He cares

今天是寶在 youde 的最後工作天，在她上班前給她一段短訊，引用了彼得前書五章七節，伴著她完成今天的工作。

「你們要將一切的憂慮卸給神，因為祂顧念你們。」

'Casting the whole of your care on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.'

Arthur Luk

高盛胡祖六關於中國和香港的意見

台灣玉山

青光眼

2008.07.17 父深夜眼痛，凌晨四時由弟陪同往伊院急症室，診斷為急性青光眼，止痛後於早上八時送往眼科醫院動手術。（父認為是當晚服感冒藥誘致）
2009.02.27 左眼白內障手術（劉啟傑醫生 / 旺角始創中心）
2009.10.21 右眼白內障手術（王震宇醫生 / 太子道聖德肋撒醫院 / 手術室 $4300 醫生費 $3700）（手術後眼睛舒服了，但視力未徹底復原）
2010.08.17 陪父見陳偉民醫生（養和醫院中環診所 / $800），認為青光眼致視力受損，建議接受三合一檢查（$2200？），以確定尚餘之視力程度，每月眼藥費用約 $500（可由眼科醫院配用？），以保視力不惡化。（父表示青光眼手術後至今視力並沒有惡化）
2010.10.07 眼科醫院覆診（10:15 am）

Inception

我的貝九版本

1. Wilhelm Furtwangler Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Hongen, Hans Hopf, Otto Edelmann; Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele (29/7/1951) (74'32: 18'10/11'56/19'23/25'01)
2. Erich Leinsdorf Jane Marsh, Josephine Veasey, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes; Orchestre Symphonique de Boston (1969) (65'49: 14'51/13'07/14'06/23'34)
3. Carlo Maria Giulini Julia Varady, Jard van Nes, Keith Lewis, Simon Estes; Ernst-Senff-Chor; Berliner Philharmoniker (2/1989 & 2/1990) (75'41: 17'05/12'57/18'33/27'05)
4. Kurt Masur Sylvia McNair, Jard van Nes, Uwe Heilmann, Bernd Weikl; Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Gewandhaus-Kinderchor; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (1/1990 & 5/1991) (65'54: 15'36/11'34/14'47/23'46)
5. Claudio Abbado Jane Eaglen, Waltraud Meier, Ben Heppner, Bryn Terfel; Swedish Radio Choir & Eric Ericson Chamber Choir; Berliner Philharmoniker (4/1996) (66'00: 15'24/13'50/14'01/22'43)
6. Sir Simon Rattle Barbara Bonney, Birgit Remmert, Kurt Streit, Thomas Hampson; City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus; Wiener Philharmoniker (5/2002) (69'56: 16'55/11'59/17'03/23'58)

貝多芬第九最佳錄音？

貝多芬為 Schiller 長篇頌詩「歡樂」(Ode 'To Joy') 撰寫的音樂草稿 (musical sketches) 最早可追溯至 1793 年。 可是，要到他生命最後十年，才開始為這頌詩構思交響曲，最終以包括宏大的合唱部分完成樂曲。 其間（18 世紀末至 19 世紀初）世界有很大變化。 1815 年拿破崙徹底失敗後，具壓制性特質的舊秩序 (repressive old order) 不但恢復並且要進行報復。 當貝多芬於 1824 年完成第九交響曲的時候，Schiller 頌詩中所預言的民主烏托邦 (democratic utopia) 似乎較前更為遙遠。 我們可在第九樂曲中聽到和感受到希望的音符，就是縱然已在悲劇的齒縫中，仍要拚命反抗 (a note of defiance, even desperation, of hope)。 此外，如果是一個出色的演奏，則我們可藉著樂曲那種充滿激情的迫切性 (impassioned urgency)，加上從首三樂章以純音樂作敘述 (the orchestral narrative of the first three movements) 後而帶出那無畏且光輝奪目 (audacious brilliance) 的聲樂頌詩，而感受到頌詩的文字被賦與異乎尋常的力量 (uncanny force)。

在錄音方面，Stephen Johnson（2010 年 2 月號 BBC Music Megazine）認為最佳的是由 Otto Klemperer 指揮 Philharmonia Orchestra 於 1957 年的音樂會錄音 (Testament SBT 1177)，獨唱者有 A. Nordmo-Lovberg、C. Ludwig、W. Kmenttn 和 H. Hotter。

