微信节目册｜英雄的荣光——克里斯蒂安·阿明与苏州交响乐团音乐会

克里斯蒂安· 阿明 ｜指挥

克里斯蒂安· 阿明出生于维也纳。在维也纳音乐与表演艺术大学跟随利奥波德 · 哈格尔学习之后，后师从小泽征尔，并在波士顿交响乐团和新日本爱乐乐团首次亮相。他曾担任捷克雅纳切克爱乐乐团首席指挥、瑞士琉森歌剧院和琉森交响乐团音乐总监，并在2003 - 2013间年担任新日本爱乐乐团音乐总监、2011 - 2019 间年担任比利时皇家列日爱乐乐团音乐总监。2017年，他担任广岛交响乐团的首席客座指挥，并在2024年被任命为该乐团的音乐总监。克里斯蒂安 · 阿明曾与捷克爱乐乐团、柏林德意志交响乐团、法兰克福广播交响乐团、萨尔茨堡莫扎特管弦乐团、维也纳交响乐团和罗马圣切契利亚交响乐团等欧洲顶级乐团合作。在北美和亚洲，他还曾应邀指挥波士顿交响乐团、辛辛那提交响乐团、休斯顿交响乐团、亚特兰大交响乐团、NHK交响乐团、上海交响乐团、苏州交响乐团等。在歌剧方面，他曾在法兰克福和斯特拉斯堡歌剧院指挥过《唐璜》《莎乐美》和《霍夫曼的故事》。

Christian Arming｜Conductor

Christian Arming was born in Vienna. Following his studies with Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Christian continued his education under Seiji Ozawa, making his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic. Christian has held positions as Chief Conductor of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic, Music Director of the Lucerne Opera and Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland, and he served as the Music Director of the New Japan Philharmonic from 2003 - 2013, and the Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège in Belgium from 2011 - 2019. Christian became the Principal Guest Conductor of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra in 2017, and was appointed its Music Director in 2024. Christian Arming has collaborated with many top European orchestras, including the Czech Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie - Orchester Berlin, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, and the Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In North America and Asia, Christian has been invited to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, among others. In the realm of opera, Christian has conducted productions such as "DON GIOVANNI", "SALOME" , and "THE TALES OF HOFFMANN" at the Frankfurt and Strasbourg Operas.

对于浪漫主义时期的作曲家以及他们最伟大的先驱贝多芬而言，音乐是凝视人类灵魂、并将原始激情转化为永恒之美的一条途径。今晚我们听到的贝多芬和勃拉姆斯的作品，不仅因其经久不衰的辉煌而相通，亦因其跨越时代的对话而相关联。贝多芬与勃拉姆斯的音乐之间有着深刻的相似性，而勃拉姆斯则受到来自贝多芬的“影响的焦虑”——这是前者在整个职业生涯中公开与之抗争的一种挑战。

《命名日庆典序曲》实属当今古典音乐厅里的“稀客”，亦非贝多芬最受欢迎的作品之一。这首序曲的诞生经历了漫长的孕育过程。它始于贝多芬在1809年勾勒出的一个乐思。这个旋律片段在1811年左右重新浮现——当时对德国作家弗里德里希·席勒颇为崇拜的贝多芬，首次对用音乐谱写席勒的《欢乐颂》这一想法产生浓烈兴趣。如众人所知，席勒的这曲人类自由之歌，在贝多芬大约十三年后写就的《第九交响曲》末乐章中，达到了史诗般的新高度，但贝多芬与“欢乐颂”的初回结缘则是在这首短小而精神昂扬的序曲中。最初，序曲被计划在1814年的圣方济各节，亦即奥地利皇帝弗朗茨一世的命名日的音乐会上作开场。不巧的是，贝多芬并没未能及时完成乐稿，而将作品的完成推迟至第二年春天。在手稿中，贝多芬注明：“这首序曲适合任何场合——或用于音乐会。”

