贝多芬的《第九交响曲》于200年前的周二公演。自此成为了也许最容易被政治化解读的作品。
It was played at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin; it was performed in that city again on Christmas 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Leonard Bernstein replaced the word “Joy” in the choral finale with “Freedom”; the European Union adopted the symphony’s “Ode to Joy” theme as its anthem. (These days the Ninth is being played in concert halls worldwide in commemoration of the premiere. The classical music world loves anniversaries.)
《第九交响曲》曾在1936年的柏林奥运会上奏响。1989年，柏林墙倒塌后的圣诞节，作品再次在同城上演。伯恩斯坦将合唱团终章唱词中的“欢乐”替换为“自由”。欧盟则是将交响曲中的《欢乐颂》采纳为盟歌。（这几天，世界各地的音乐厅都在演奏《第九交响曲》，以纪念其首演。古典乐界热衷于庆祝周年。）
Beethoven might have been surprised at the political allure of his masterpiece.
I also see the Ninth in another way. Music on its own does not stand for anything except itself. The greatness of music, and the Ninth Symphony, lies in the richness of its contrasts. Music never just laughs or cries; it always laughs and cries at the same time. Creating unity out of contradictions — that is Beethoven for me.
我还会从另一个视角看待《第九交响曲》。音乐并不代表任何事物，它只代表音乐本身。音乐的伟大，以及《第九交响曲》的伟大，在于其丰富的对比。音乐从不只是笑或是哭，它总是又哭又笑。从对立中创造统一，这就是我眼中的贝多芬。
Music, if you study it properly, is a lesson for life. There is much we can learn from Beethoven, who was, of course, one of the strongest personalities in the history of music. He is the master of bringing emotion and intellect together. With Beethoven, you must be able to structure your feelings and feel the structure emotionally — a fantastic lesson for life! When we are in love, we lose all sense of discipline. Music doesn’t allow for that.
如果你认真学习音乐，会发现它使人终身受益。从贝多芬那里，我们能学到许多东西，毕竟他是音乐史上最有影响力的巨匠之一。他擅长将情感与智慧融为一体。在理解贝多芬音乐时，你需要将自己的感受结构化，并充满情感地体验这种结构，这也是生活中的绝妙一课。当我们坠入爱河，常常会失去所有的自律。但在音乐的世界里，不允许那样。
But music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual or mathematical, but it must have something to do with the soul.
音乐对不同的人具有不同的意义，有时对同一人在不同时刻也可能意味着截然不同的事物。它可能是诗意的、哲学的、感性的或是数理的，但其核心总是与灵魂息息相关。
Therefore, it is metaphysical — but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. It is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means that is the strength of music. It is also the reason that when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.
所以说，音乐属于形而上的范畴，但其表达方式是通过具体可感的声音。音乐的真正力量在于形而上的信息与物质形态的永恒共存。也正因如此，当我们试图用语言来描述音乐时，我们所能做的只是阐明我们对音乐的感受，而非把握音乐本身。
The Ninth Symphony is one of the most important artworks in Western culture. Some experts call it the greatest symphony ever written, and many commentators praise its visionary message. It is also one of the most revolutionary works by a composer mainly defined by the revolutionary nature of his works. Beethoven freed music from prevailing conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs of continuity.
《第九交响曲》是西方文化中最卓越的艺术珍品之一。众多专家将其誉为史上最伟大的交响曲，广大评论家更是对其深邃的内涵赞赏有加。这也是一位以作品革命性为主要特征的作曲家所创作的最具革命性的作品之一。贝多芬将音乐从固有的和声与结构关系中解放出来。有时，我能在他的晚期作品中，感受到一种冲破所有束缚的强烈意图。
The Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci said a wonderful thing in 1929, when Benito Mussolini had Italy under his thumb. “My mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic,” he wrote to a friend from prison. I think he meant that as long as we are alive, we have hope. I try to take Gramsci’s words to heart still today, even if not always successfully.
1929 年，意大利哲学家安东尼奥·葛兰西曾说过一句妙语，当时贝尼托·墨索里尼还统治着意大利。他在狱中给一位朋友写道：“我的思想是悲观的，但我的意志是乐观的。”我认为他的意思是，只要我们活着，就依然充满希望。我至今仍试图铭记这句话，虽然并非总能做到。
By all accounts, Beethoven was courageous, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of the Ninth. One could paraphrase much of the work of Beethoven in the spirit of Gramsci by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to overcome it renders life worth living.
无论从哪个角度看，贝多芬都是勇敢的。我认为，理解甚至演绎《第九交响曲》，勇气是不可或缺的前提。我们可以用葛兰西的话来解读贝多芬的许多作品，即苦难是不可避免的，但战胜苦难的勇气使生命更有意义。
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原文刊登于《纽约时报》，版权归原作者与平台所有。作者为著名钢琴家、指挥家丹尼尔·巴伦博伊姆。翻译大部分由 GPT-4 完成，假艺术节组委会懒散修改。2024年5月7日，贝多芬《第九交响曲》首演两百周年。
图片 © 假艺术节
2024年5月8日，终于有机会在莱比锡布商大厦看了人生中第一场《贝九》。从此，我的渺小人生，又丰沛高昂了一个八度。过去十五年，在世界各地欣赏了上千场大大小小的演出。但始终没机会遇到满意的 B9 阵容，所以也忍着迟迟没听现场。在杰作公演两百周年欧陆四城（维也纳、巴黎、米兰和菜比锡） 管弦乐团联袂庆典演出之际，到访 Gewandhaus，实不相瞒，我自己也想不出比这更奇妙的安排。
莱比锡布商管弦乐团的演出我会带入坟墓，届时变成宇宙微尘也要盘旋在它四周。假使跟仙乐先祖碰头，那肯定也要拿出来回顾。第四乐章几乎是挂着眼泪听完的。天下一家，不知道是否依然是人们彼此心中的梦想？
