荣誉会员
UID17027
好友
回帖0
主题
精华
积分87205
阅读权限225
注册时间2002-12-20
最后登录1970-1-1
在线时间 小时
|
楼主 |
发表于 2004-2-1 11:13:00
|
显示全部楼层
关于这张专集的采访：
AROUND THE WORLD IN TWO CONCERTOSClassical Guitarist Sharon Isbin Performs a Pair of Premieres Even with a groundbreaking Grammy Award freshly in hand, Sharon Isbin is not about to rest on her laurels. Joining forces with composers Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun, Isbin has recorded two new concertos for guitar and orchestra on the budding Teldec New Line label. They are the latest additions to a collection of compositions written for her by leading contemporary composers -- John Corigliano, Joseph Schwanter, Lukas Foss, Aaron Kernis, and others. But as Isbin's recordings have shown -- from the folk-inspired Dreams of a World, which won a 2001 Grammy Award in the category Best Instrumental Soloist Without Orchestra, to Wayfaring Stranger with soprano Susanne Mentzer to the works of Joaquin Rodrigo -- she is at home in a wide variety of styles. Indeed, her expertise extends back to Baroque performance practice, which she studied for a decade. (Her recording of Bach's Lute Suites has been recently re-released on Virgin Classics.) Reflecting Isbin's stylistic eclecticism, Tan Dun's and Christopher Rouse's concertos present a remarkable cultural synthesis, and unsurprisingly, this is an approach to which Isbin is particularly drawn. She spoke with Barnes&Noble.com's EJ Johnson about winning a Grammy, the charms of folk music, and her striking new project's cross-cultural appeal.
Barnes & Noble.com: Congratulations on your Grammy Award. It must have been a thrill to win.
Sharon Isbin: I was totally thrilled. I had been delighted to receive a nomination. The first time I got one had been a couple of years before for Journey to the Amazon, so this time it made it look like that wasn't a mistake or an accident. I really didn't expect to break the piano juggernaut -- many, many years, decades of tradition.
B&N.com: Yes, you prevailed over an impressive lineup of pianists -- Murray Perahia, Evgeny Kissin, and others. Do you see any larger significance in that -- changing attitudes toward tradition in classical music perhaps?
SI: Well, I think that one of the things that was attractive to people about the Dreams of a World disc is that it was multicultural, and it presented folk-inspired music from eight different countries. The other piano recordings were really following a much more traditional kind of mold, with either Murray Perahia's Bach Goldberg Variations or Kissin doing Chopin, et cetera. So this was something quite unusual in that context and, again, I didn't expect it because it was the first time in 28 years that a classical guitarist received a Grammy. It was an even greater honor for the instrument, and I'm thrilled to be a part of that.
B&N.com: The new Tan Dun and Christopher Rouse Concertos recording is a cultural potpourri, too. Dreams of a World was a very different project, of course, but the two share a kind of multicultural mixture. Is that an approach you're drawn to, or is it something that comes about because of the nature of your instrument's repertoire?
SI: I'm very drawn to it, because it's something that is so genuine and really is communicative and compelling. Folk music has always been a vehicle to communicate the hopes, the pains, the struggles, the sadness, the joy, the dreams of different people. And what's remarkable is the way Tan Dun and Christopher Rouse use that in a very modern vision -- in contrast to the more traditional approach in the works on Dreams of a World. [The Dun and Rouse Concertos] are not what you would think of in terms of modern music; they use much more traditional melodic lines that you will recognize. Chris Rouse was inspired by the great architect from Barcelona, Antonio Gaudi, whose dramatic invention and capricious imagination was something that stimulated him. In Chris Rouse's words, he's one of the few artists of such vision to be able to really realize his dreams.
B&N.com: Did the connection to Gaudi affect your approach to playing Rouse's Concerto?
SI: Well, having been to Barcelona and having seen the [Gaudi-designed church] Sagrada Familia, and also having been very touched by the power and brilliance of Gaudi's work, I could really sense it at a visceral level. And what Rouse does is, he'll take Spanish gestures that we may recognize, such as the opening chords, and then it becomes something that twists and bends and melts into almost the effect of listening to a Dali painting. And, in fact, there's a lot of good humor in it. Right after the guitar states its initial theme, then the orchestra comes in. And I remember being at the first rehearsal in Germany with Christoph Eschenbach when this happens, and I just broke out in this big smile -- because it's hilarious the way Rouse orchestrates to create this effect, which is at once very strong and powerful but with great humor.