Klemperer 在第一和第二樂章的速度雖較慢，但他展示的能量 (energy) 和動量 (momentum) 並非來自演奏速度 (tempos)，而是來自他建構節奏的方式 (the way the rhythms are articulated)。
在第一樂章和 Scherzo 所展現的那種英雄氣概的咬緊牙關般的決心把我們整個人牢牢抓緊 (the heroic, teeth-gritted determination are physically gripping)。 藉著所有的重複樂句 (repeats) 令 Scherzo 得以推動下去，而藉定音鼓所加強的高潮 (the timpani-enhanced climax) 是壯觀的，並展現這樂章的悲劇元素 (the tragic elements)。

第三樂章 Adagio，Klemperer 既展示在他急燥的外表之下其實有人性一面 (Klemperer reveals how much humanity there was behind his crusty exterior.)，與此同時又使音樂以一個明顯地接近貝多芬快速記號節拍器要求的速度而唱出來 (making music sing at a tempo quite close to Beethoven's seemingly fast metronome marking)。
在終樂章 Klemperer 威嚴地帶領從對之前樂章的回憶 (reminiscences of former movements) 和著名的 'Ode to Joy' 主題的器樂變奏 (orchestral variations)，到人聲部的出現，所提供的版本強烈地激發思考和感受。

二次大戰後不少音樂家感到 'All mankind should be brothers' 這訊息較前更需要得到肯定，而作為猶太裔德國人的 Otto Klemperer 更感強烈。 在這第九他合併了以熟綀的控制和使人入迷的權威性而達致的迫切性 (urgency with masterly control and spellbinding authority)，與及屬於他的那股尊嚴感 (a dignity all his own)。

除了 Klemperer 的最佳版本外，Stephen Johnson 提出另外三個出色錄音：
1. Claudio Abbado J. Eaglen, W. Meier, B. Heppner, B. Terfel; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1996) Sony 516 2302 It's not always the most blazing Beethoven Ninth, but it is a gripping, steadily unfolding, intensely human drama. The Scherzo's warmly expressive central trio section grows into a radiant anticipation of the finale. The orchestra's imploring but dignified responses to the slow movement's fanfare climax strongly recall the prayer 'grant us peace' from the contemporary Missa solemnis. Then, towards the end of the finale Abbado offers something fresh: the final slow quartet is revealed as the symphony's true goal - a moment of calm visionary beauty, whose memory lingers long after the great ecstatic rush forward at the end.
2. Wilhelm Furtwangler E. Schwarzkopf, E. Hongen, H. Hopf, O. Edelman; Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (1951) Naxos 8.111060
3. Arturo Toscanini E. Farrell, N. Merriman, J. Peerce, N. Scott; NBC Symphony Orchestra (1952) RCA GD60256

《魔鬼契約》2010.7.27

Bruno Walter on the Sixth

... the Sixth is bleakly pessimistic: it reeks of the bitter cup of human life. In contrast with the Fifth, it says 'No', above all in its last movement, where something resembling the inexorable strife of 'all against all' is translated into music. 'Existence is a burden; death is desirable and life hateful' might be its motto.... the mounting tension and climaxes of the last movement resemble, in their grim power, the mountainous waves of a sea that will overwhelm and destroy the ship; the work ends in hopelessness and the dark night of the soul. Non placet is his verdict on this world; the 'other world' is not glimpsed for a moment.

mahler's symphony no. 1 in d (1885-8)

原來的標題 (Titan) 來自 Jean Paul (1763-1825, a German Romantic writer) 的一本小說，其後 mahler 把大綱（同樣是粗略地根據 Jean Paul）也撤回；其實，該小說只是反映 mahler 個人的內在衝突 (inner conflict)。
George Brandes (1842-1927, a Danish critic and scholar) 形容小說內的「巨人」英雄 ('titan' hero) Roquairol 所展現的激情和絕望 (passion and despair)，實是一個形式 (form)，為時代所模造的原形 (a prototype)。 內心的熾熱和有意識的欲望 (burning, conscious desire) 終究演變為異常的怪異 (fantastic eccentricity)，因為不為環境所用，也缺乏把握現實的力量，於是自我重塑，並臣服於自己；這成為一病患，是向內的打擊，導向病態的自我冥思和自殺 (morbid self-contemplation and suicide)。
年輕的、浪漫的 mahler 自然地把自己與這人物認同起來；但這交響曲實際上展開了他個人的靈性自傳 (spiritual autobiography)。