与贝多芬在1808年创作的《合唱幻想曲》一样，我们能在这首序曲中听到《第九交响曲》的痕迹。然而，序曲中并没有任何“惊天动地”的叙述或十分严肃而深刻的音乐表达。相反，这是一首洋溢节庆气氛、激发喜悦与活力的仪式性乐曲——一首带来纯粹、朴实乐趣的“欢乐颂”。喧闹的音响中,各种器乐声部以嬉游般的方式跃于其上。时不时还能听见些古怪的不和谐音——似乎预示着二十世纪的声音。贝多芬将这首序曲献给了波兰王子安东尼·拉齐维乌。拉齐维乌不仅是一位业余作曲家，更因慷慨赞助了帕格尼尼、歌德和肖邦等浪漫主义文艺巨匠而被人们铭记。

《海顿主题变奏曲》最初是一部双钢琴作品。1873年，大约贝多芬去世后的半个世纪，勃拉姆斯为这部作品重新配器，创作出如今最受欢迎的管弦乐版本。欧洲古典乐传统的作曲家常常通过“主题与变奏”这一体裁来试验他们的创造力。他们通常借用或原创一支旋律，然后通过分解、翻转、逆行、以不同的调性来重述或改变节奏与和声等等方式来赋予这条旋律多样的性格。这是一种古老作曲逻辑形式，在许多不同地区的音乐文化中都很常见。人们熟知的巴赫的《哥德堡变奏曲》、拉赫玛尼诺夫的《帕格尼尼主题变奏曲》以及贝多芬的《迪亚贝利变奏曲》都是这一体裁中的传世杰作。勃拉姆斯一生创作了好几首变奏曲，其中也包括一首早期作品：以罗伯特·舒曼的音乐主题为基础，并题献于克拉拉·舒曼（勃拉姆斯与舒曼夫妇交往甚密）。《海顿主题变奏曲》无疑是勃拉姆斯变奏曲之中的佼佼者。有趣的是，尽管作曲家本人认为他选择的音乐主题来自于海顿，但事实可能并非如此——这一主题的真正起源至今不得而知。

无论如何，勃拉姆斯对这一主题的着迷从他充满想象力的变奏手法中可见一斑。在第一变奏中，勃拉姆斯以四个重复的和弦来结束主题陈述，而在第二变奏中，附点节奏贯穿整个结构。第三变奏中，附点节奏被进行了平滑处理，形成一个新的主题，但仍然遵循主旋律的和声。这部变奏曲令人惊叹的一个特质——亦是它能给作曲家带来许多教益的原因之一——在于勃拉姆斯能从那众赞歌一般的原始旋律中提炼出各种情绪：第五变奏激昂活泼，像一首谐谑曲；第六变奏中铜管进行曲的威仪在之后变得有些可怖；第七变奏中，音乐端庄且优雅华贵。最后，勃拉姆斯以一段长长的、庄严的沉思来作收尾。这段沉思并非随处发散，而是基于原始的众赞歌合唱主题，并以恰空舞曲的格式组织而成（这也是勃拉姆斯在《第四交响曲》的结尾所使用的手法）。众赞歌的低音一遍又一遍地重复，音乐渐渐发展成一首节日庆典曲，并在反复变奏中抵达高潮，那激动人心的四个和弦的陈述再次响起。

贝多芬一生创作了九部交响曲。虽然他的首两部已突破了由莫扎特与海顿所定义的古典交响曲标准，但降E大调第三交响曲“英雄”才是真正的革新者。这首交响曲几乎是以往交响曲标准长度的两倍，而就艺术作品的性质而言，此作也无疑全方面扩充了交响曲的表现能力。贝多芬在《第二交响曲》首演后不久就开始酝酿“第三”。作品最终于1804年完成，并于次年公开首演。这部作品最初名为“波拿巴”。然而，就在同年，当贝多芬得知拿破仑加冕为皇帝后，一怒之下划掉了手稿上的这个题献。1806年正式出版之时，作品标题被改为“英雄交响曲……为纪念一位伟人而创作”。无论这位“伟人”暗指贝多芬曾经理想中的拿破仑，还是作曲家的社会政治理念，作品所展现的英雄主义理想——亦即将革命进步视为个人职责的理念——是无可否认的。在音乐学家保罗·亨利·朗看来，贝多芬的《第三交响曲》是“艺术和文学中不可思议的壮举之一”，是交响乐史甚或整个音乐史上“个人迈出的最伟大的一步。”

