1/17/2014
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Los Altos, CA
Music by Bach & Son
J.S. Bach: Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1038
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G minor, WTC Book II
J.S. Bach: Sonata for violin and harpsichord in G major, BWV 1019
J.S. Bach: Sonata for flute and continuo in E minor, BWV 1034
C.P.E. Bach: Duetto for flue and violin Wq. 140
C.P.E. Bach: Trio Sonata in G major, Wq. 150
David Ross, flute
Laura Rubinstein-Salzedo, violin
Michael Peterson, harpsichord
這場音樂會是由念書時認識，至今仍要好的大鍵琴「師兄」Michael和他新成立的團Laudami所帶來的表演。Michael和我在史丹福時是同一位大鍵琴老師Elaine，不過他是真正的科班音樂系學生，後來又跑到荷蘭的The Hague繼續深造。他從2013年下半年起回到加州，準備認真發展音樂家的生涯。但古樂並不是他的唯一：他大學還念了數學雙修，平時不彈琴時便在社區大學教數學。
吹長笛的David是Michael在荷蘭時的美國同學，而Laura是David現在紐約的同學，關係很微妙。Laura的父親Jonathan Salzedo其實在灣區也是頗有名氣的大鍵琴家／調音師／工匠，和老婆及朋友組了個古樂團Albany Consort。Michael，David，與Laura所以取名為Laudami，只不過就是將三人名字的開頭(Laura David Michael)湊起來，念起也挺像拉丁文的，就這樣敲定了，還真是個可愛的典故～～
這晚的音樂主打的是巴洛克最重要的作曲家－J.S. 巴哈，以及他最重要的兒子C.P.E. 巴哈。他們的曲目其實安排得不錯，開始和結束都是全團共同演奏的三重奏鳴曲，中間則有各種二重奏以及一首Michael的獨奏。
只不過，在音樂會在一剛開始就出現了難以預測的小插曲。稍早吃了不新鮮的三明治，加上表演前的緊張，讓Michael在第一首三重奏鳴曲表演到一半，就反胃吐了出來。他努力將第三樂章撐完，但之後馬上離席。Laudami立刻更換曲目，先演奏不需要Michael的那首C.P.E.二重奏，然後提前中場休息，讓Michael有更多休息的機會。
C.P.E.巴哈為小提琴與長笛的二重奏是我唯一沒聽過的一首。如同他著名的音樂風格一般，這首曲子的走向常常讓人捉摸不定，時時出現轉折和驚喜。小提琴和長笛有許多快速齊奏(unison)的片段，David和Laura表演得乾淨利落。他們的演奏強調出音樂中的對比，也帶給曲子生命力。但兩個高音部樂器二重奏的問題，就是少了數字低音，總覺得有點空虛單薄～～
休息時間過後Laudami先將三重奏鳴曲最後一個樂章表演完，是首小賦格，他們也表演得很生動。然後就是Michael獨奏的機會，彈了一首選自平均律第二冊的前奏曲與賦格。Michael後來和我透露他這一首其實之前沒彈過，是為了音樂會而學的，而這首我其實原本也不熟。Michael在前奏曲中刻意強調了附點節奏，而在賦格中，他的彈奏雖平順，但各聲部呈現清晰，加上適時的停頓以及上下兩排鍵盤的切換，展現出他的音樂性。Michael的風格向來不是以激動表情和絢麗技巧取勝，讓我聯想到大師Glen Wilson，是招招到位，讓音樂自個兒說話的演奏方式。
Laura和Michael一同表演大巴哈BWV 1019的小提琴奏鳴曲，大鍵琴部份不是數字低音，而是全盤寫好的。Laura畢竟是全團裡最年輕的，有時表現並不是那麼穩健。但是整體而言，他們的演奏是有動力而不刻板，Laura樂句修飾得很不錯，是經熟思過的。這首奏鳴曲另一個特色是第三樂章，是完全給大鍵琴獨奏。Michael的表現紮實而流暢，音樂性突顯在節奏的巧妙停頓上。
David和Michael合奏的那首長笛奏鳴曲，我在學校時也曾經練過，所以對它的印象很深。David的長笛音色圓潤飽滿，一切處理得講究雅致。他在荷蘭求學時的老師為巴洛克長笛的權威Wilbert Hazelzet，David似乎也受其影響，吹法不浮誇但都恰如其分。另外，第三樂章裡，Michael演奏數字低音的方式印象讓我特別深。他參考了長笛的旋律，配上的和聲和長笛有了對話的角色，並不受限於其原來頑固低音的性質。
最後一首以C.P.E.巴哈的三重奏鳴曲結束。比照開頭大巴哈的三重奏鳴曲，父子二人雖然只差了30歲左右，不過音樂風格上的差異卻非常大。這首奏鳴曲，織體透明單薄，長笛和小提琴都有悠長甜美的旋律，但意想不到的和聲演進總是讓音樂一直換方向，重新出發。Laudami的演奏活潑輕快，傳遞出早期古典樂派的精神。
我第一次參加了Michael的正式表演，除了Laudami整團的表演可圈可點之外，在台下其實也很為他感到高興。前一晚，Michael甚至約了Laura和David到我家坐坐，算是第一次和Michael之外的專業古樂演奏家近距離接觸。大家吃飯喝酒，放CD聽，並暢談古樂，真是件爽快的事。未來Laudami灣區的音樂會，也必定會去捧場！
I'm proud to write about a concert that good harpsichord friend Michael Peterson played in. I've known Michael since our days at Stanford, as we both studied with Elaine. Of course, he was the serious one, going to The Hague later to further study with Jacques Ogg. He returned to California in the summer of 2013 to start establishing himself in the early music scene in the Bay Area. While he's not busy doing music though, he also teaches math, having also studied and getting a double major in math at Stanford.