我的 mahler 錄音（交響樂曲）

Symphony No. 1 in D ('Titan') (1885-8); first performed in Budapest, 1889, under Mahler.
+ Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Rafael Kubelik (1968) 49'56
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Berstein (10/1974) *
+ Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam / Leonard Berstein (10/1987) 55'52
+ Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado (8/2009) 57'48 *
+ Los Angeles Philharmonic / Gustavo Dudamel (10/2009) *

Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'), for soprano, contralto, chorus, orchestra and organ; composed 1888-94; first performed in Berlin, 1895, Mahler conducting.
+ Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra / Otto Klemperer / Elisabeth Schwarzkopf / Hilde Rossl-Majdan (11/1961 & 3/1962) 79'24
+ London Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Bernstein / Sheila Armstrong / Janet Baker (9/1973) *
+ Wiener Philharmoniker & Arnold Schoenberg Chor / Claudio Abbado / Cheryl Studer / Waltraud Meier (11/1992) 87'12
+ Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Prague Philharmonic Choir / Riccardo Chailly / Melanie Diener / Petra Lang (11/2001) 87'44
+ Lucerne Festival Orchestra & Orfeon Donostiarra / Claudio Abbado / Eteri Gvazava / Anna Larsson (8/2003) *

Symphony No. 3 in D, for contralto, boys' and women's choirs and orchestra; composed 1895-6; first performed at Krefeld, 1902, under Mahler.
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Berstein / Christa Ludwig (4/1972) *
+ Wiener Philharmoniker, Concert Chorus of the Vienna State Opera & Vienna Boys Choir / Claudio Abbado / Jessye Norman (1982) 102'45

Symphony No. 4, for orchestra with soprano solo; composed 1899-1901; first performed in Munich, 1901, under Mahler.
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein / Edith Mathis (5/1972) *
+ Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Sir Colin Davis / Angela Maria Blasi (10/1993) 60'20
+ Berliner Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado / Renee Fleming (5/2005) 55'01

Symphony No.5, composed 1901-2; first performed at Cologne, 1904, under Mahler.
+ New Philharmonia Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli (7/1969) 74'17
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (4/1972) *
+ The Cleveland Orchestra / Christoph von Dohnanyi (7/1988) 65'21
+ Berliner Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado (5/1993) 69'29
+ Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle (9/2002) 69'07
+ Lucerne Featival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado (8/2004) 69'20 *

Symphony No. 6 in A minor, composed 1903-4; first performed at Essen, 1906, with Mahler conducting.
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (10/1976) *
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (9/1988) 86'54
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Pierre Boulez (5/1994) 79'22

Symphony No. 7, composed 1904-5; first performed in Prague, 1908, under Mahler.
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (10/1974) *
+ The Cleveland Orchestra / Pierre Boulez (11/1994) 74'53
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein *
+ BBC Philharmonic / Gianandrea Noseda (4/2010) 75'03

Symphony No. 8 in E flat ('Symphony of a Thousand'), for three sopranos, two contraltos, tenor, baritone, bass, double choir, boys' choir, orchestra and organ; composed 1906; first performed at Munich, 1910, under Mahler - his one real triumph as a composer in his lifetime.
+ Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Singverein & Wien Sangerknaben / Sir Georg Solti / Heather Harper / Lucia Popp / Arleen Auger / Yvonne Minton / Helan Watts / Rene Kollo / John Shirley-Quirk / Martti Talvela (8 & 9/1971) 79'48
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (8 & 9/1975) *
+ Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Orf-chor, Arnold Schoenberg-Chor & Wiener Sangerknaben / Lorin Maazel / Sharon Sweet / Pamela Coburn / Florence Quivar / Brigitte Fassbaender / Richard Leech / Sigmund Nimsgern / Simon Estes (1989) 89'39