贝多芬的前两部交响曲都在缓慢的引子中开始，而《英雄交响曲》则以两个干脆的重击和弦作为开端，掀起一场和声与节奏张力的紧张游戏。第一主题以其上下摇摆的旋律勾勒出全曲最核心的那个和弦的轮廓。这一旋律的简单性是瞬间的。很快，主题通过紧密的重复卷入越来越紧张的局面，音乐在暗色调性上的漂移使我们难以在音调中感受到稳定与安全感。当切分音的重音打断华丽的大提琴旋律时，焦虑感再次上升。音乐继续狂飙，得以喘息的片刻转瞬即逝，在进入篇幅巨大的展开部之前，音乐在仿佛强烈的不和谐中发出“尖叫”。音乐在不同的调性间切换，情绪依旧高涨——我们的“英雄”无所畏惧，对自己的愿景充满信心。

缓慢沉郁的第二乐章意喻着英雄的葬礼，悲痛的情绪则被小心翼翼地控制着。葬礼进行曲从小提琴声部开始，双簧管重复主题，弦乐再次奏出忧郁的曲调。由双簧管和长笛领衔的段落为我们预备了之后令人惊叹的结局：一支基于进行曲主题的、庞大而繁复的赋格曲。在之后的谐谑曲乐章中，音乐再次充满能量与乐观情绪，甚至还有某种疯狂。在中间段落中，三支法国号成为焦点。随后，音乐复归疯狂，并在一个小尾声中收束，迅速导入末乐章。终曲延续了前一乐章的活泼，但它也开辟了新局面。美国的乐评家迈克尔·斯坦伯格曾评论道，《英雄交响曲》的众多创举之一便是重心从第一乐章转移到了最后一乐章。在此乐章中，第一和第二小提琴演奏出柔和但不失棱角的曲调，随后，它与贝多芬曾在早期作品中使用过的另一个英雄主题相结合。这位英雄便是神话中的巨人：普罗米修斯。以此主题为素材，贝多芬写下了一组复杂且引人入胜的变奏曲和一首赋格曲，并以对音乐主题的进一步发展和一个潇洒的尾声为作品画上句点。

For composers of the Romantic era—and their greatest precursor, Beethoven—music was a means of gazing into the human soul and transforming raw passion into timeless beauty. The works we hear tonight by Beethoven and Brahms are united not only by their enduring brilliance but also by a shared dialogue across time. They reflect the profound musical connection between the two composers, as well as the "anxiety of influence" that Brahms felt in Beethoven's shadow—a challenge he openly wrestled with throughout his career.

The Namensfeier Overture (Op. 115) is never one of Beethoven's more popular works and is seldom heard in concert hall today. The Overture is a result of a very long compositional process. It began with ideas the composer sketched in 1809. These fragments resurfaced around 1811 when Beethoven, a great admirer of the German writer Friedrich Schiller, first became interested in creating a musical setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy." While Schiller's liberating words reached epic new heights in the final movement of the Ninth Symphony, written some thirteen years later, Beethoven's first attempt at the "Ode to Joy" sprang to life in this fleeting, fun-loving Overture. Originally, the Overture was scheduled to be intended to open a concert on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, 4 October, the name day of the Austrian emperor Franz I. While Beethoven made an attempt to complete the work for this day in 1814, he was unable to finish it in time, so he set aside work on it until the following spring.In the manuscript, Beethoven wrote the words, "Overture for any occasion—or for concert use." 

As with the Choral Fantasy, composed in 1808, you can hear seeds of the Ninth Symphony in this music. Yet, there is nothing profoundly serious or earth-shattering here. Instead, it is a festive, celebratory romp—an "ode to joy" that delivers pure, unsophisticated fun. Out of the bombast leaps a frolicking cast of instrumental voices. At moments, strange, quirky dissonances seem to anticipate the sounds of the twentieth century. Beethoven dedicated the Overture to Polish prince Antoni Radziwiłł, who is remembered as an amateur composer and for his patronage of the arts who supported others like Paganini, Goethe and Chopin.

Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn started life as a work for two pianos. Brahms orchestrated it in 1873 to make the version most heard today. Composers of the European classical music tradition used to write themes and variations to exercise their creativity. They choose an original or pre-existing melody and vary it by breaking it apart, turning it upside down or inside out, restating it in different major and minor keys, and altering the rhythm and the harmony. It is an ancient form from before music notation existed and common in the music of many cultures. J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, Rachmaninoff's Paganini variations, and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations (a musical joke in which Beethoven varied a trite little waltz 33 times) are famous sets of theme and variations. Brahms composed several variations during his life including a youthful one on a theme by Robert Schumann and dedicated to Clara Schumann. The Brahms Haydn Variations, as it is familiarly called, is a masterpiece of variation techniques. Brahms believed the theme he chose for this work to be by Haydn, but it is probably not; its origins remain uncertain today.

What attracted Brahms to this particular theme is revealed in his variations of it. In the first variation Brahms plays with the four repeated chords that end the statement of the theme, while in the second variation the dotted rhythm permeates the texture. In the third variation the dotted rhythm is smoothed out to form a new theme although still following the main theme's harmony. An astounding feature of this work, and one of the reasons it has so much to teach composers, is the variety of moods the composer is able to extract from the original chorale: the scherzo-likevivace of variation five; the pompous brass march that turns a little frightening in variation six; and the stately, elegant grazioso of variation seven. Brahms closes this work with a long solemn rumination which slowly transforms little by little into a festival celebration of the original chorale theme. His ruminations are not random but organized into a chaconne, a procedure he also used for the finale of his Fourth Symphony; the bass of the chorale is repeated over and over again with more variations of the theme climaxing to an arousing statement of the four chords closing the original melody and now the composition.

Beethoven composed nine symphonies throughout his career. While each of his first two symphonies pushed the envelope of the Classical symphony, as defined by Mozart and Haydn, the Symphony No. 3 in E - flat Major "Eroica" was the real game changer. Objectively, it basically doubled the length of previous standards. And if it were possible to measure subjective expectations of the genre, it probably doubled those too, increasing expressive tolerances across the board. Beethoven began work on it shortly after the premiere of the Second Symphony and completed it in 1804. It was first performed in private at one of the residences of Beethoven's patron Prince Lobkowitz and publicly premiered April 7, 1805. The work originally was titled "Bonaparte," but after Napoleon had himself crowned emperor in 1804, Beethoven scratched that indication out on his manuscript. It was published (in 1806) under the title (in Italian) "Heroic Symphony…composed to celebrate the memory of a great man." 

Whether that "great man" is an idealized Napoleon or perhaps the composer himself, the heroism of the piece–making revolution personal–is undeniable. In musicologist Paul Henry Lang's estimation, Beethoven's Third Symphony is "one of the incomprehensible deeds in arts and letters, the greatest single step made by an individual in the history of the symphony and in the history of music in general."

Where Beethoven's first two symphonies began with a slow introduction, the "Eroica" springs to life from just two brusque chords, launching a seemingly impetuous play of harmonic and rhythmic tension. The first rocking theme outlines the E-flat triad. Its simplicity is momentary; quickly the theme coils into increasing tension through tight repetitions, seeking a resolution from its first strange landing point on a C sharp. Our sense of tonal security is immediately at risk. Additional agitation is added when syncopated accents interrupt a lush cello melody. Only small respites are granted as the music insists on its turbulent course, shrieking with large discords before the huge development section. Emotions run high; many modulations occur; our "hero" is fearless, confident of his vision.

The slow second movement is titled "Funeral March." Heroic grief is held in tight control. The march begins in the violins.  An oboe repeats the theme, and a melancholy tune emerges again from the strings. A trio led by oboe and flute prepares us for the stunning conclusion: a giant, dense fugue built on the march theme. In the next movement, a scherzo, the music is bursting with optimism, energy, and certain madness. The trio offers extensive opportunities for three French horns to take the spotlight. Then the madness is revived, ending in a small coda, which leads quickly into the last movement. The fourth and final movement continues the liveliness of the preceding music. But it also marks new ground. The American music critic Michael Steinberg has observed "A final and startling newness in the 'Eroica' is the way the center of gravity is shifted from the first movement to the last." First and second violins pluck a soft angular tune which later is combined with the presentation of a theme associated with another of Beethoven's hero. For this finale, Beethoven recalls the mythological titan Prometheus by taking a theme from his earlier compositions. With this theme, Beethoven creates an intricate yet immediately engaging set of variations as well as a fugue, capped with further development and a dashing coda.