David, flautist, was Michael's classmate back in the Hague. He then went to Julliard's Historical Performance program to earn his masters. This brings us to Laura, fellow classmate at Julliard of David. Laura's originally from the Bay Area, and his dad Jonathan Salzedo is a well-known harpsichordist/tuner/restorer in the Bay Area. He founded the Albany Consort, which Laura used to and still occasionally plays with. Now if you're observant, you might have also guessed that the ensemble's name Laudami is a combining of the beginning of their names (Laura David Michael). It even sounds quasi-Latin, so the name stuck and there we have it.
The program offered this evening focused on music by J.S. Bach and his equally influential son, C.P.E. Bach. There was a good variety of pieces, including trio sonatas for the entire ensemble, duets for every combination possible of the group, and solo harpsichord piece by Michael.
At the outset though, something unfortunate and unpredictable took place. Bothered by a bad sandwich eaten earlier that afternoon, Michael had problems keeping it down midway through the opening J.S. Bach trio sonata. He managed to finish the 3rd movement, but after that he really had to leave the stage. Laudami adjusted by playing the C.P.E. duet for violin and flute, and we went to intermission early to give Michael more time to recover.
The C.P.E. bach duet is the only piece in the concert which I have not heard before. As expected from your typical C.P.E., the music progresses in ways you normally don't expect it to go, and it catches you by surprise time and time again. There are many runs where the violin and flute play in unison, and David and Laura play it cleanly. They provide good energy and nice contrast in the music. For me though, the lack of the continuo always sounded a bit empty and exposed.
After the intermission, Laudami proceeded to finish the last movement of the J.S. Bach trio sonata, a short vibrant fugato. And then it was Michael's solo piece, a prelude and fugue from the 2nd book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. It was a piece that I did not really know, and as for Michael, acquaintance with the piece was apparently a recent thing too. In the prelude, he emphasized the syncopated rhythm, while in the fugue was characterized by fluid playing and clarity of the voices. His musicality is further evidenced by well thought out pauses and register shifts. His playing has never been the animated and flamboyant type and reminds me of Glen Wilson in some ways, doing everything just right at the service of the music.
Laura and Michael played the BWV 1019 sonata for violin and obbligato harpsichord. Laura is the youngest member of the ensemble, and there were hints of unevenness in her playing. As a whole though, she showed good vitality and presented a well shaped and thought performance. Also interesting to note about the piece is the harpsichord-only 3rd movement.
David and Michael played the E minor flute sonata for flute and continuo. It was a piece I have worked on before while in school, so I had a special affinity for it. David's tone was round and full, and his lines elegantly shaped. David studied with Wilbert Hazelzet, founding member of Musica Antiqua Köln, at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Like Wilbert, David does not go for flashiness but tasteful rendering. The other thing that stood out for me was Michael's realization of the continuo, with a largely repeating bassline pattern. His harmonization cast the continuo into a dialogue role with the flute, hereby creating an interesting texture.
Laudami concluded the concert with a C.P.E. Bach trio sonata, much different in style to his father's opening piece. The piece is much more transparent in its texture, with long melodious lines which the violin and flute alternate. Naturally, C.P.E. Bach throws in a few curveballs, and the direction of the music resets many times throughout each movement. Laudami's playing is spirited, conveying that good feeling of the early Classical.
This marks the first time I've attended a professional performance of Michael's. Besides giving a good overall concert Laudami Ensemble, I'm happy for Michael that his harpsichord performing career is slowly taking off in the Bay Area. The prior evening, I've even had the pleasure of having Laura and David over for dinner. This might be my "closest encounter" with professional early musicians to date. Yes, there were a lot of CD listening and discussions, and it was truly a delightful evening. Needless to say, I plan to attend future Laudami concerts. (Laudami played again at the Berkeley Early Music Festival in June of 2014, but I went on vacation to Hawaii and had no choice but to miss it.)
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