Symphony No. 9, composed 1908-11 (mostly 1909); first performed in Vienna, 1912, under Bruno Walter.
+ Wiener Philharmoniker / Leonard Bernstein (3/1971) *
+ Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam / Leonard Bernstein (6/1985) 89'02
+ Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle (10/2007) 83'32

他 / 她們的選擇

Vladimir Ashkenazy
Sviatoslav Richter / Sergey Rachmaninov / AB Michelangeli
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Cortot / Edwin Fischer / Wilhelm Kempff
Helene Grimaud
Sergey Rachmaninov / Vladimir Horowitz / Emil Gilels
Angela Hewitt
Alfred Cortot / Clara Haskil / Alicia de Larrocha
Lang Lang
Glenn Gould / Arthur Rubinstein / Vladimir Horowitz
Maria Joao Pires
Sviatoslav Richter / Samson Francois / Radu Lupu
Mikhail Pletnev
Sergey Rachmaninov / AB Michelangeli / Vladimir Horowitz
Charles Rosen
Josef Hofmann / Moriz Rosenthal / Solomon
Sa Chen
Ivo Pogorelish / Grigory Sokolov / Martha Argerich
Simon Trpceski
Sergey Rachmaninov / Arthur Rubinstein / Sviatoslav Richter
Yuja Wang
Vladimir Horowitz / Sergey Rachmaninov / Ivo Pogorelich

最偉大的二十位鋼琴家（唱片錄音）

2010 年 8 月號的 BBC Music Megazine 刊出最偉大的 20 位鋼琴家。
名單由 100 位當今著名的鋼琴演奏家選出，每人提名三位，但必須是提名人曾聆聽其演奏的，唱片錄音或音樂會皆可。
名單如下：（紫色標示的鋼琴家為 tang 曾聆聽其現場演奏者，橙色則表示未能確定）
1. Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943) Russian
2. Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) Polish
3. Vladimir Horowitz (1903-89) Russian
4. Sviatoslav Richter (1915-97) Russian
5. Alfred Cortot (1877-1962) Swiss/French
6. Dinu Lipatti (1917-50) Romanian
7. Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) Austrian
8. Emil Gilels (1916-85) Russian
9. Martha Argerich (b. 1941) Argentinian
10. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-95) Italian
11. Krystian Zimerman (b. 1956) Polish
12. Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948) Polish
13. Radu Lupu (b. 1945) Romanian
14. Edwin Fischer (1886-1960) Swiss
15. Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991) German
16. Murray Perahia (b. 1947) American
17. Glenn Gould (1932-82) Canadian
18. Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) German
19. Josef Hofmann (1876-1957) Polish
20. Claudio Arrau (1903-91) Chilean

以下五位偉大鋼琴家竟未獲任何一票：
Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) German
John Ogdon (1937-89) British
Maurizio Pollini (b. 1942) Italian
Mikhail Pletnev (b. 1957) Russian
Evgeny Kissin (b. 1971) Russian

哲學熱潮？

二十大樂團

2008 年 12 月號 Gramophone 刊登二十大樂團名單，評審團由多國雜誌著名樂評人組成，包括英國 Gramophone、美國 New Yorker 和 Los Angeles Times、奧地利 Die Presse、法國 Le Monde、德國 Die Welt、荷蘭 De Telegraaf、中國和韓國的 Gramophone。
評審標準：音樂會表現、錄音、對本地和世界社群貢獻、在競爭日趨劇烈的今天有保持具象徵地位 (iconic status) 的能力。
名單如下：（紫色標示的樂團為 tang 曾現場聆聽其演奏者，橙色則表示未能確定）
1. Royal Concergebouw
2. Berlin Philharmonic
3. Vienna Philharmonic
4. London Symphony Orchestra
5. Chicago Symphony Orchestra
6. Bavarian Radio Orchestra
7. Cleveland Orchestra
8. Los Angeles Philharmonic
9. Budapest Festival Orchestra
10. Dresden Staatskapelle
11. Boston Symphony Orchestra
12. New York Philharmonic
13. San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
14. Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
15. Russian National Orchestra
16. St. Petersburg Philharmonic
17. Leipzig Gewandhaus
18. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
19. Saito Kinen Orchestra
20. Czech Philharmonic

按手四十年

書架

執拾房子後，讓音樂書籍在書架歸類。

鶴咀