音乐往事（五）

我今天要上五节课，你知道我在发财吗？租车费和白手套花了我更多的钱，没有这些行头我会显得没有品位。另外，我不在乎钱，只在乎朋友之谊。为此我祈祷：我还是你哥们。
【注释】
permanent 永久的
retain 保持
modesty 谦逊
soandso 某某人（事）variation 变奏曲
pinnacle 巅峰
all the more 更加
whisker 连鬓胡子，髯making a fortune 赚钱，发财
otherwise 另外
January 26th
Chopin in High Society
At age 21 Polish composer Frederick Chopin left hisnative country, little knowing that the departure would be permanent. Within ayear he was a great success in Paris as a pianist and teacher. But he retainedhis modesty and good humor in a letter to a friend back home:
I have gotten into the highest society. I sit withambassadors, princes, ministers, and don‘t even know how it has happened becauseit didn‘t result from any effort of mine. It is necessary for me because goodtaste is supposed to depend on it. Right away you supposedly have a biggertalent if you‘ve been heard at the English or Austrian embassy. You play betterif princess soandso was your protector.
Although this is only my first year among the artistshere, I have their friendship and respect. People with huge reputationsdedicate their compositions to me before I do so to them. People composevariations on my themes. Finished artists take lessons from me and compare mewith John Field.
If I were even more stupid than I am, I would considermyself at the pinnacle of my career, but I know how much I still lack to attainperfection. I see it all the more clearly now that I live only among firstrateartists and know what each one of them lacks.
Anyway, maybe you haven‘t forgotten what mypersonality is like. I am today what I was yesterday, with just this onedifference—I now have one whisker. The other still refuses to grow.
I have five lessons to give today. You think I‘mmaking a fortune? Carriages and white gloves cost more, and without them Iwouldn‘t be in good taste. Otherwise I care nothing for money, only forfriendship, and I pray that I still have yours.
1月27日年轻的批评家
沃尔夫冈·阿玛迪乌斯·莫扎特Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart（1756～1791）
奥地利著名作曲家，维也纳古典乐派的杰出代表。主要作品：41部交响曲、歌剧《费加罗的婚礼》、《魔笛》等和众多小夜曲、室内乐曲、教堂乐曲、钢琴和小提琴协奏曲。
年轻作曲家沃尔夫冈·阿玛迪乌斯·莫扎特才华横溢而又爱开玩笑，他和父亲游历到米兰，指望为他在欧洲的成功打下基础。1770年1月27日，即莫扎特14岁生日前夕，给远在萨尔茨堡18岁的姐姐南妮尔写了一封信：
我很高兴你玩雪橇玩得如此开心，我祝愿你有上千个机会出去玩，这样你就会舒心如意。然

演”，这就是哈利所经历的。
【注释】
stingy 抠门的
duo 二个，二重唱
be about to 即将
under the knife 做外科手术，修理
rattle the nerves 使紧张，使惶恐
chisel 凿子ensue 接着发生
threshold 门槛， 出发点
suspense 悬念
February 1st
The Stingy Virtuoso
The two had been an inseparable duo. Their music hadtaken the concert halls of Europe by storm. Now one of them was about to gounder the knife and the other insisted on being present during the entireoperation. It would be enough to rattle the nerves of any surgeon—being askedto save the violin of the great virtuoso, Niccolo Paganini.
The “surgeon,” the restorer of fine violins, was theParisian J.B. Vuillaume. As his chisel began opening the instrument there was aslight cracking noise and, in a heartbeat, Paganini was out of his chair,bending nervously over the workman. Each new movement of the tool made theviolinist more and more nervous. He said it was if the chisel were entering hisown flesh.
Both violin and violinist survived but it‘s unlikelythat the restoration brought Vuillaume any musical reward because Paganini wasnot free with his playing. The conductor Sir Charles Halle could testify tothat. He recalled seeing Paganini often in a Paris shop. In the 1830‘s Hallewas a young pianist and Paganini often got him to play simply by pointing abony finger at the piano.
From his earliest childhood Halle had heard about theplaying of Paganini, had heard it described in supernatural terms, and longedto hear it for himself. On one memorable occasion, after Halle had played forPaganini a long silence ensued. Finally Paganini rose and approached his violincase. Halle felt he was on the threshold of the experience of a lifetime—apersonal performance from the great Paganini.
Paganini opened the case. He took out the violin andcarefully began to tune it. Halle waited for him to pick up the bow and play,waited until the suspense was almost unbearable. Apparently satisfied, Paganinistopped tuning. Halle held his breath for the first note. Carefully, thevirtuoso put the violin back and shut the case, ending the only Paganini“performance” Halle would ever get to hear.
2月2日哲学家骗子
让·雅克·卢梭JeanJacquesRousseau（1712～1778）
法国著名启蒙思想家、音乐家。
卢梭是欧洲18世纪最伟大的人物之一，就众多音乐家而论，他也是最被人讨嫌的一位。
这位伟大的瑞士哲学家（法国籍——译者注）是以音乐家的身份开始他的职业生涯的。1732年，20岁的卢梭还是个志大才疏的家伙，他自封为作曲家，却连一首最简单的饮酒谣也写不了。一次，他遇到一位很有名的法律教授，教授要在家里举办音乐会。卢梭开始为他谱曲。

