TCHAIKOVSKY’S BLUE ROMANCE

 

 

Leon Botstein (Conductor): Tchaikovsky is one of the most interesting and 1)enigmatic figures. His music is immensely popular, and it seems to all of its audiences as if it's about emotion. It's about intense emotion. Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, 2)Nutcracker, Pathetique. It's so 3)externally present. Every sort of intensity¹ of feeling, 4)pathetic feeling, depression, 5)exultation², happiness, desire, frustration³. It is an extremely 6)frenzied, intense emotionally present form of music.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Conductor): The 7)Czar was a kind of ballet, and of course he wanted Tchaikovsky to write for his ballet and supported and sponsored these things. But interestingly enough, Tchaikovsky became famous in America because of his ballets, because of Bella Sheen and all these great Russian 8)choregraphers: first they came to America. And of course, they picked Tchaikovsky's music and these great ballets immediately.

William Littler (Critic): But those ballets are so beloved, and the music is more responsible even than the 9)choreography for their success, that some people don't realize there's a huge body of additional Tchaikovsky. But I don't think by any means the ballets overshadow the 10)symphonies. At least not the fourth, the fifth and the sixth symphonies. They don't overshadow the b-11)flat 12)minor piano 13)concerto. There are many Tchaikovsky hits. If you have one of those anthology of master pieces that the record companies 14)churn out with some regularity⁴, you'll find a lot of Tchaikovsky in it, and it's not just ballet.

Leon: He came from a modest 15)gentry⁵. But he was sent, for example, to the school for the civil service of the Russian Czars, and the school of jurisprudence in St. Petersburg, and he grew up with all of the futures⁶ of intellectuals, civil servants, and aristocrats⁸ of the reigning⁹ 16)monarchy¹⁰. So he was, in that sense, privileged, although poor. For an aristocrat⁷, he was relatively¹¹ poor. He was always in debt, for example, and later in life he needed 17)patronage.

Jukka-Pekka: He represented the European culture in St. Petersburg. And the tension between the Europeans and the Nationalists was exactly the tension between these two cultures in Russia. So, he represented something that the Czar family wanted St. Petersburg to be. They wanted it to be a European capital with a lot of communication, connection to the European culture, and of course European music. And Tchaikovsky wanted to follow that idea. And that was quite unsexy at the time when the Nationalists wanted to bring the real Russian culture into St. Petersburg.

    Tchaikovsky, during his lifetime, was extremely popular in Russia and abroad. His greatest gift was his ability to write flowing, 18)infectious 19)melodies.

William: He wrote to his brotherconstantly, and you... the letters of Tchaikovsky are one of the most remarkably¹² 20)revelatory series of documents we have in music. That somebody with so talent, so much genius one might argue, was filled with so much doubt about his own ability. And you find that very much in the music. There is a kind of yearning¹³ 21)melancholy at the root of Tchaikovsky's music that seems to come from his own life experience. And no triumph seemed to last forever for him. It was only the prelude¹⁴ to the next period of depression. And as a result, it's a very characteristic music. You would never confuse Tchaikovsky with Beethoven. Beethoven knew there was going to be a sunny tomorrow. Tchaikovsky knew there wasn't.

           

柴可夫斯基：忧郁的浪漫

 

利昂·博茨滕（作曲家）：柴可夫斯基是最有意思、最神秘的名人之一。他的作品极受欢迎，凡是听过他的音乐的人都觉得乐曲情感洋溢，表达出一种激情。《罗密欧与朱丽叶》、《天鹅湖》、《胡桃夹子》和《悲怆交响曲》至今仍长盛不衰。悲怆、失落、兴奋、快乐、欲望和挫败：每一种感情都很强烈。这种音乐形式宣泄出一种极其狂热而强烈的感情。

朱克-佩克·萨拉斯特（作曲家）：沙皇是个芭蕾舞迷，他自然希望柴可夫斯基为芭蕾舞写曲，还支持并资助芭蕾舞。但有趣的是，柴可夫斯基是凭他的芭蕾舞曲在美国打响名声的。贝拉·希恩还有一些伟大的俄国舞蹈家去到美国，他们选用了柴可夫斯基的音乐，令这些动人的芭蕾舞一炮而红。

威廉·利特勒（评论家）：这些芭蕾舞剧深受爱戴，音乐比舞蹈更胜出一筹，有人不知道柴可夫斯基还有其他许多作品。从任何意义上说，我都认为芭蕾舞掩盖不了交响乐的光辉。至少第四、第五和第六交响曲是这样。芭蕾舞没有盖过B小调钢琴协奏曲。柴可夫斯基有很多受欢迎的作品。如果你家有唱片公司出的系列名作曲家选集，你一定会发现其中收录了柴可夫斯基的不少作品，不仅仅是芭蕾舞曲。

利昂：柴可夫斯基出身名门，但家道中落。他被送到俄国的政府服务学校跟未来的知识分子、政府官员和权贵一起长大。因此，从这个意义上说，尽管他很穷，但他还是享受了特权。以贵族来看，他的家境并不好。他总是负债累累，后来还需要接济。

朱克-佩克：他代表了圣彼得堡的欧洲文化。俄国欧洲人和民族主义者之间的冲突实际上就是欧洲文化和民族文化之间的冲突。他代表的正是沙皇理想的圣彼得堡。他们想让圣彼得堡成为欧洲的首府，成为欧洲资讯、文化和音乐的中心。柴可夫斯基想追随这种理念，这在当时是遭排挤的，因为民族主义者试图将纯粹的俄罗斯文化引入圣彼得堡。

　　终其一生，柴可夫斯基无论是在国内还是海外都享有盛誉。他最出色的天赋即在于他能写出流畅而富有感染力的乐曲。

威廉：他经常给他的兄弟写信，你可以……柴可夫斯基的信是古典乐坛最有启示性的文件之一。这样一个有天分的惊世天才，却对自己的才华感到怀疑。你也可以从音乐中发现这一点。柴可夫斯基的音乐中有一种难以遏制的忧郁，这似乎来自他的亲身经历。成功似乎从来不会在他身边永驻，只是下次失落的序幕。实际上，他的音乐是十分富有个性的。你永远也不会混淆柴可夫斯基和贝多芬的音乐。贝多芬相信明天一定会阳光灿烂。而柴可夫斯基则不会。

 

1) enigmatic  a. 谜一般的，高深莫测的 

2) nutcracker  n. 轧碎坚果的钳子，核桃夹子

3) externally  adv. 外表上，外形上      4) pathetic   a. 可怜的，悲惨的

5) exultation n. 狂喜，得意          6) frenzied  a. 狂热的，狂乱的

7) Czar n.（俄国）沙皇 

8) choreographer  n. 编舞者，舞蹈编导（英国英语亦作choregrapher）

9) choreography n. 舞蹈（表演）艺术（英国英语亦作choregraphy）

10) symphony n. 交响乐，交响曲         11) flat  vt.（使）降半音

12) minor  n.（音乐）小调，小音阶         13) concerto  n.（音乐）协奏曲

14) churn  vt. 搅拌。churn out，艰苦地做出；通过机械力产生

15) gentry n. 贵族们    

16) monarchy n. 君主政体   

17) patronage  n. 保护人

18) infectious a. 有感染力的           19) melody n. 悦耳的音调

20) revelatory  a. 启示性的，启示的   

21) melancholy  n. 忧郁

 

1 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

2 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

5 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

6 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

7 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

8 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

10 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

13 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

14 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。