B&N.com: Tan Dun's piece also uses Spanish idioms, but it melds those with Eastern influences.
SI: Yes. He creates a remarkable synthesis between the heritage of the Spanish guitar, which goes back to flamenco, and the ancient Chinese lute, or p'i-p'a, which draws on Chinese folk themes. And unlike the Rouse, the Spanish element is much more hidden -- you have to really be aware of it to know that it's happening. For example, at the beginning there's this wonderful interchange between the guitarist and the conductor, where I'm stomping and strumming and slapping the instrument, using gestures of flamenco music while he is clapping. And it's really a very creative way of taking these ideas and presenting them in a new light. But most in the foreground in Tan's music is the Chinese element, and he is able to draw on his wonderful childhood memories of rituals: the wailing of the mourners [at funerals] or the marching bands of villagers who would take up anything they could make noise with -- pots and pans. All these rhythmic elements come into play in the piece. So there's a real richness and depth to it that draws on his remarkable background. And the conductor, Muhai Tang, who's also Chinese and grew up in similar circumstances and knows Tan's music very well, was able to translate this language just brilliantly to all of us musicians.
B&N.com: Dun's Concerto calls upon you to emulate the sound of the p'i-p'a on your guitar. Did that present a technical challenge?
SI: It did, because the p'i-p'a uses a tremolo technique. Tremolo is where you repeat very quickly on a single pitch in order to sustain the melodic line, and it produces this shimmering, oscillating kind of effect that is not unlike an electric guitarist taking a pick and going back and forth very quickly. The way it's used in p'i-p'a music is much more extensive than we are normally used to in guitar, so I had to really modify greatly the techniques that I was familiar with to be able to accommodate this new approach. Also it requires an understanding of the character, the nature of the crescendi and accents that are a part of the real style of p'i-p'a music. Tan paid me the highest compliment afterward by saying, "My God! You really sound like a p'i-p'a player. This is amazing. I didn't imagine it could be this way."
B&N.com: What does the title mean, Yi2?
SI: It's part of a series [of compositions] where Dun envisions something that is static -- in this case the orchestra -- and then a written out improvisation on top. Yi1 was his Cello Concerto; Yi0 is just the orchestra part itself. And Yi2, which is the Guitar Concerto, sounds totally different from what he does with the cello. So, in each case he has a different kind of vision.
B&N.com: I'm interested in the nature of your collaborations with the composers. Did you give them free rein? Or did you offer suggestions?
SI: These represent the eighth and ninth concerti that have been written for me. In each case I let the composer guide me in terms of how much input they want. Of course, I'm always there to guide them technically with the instrument, to make sure they're on the right track. Chris had in his mind Gaudi, and that was really right from the start. So I had nothing to do with the concept. Tan Dun also knew exactly what he wanted to do. We both agreed from the beginning we wanted something more traditional. Since there is a long lineage of a more accessible kind of music [for guitar], it would be expected that we wouldn't do something far-out or avant-garde, that it would follow a path that would employ tonality and folk ideas.
B&N.com: So you wanted these pieces to be as approachable as they are.
SI: Yes. Definitely. And that was important to me. I really don't think having something alienating is going to win any followers to the instrument, nor would it be something I would want to play.
B&N.com: One problematic aspect of your instrument is its limited dynamic range, but you've been able to overcome that in performances like these with large ensembles, haven't you?
SI: I travel with my own wireless sound system. And it's so natural that one is not aware that it's there; you are able to hear the guitar in its full bloom of resonance. One of the things that's particularly striking about the Tan Dun/Chris Rouse recording is that for the first time for guitar -- and I didn't expect it was possible -- we were able to use the sound reinforcement on the stage. Since these were live performances, this allowed the audience to hear what I was doing, the orchestra to hear what I was doing, the conductor and myself, and it didn't interfere with the recording. Instead of guessing at a mime show, the orchestra was actually able to respond to what I was playing. From now on, that's the way I will always do it.
May 23, 2001
|
|
发表于 2004-2-1 11:11:00
