸，这样他的手腕就能保持在与钢琴键相同或者低于琴键的高度。赫伯特·古尔德说：“我设法找到了一把相当轻便的折叠椅，然后我把椅子的每条腿锯去约4英寸并且包上黄铜托架，用螺丝钉上，然后把半个螺丝扣焊在铜托架上，这样就能分别调节每条腿。”尽管天气很暖和，他却带来了一大堆毛衣和围巾，另外他还带着各式各样的药片。他弹琴时，经常是一只手击键，用另一只手打拍子。另外他的嘴里还不停地唱着、哼着、叹息着。古尔德有充足的理由来解释自己的古怪行为——比如说带着自己的小矮凳总比每到一个新城市时都要去找一把同样的椅子方便得多，另外围巾和药片都表明他对自己不稳定的健康状况感到担忧，而这种心情是可以理解的——但在许多人眼里，所有这些都纯属怪癖，不是出于一种想要自我放纵的疯狂欲望就是想哗众取宠，提高知名度。或许这都是一回事。哥伦比亚公司急于想为它的神童作宣传，不但把他作为才华横溢的钢琴家，而且把他作为一个怪人来宣传。
那张非同凡响的唱片一共包括三十段变奏，封面上是穿着衬衫的年轻古尔德的30张小照，或弹，或唱，或解说，或聆听，或争论——那套唱片改变了许多人的生活，改变了一种护身符，某种在外层空间被发现并带回地球的神秘的东西。当然它也在商业上创造了一个奇迹。1956年，即这张唱片推出的那一年，它的销量在古典唱片中排名第一，在这之后的四分之一世纪中它被不断地再版，唯一想让它停止再版的人是古尔德自己，在去世前不久他重新录制了这部作品。尽管这样还是有些人更喜欢听原来的版本，更喜欢22岁时那个狂妄自信的古尔德，那个觉得、相信、知道他无所不能的才华横溢的年轻钢琴家，而不是50岁时扭扭捏捏的古尔德。
（奥托·弗里德里克著《格伦·古尔德的生活与艺术》魏柯玲 刘莉 译 人民音乐出版社 2006年5月1版）

谁也不知道，究竟是什么原因促发了古尔德重录《哥德堡变奏曲》的念头。1955年他所录制的《哥德堡变奏曲》一直畅销不衰。在很多人眼里这张唱片几乎成为古尔德就的一个标志。重录《哥德堡变奏曲》对于古尔德，确实是一个非同可的挑战。他1955年的录音不仅为很多人所熟悉，而且被公认为是他巴赫演释独特风格的一座丰碑。如果在他49岁时，他拿不出能够超越自己23岁时的演释结果，那么就等于搬起石头，砸了自己的脚。最终，在第一次录制这部作品26年后，古尔德再次回到位于纽约东30街的录音室，谱架上再次摆上了《哥德堡变奏曲》。重录《哥尔德堡变奏曲》先后用了七段时间，分别是在1981年的4月22日至25日和5月15日、19日、29日，每次基本都是从下午4点到第二天凌晨。1982年，这张唱片与广大听众见面。
“早先的演释富于朝气，以力量和自由为本。”评论家们这样写道，“而现在摆在我们面前的这张唱片，似乎没有早先演释的那种猛然攫住你的力量，但它更 加严肃、更加柔情、更加具有深层的感染力……咏叹调主题沉静的深思，第15变奏中触键的变幻莫测，第25变奏中史诗般的距离感，以及声部进行令人震惊的高度清晰感，所有这一切使这个《哥德堡变奏曲》染上了一层超然物外和深棠驳钠省！?br />
然而，谁也没有想到，一星期后，古尔德便突发脑溢血，撒手人寰。几乎所有熟悉古尔德的人都惊讶地注意到，《哥德堡变奏曲》的两次录音不仅是这位钢琴怪杰生前的第一张唱片，而且还可以说是他的最后一张正式唱片。尽管古尔德在1982年2月至8月间还录制了一些其他作品，但这些唱片均是古尔德去世后才发行的。迷信的人认为这肯定是天意的安排。这同一部作品代表著古尔德职业生涯的起点和终点。古尔德从这里出发，临死似又重回故里。
风景依旧，人事全非。这时的古尔德与二十七年前的自己相比，无论从什么方面说，都已经完全不同。青年古尔德踌躇满志，演奏中尽显英华四溢的天才本色，整部作品只用38分27秒，可谓快马迅捷；暮年古尔德则深邃内省，少年天才一变为沉思稳健的智者，持重坚忍的速度居然将演奏时间拖至5l分15秒。他这两个同样精妙绝伦、但风格完全不同的录音版本成了一个象征。古尔德向世人、也向自己证明，在艺术中，天才不可多得，但对自我的不断修炼和超越才是艺术之本。
古尔德的两次录音版本中，很多人在音乐背后听到了演奏家两种截然相反的人生态度。早年的意气风发和英姿勃爽。晚年让位给老人面对死亡时超然的平静。让我们来看看现场拍摄的纪录片：电视镜头中，古尔德身著深蓝色的布衬衣，袖口忘了系扣，脸色疲惫，容面苍老。他几乎蜷缩在钢琴上，戴著老花镜的眼睛死死盯著琴键，似乎要看破钢琴这件乐器的整个奥秘。熟悉青年古尔德英姿的人看著古尔德一步步走向老态龙钟的晚年，不仅会感慨时光的流失和岁月的无情。然而，随著音乐声响起，观众会逐渐忘却一切，开始被古尔德对音乐的投人所打动。荧屏上的古尔德依稀仍和年轻时的他一样，演奏时手舞足蹈，摇头晃脑。只见他嘴里不停地哼唱著音乐，只要能腾出手，就会做出各种自我指挥的动作。
回想一下，巴赫也是在垂暮之年写下了这部作品。“五十而知天命” 。正是这同在垂暮之年的古尔德，只有这同在垂暮之年的古尔德，参透了这最后一道宿命的咒语。“朝闻道，夕死可矣”。古尔德在大彻大悟之后死去，这也许是成就他艺术生涯的最完美的一个句号。