和他的伙伴们决定找茬反对瓦格纳。
布鲁克勒有一只叫莫普斯的小胖狗，午饭时间它和孩子们在一起，而那时布鲁克勒去了更清净的地方。这些孩子们开始折腾莫普斯。当他们演奏瓦格纳的作品时，就猛拍、猛追小狗。而当他们演奏布鲁克勒的《赞美颂》的主题歌时，他们就给莫普斯喂食。不一会，他们把小狗训练好了。只要一听见纯粹的瓦格纳音乐就会从屋子里跑出去，而当演奏布鲁克勒的曲目时它就会兴奋地跑回屋里。
一天，当布鲁克勒吃完午饭返回时，孩子们开始验证他们的恶作剧。“布鲁克勒先生，”他们说道，“我们知道你对瓦格纳很忠诚，但我们认为他根本比不上你。为什么呢，因为即使一条狗也知道你是一个比瓦格纳更伟大。”
布鲁克勒的脸一阵发红，问他们什么意思。
这时莫普斯出来了。孩子们演奏瓦格纳作品，莫普斯就嚎叫着从房间里跑了出去。然后，他们就演奏选自布鲁克勒的《赞美颂》的主题歌，莫普斯回来了，充满期待地对着他们的袖子挥舞着尾巴和爪子。真相大白，布鲁克勒信服了，大受感动。
就这样，在这只叫莫普斯的小狗的帮助下，年轻的弗雷兹·布鲁克勒和他的伙伴们搞定了19世纪80年代一场巨大的音乐纷争。
【注释】
hoax 诡计，花招
perpetrate (坏事)，犯(罪)
pass off 完成chubby 圆胖的
serene 清净的
Te Deum（拉丁文）赞美颂condition 处于……条件
trot 大步走
devote to 忠诚
February 4th
Kreisler‘s Other Hoax
Fritz Kreisler is known for perpetrating one of thegreat hoaxes in music history—passing off his own compositions as the works ofearly masters. But long before that scandal broke in 1935 Kreisler involved twomajor composers in a clever hoax.
Born on February 4th, 1875, Kreisler was only sevenwhen he entered the Vienna Academy in 1882. His teacher for harmony and musictheory was the great Anton Bruckner, a strong supporter of the music of Wagner.Kreisler and some other boys decided to make a case against Wagner.
Bruckner had a chubby dog named Mops who stayed withthe boys during the lunch hour while Bruckner took off for more serenesurroundings. The boys put Mops to work. They made a habit of slapping andchasing the dog as they played music by Wagner. Then they would play a theme fromBruckner‘s Te Deum, during which they‘d feed the dog. After a while they hadMops conditioned so that the mere sound of the Wagner would make him run fromthe room, while the Bruckner brought him trotting back joyfully.
One day when Bruckner returned from lunch the boys puttheir joke to the test. “Master Bruckner,” they said, “we know that you‘redevoted to Wagner, but we don‘t think he can even compare to you. Why, even adog would know that you‘re a greater composer than Wagner.” Bruckner blushed atthe praise and asked what they meant.
Outcame Mops. The boys played their Wagner. Howling, the dog ran from the room.Then

出歌剧《朱丽叶和奥菲利亚》。对于这场无疾而终的爱情，柏辽兹于1830年2月6日给他朋友菲迪南德·希勒写信倾诉：
你能够给我解释一下——这究竟是什么呢？这种感情的力量、这种折磨我摧毁我的力量到底是什么？问问你的天使……那个为你敞开了天堂之门的天使吧。我们别怨天尤人了……爱情之火正在熄灭！——等等！……亲爱的菲迪南德，我必须告诉你：点燃它！我已经焚毁了写满了爱情挽歌的手稿。我看见奥菲利亚在哭泣，怜悯的泪水没有止尽。我听见她哀恸的声音，她那圣洁眸子里的光芒将我烧成了灰烬。亲爱的菲迪南德，我不明白，这就是真正的痛苦吗？
我用了很长时间，尝试让泪水变干……这一段日子，冥冥之中，我仿佛看见了贝多芬，他正忧心忡忡地凝视着我；我似乎看见了斯庞蒂尼，他对我惺惺相惜，他曾经经历过那种痛楚；我依稀看见了韦伯，他就像一个熟悉的精灵在我耳畔絮语，它栖息于一片乐土，随时准备将我慰藉。
无论是“摄政团咖啡馆”里玩骨牌的人还是某个协会的成员，在他们看来，这一切都疯了——彻底疯了！不，我还得活下去……再一次……音乐是个神圣的事业，除了爱情，没有什么比它更加圣洁。有人想把我弄得和别人一样不快乐，但，至少，我得活下去……
柏辽兹确实活下去了，而且还结婚了——当然是和哈里特·丝密松分手后。
【注释】
headlong 鲁莽的
be smitten with(by) 折磨，使人神魂颠倒
company 剧团
unrequited 无结果的，无报答的
seraph 天使
go out 熄灭
sublime 出众的，壮丽的
consume 耗尽
indignant 愤怒的air 神态
console 安慰
regence 摄政（团）
domino 骨牌
celestial 神圣的
February 6th
Berlioz‘ Headlong Love
Hector Berlioz expressed himself in a grand way, bothmusically and romantically. In 1828 he was smitten with Harriet Smithson, anIrish actress who was playing Juliet and Ophelia with an English theatercompany in Paris. Full of unrequited love, Berlioz wrote to his friendFerdinand Hiller on February 6th, 1830:
Can you explain to me what it is, this power ofemotion, this ability to suffer which is destroying me? Ask your angel..thatseraph who has opened for you the gate of heaven! Let us not complain...thefire is going out, wait a moment...I must tell you, dear Ferdinand...To lightit, I have burned the manuscript of my Elegie en prose! Tears always tears,tears of sympathy; I see Ophelia shedding them. I hear her tragic voice, thelight from her sublime eyes consumes me. Is this true misery, dear Ferdinand? Icannot express it!
I‘vespent a long time drying the tears that fall from my eyes...In the meantime, Iseem to see Beethoven looking at me severely, Spontini, who has himself knownmy