[分享]Headless 不设指挥的乐团

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 奥菲斯室内乐团

The absence of a conductor can be a blessing, as one orchestra demonstrates
这家管弦乐团向世人证明：乐团无棒，焉知非福

Aug 3rd 2006 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition

“THIS part is always screwed up with a conductor, but we’ve played it perfectly twice,” concludes Leon Fleisher during a recent Orpheus Chamber Orchestra rehearsal of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. “This is proof that conductors should just sit down.”
最近，在参加奥菲斯室内乐团排演贝多芬的“皇帝协奏曲”过程中，里昂•弗莱舍评论道：“这段曲子一直以来是靠指挥家来衔接的，但是我们的表演已经不止一次地证明没有指挥也能演奏地很出色。这说明指挥家们该退休了。”
In the dictatorial world of orchestras—where conductors choose the repertoire, organise rehearsals and tell musicians how to play—Orpheus is fond of proving that it thrives without a baton. Whereas the first violinists in other ensembles, such as the Prague and Australian chamber orchestras, are de facto conductors, Orpheus rotates leadership in an artistically collaborative version of musical chairs. A different core group shapes each piece and then works with the whole ensemble. Initially, this chaotic democracy resulted in inefficient rehearsals and bruised egos, but a recent rehearsal of a Bach orchestral suite suggests that it is now an efficient and civilised process, if long.
虽身处管弦乐这个一切听从指挥的世界里（确定保留节目单、组织排演、指挥音乐家们演奏的都是指挥），奥菲斯室内乐团却热衷于向世人证明：没有指挥棒，奥菲斯依旧璀璨耀眼。在其他的室内乐队里，如布拉格室内乐团和澳大利亚室内乐团，早期的小提琴演奏家们是实质上的指挥。有鉴于此，奥菲斯室内乐团采取艺术协作的方式，让团员轮流担任乐团首席或声部首席。各核心声部先分别将乐曲所有的章节组织起来，然后一一由全团合奏。起初，这种表面混乱的民主制度会带来排演的低效和意见的分歧，但从乐团最近一次排演巴赫的一部组曲的表现来看，如果加以时日，这将是一种高效而且文明的进程。

Soloists hesitate sometimes about playing with Orpheus, but then enjoy the rare chance to voice their own ideas. The orchestra does not pay huge fees, but it does require almost twice as many rehearsals, which Mr Fleisher says leads to deeper music making. “Everyone knows the standard repertory and most orchestras are wonderful sight readers. But they don’t have time to get behind the notes.”
在与奥菲斯合作上，歌唱家们有时仍犹豫不决；不过一旦合作，即便为数不多，他们依旧会乐此不疲地用歌声传递自己的思想。尽管乐团不用为此花费大量的费用，但是比许多排演的费用高出近一倍。弗莱舍认为这样的安排能够带来进一步的音乐创作。他说：“所有人都知道基本的轮演节目，而且大多数管弦乐团对音乐作品具有出色的洞察力和理解力。但是他们却没有机会及时洞悉隐含在音符背后的东西。”

Orpheus proves that size is less important than vigour, and its string section’s lush, powerful sound belies its small stature. The broad repertoire ranges from Bach to Schönberg. Despite the complex tempo fluctuations of music of the 19th century, when concertmaster-led orchestras began to be replaced by composer-conductors, Orpheus convincingly performs romantic music including Mendelssohn and Schubert symphonies, and Chopin piano concertos. Next season it even plans to perform a Schumann symphony.
奥菲斯室内乐团始终在证明乐团的生命力比规模重要。凭借弦乐组苍劲有力的合音，奥菲斯弥补了其结构上的单薄。乐团的轮演节目时间跨度很大：从巴赫一直到勋伯格。尽管十九世纪音乐的节奏变化复杂、跌宕起伏，且就在那个时候原本由首席小提琴手指挥的管弦乐团开始为作曲家本人指挥的管弦乐团所替代，但是奥菲斯坚信能够演奏出浪漫的音符，其中就包括门德尔松和舒伯特的交响曲，以及肖邦的钢琴协奏曲。奥菲斯甚至计划在下一季度演奏舒曼的交响曲。

“We are trying to stay true to the composer and the sound they had in mind,” says Ronnie Bauch, a violinist. For that reason, Orpheus does not play the big Mahler, Bruckner or Tchaikovsky symphonies. Orpheus musicians rely on being able to see and hear each other, and limit their ensemble to approximately 40 players.
小提琴手罗尼•保奇说道：“我们正竭力正确地理解作曲者并表现那些弥漫在他本人脑海中的音符”。正式处于这个原因，奥菲斯从不演奏马勒、布鲁克纳或是柴可夫斯基等人的大型交响曲。在奥菲斯乐团，音乐家们要依靠相互间视觉上和听觉上的交流和联系，而且乐团将其团人人数限制在40人左右。

Some conductors do not agree that their services might be dispensable. Benjamin Zander, known for his mesmerising Mahler recordings with the Philharmonia, says “the greatest and most subtle orchestral music must be guided by one mind. A collective mind is unlikely to produce the level of subtlety and musicianship that one mind will produce.”
有些指挥不赞同奥菲斯这种模式，认为这种模式没有必要。本杰明•赞德说：“最伟大也是最精妙的交响乐必须由个人的思想去引导。集体的思想不比个人的思想，它无法产生精妙的乐感并发挥整个乐团的技能”。他指挥爱乐乐团录制了风靡全球的马勒交响乐系列唱片从而名声大噪。

What Orpheus does produce are performances that are rarely humdrum, unlike all too many big-name orchestras. Playing without a conductor is risky, but the free-spirited energy of these keenly attentive musicians results in an edgy spontaneity. Eric Bartlett, a cellist with Orpheus and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra says there is a lower level of individual intensity in the latter. “If even a great conductor is empowered to make all the important decisions musicians start to play in a more passive way. Orpheus has removed a barrier between the audience and the music, the conductor himself.”
与绝大多数大牌管弦乐团的演奏不同，奥菲斯乐团的表演的确很少给人产生单调乏味之感。虽然不设指挥的演奏方式十分大胆，但是奥菲斯乐团这些思想敏锐、热情专注的音乐家们通过精神和灵感的自由碰撞产生的火花营造出一种默契。奥菲斯室内乐团兼纽约爱乐乐团的大提琴演奏家埃里克•巴勒特认为，同纽约爱乐乐团相比，奥菲斯的团员之间凝聚力更高。他说：“如果一切重大决策权都交付于指挥，即使他是一位伟大的指挥家，乐团成员们在演奏时也会表现地被动一些。而奥菲斯乐团已经消除了阻隔听众与音乐之间的障碍，这一障碍就是指挥。”

So why aren’t there more conductor-less orchestras? Star conductors sell more tickets than cooperatives. And then there is the difficulty of establishing a successful collaboration between many opinionated musicians. Orpheus has begun leading workshops at the Manhattan and Juilliard schools of music, and students are learning at first hand about some of the difficulties that Orpheus has taken years to overcome. “Sometimes I’m tired and don’t feel like thinking and just want someone to guide me,” says one student clarinettist. “On the other hand, conductors often aren’t inspiring and just get in the way.”
那么我们不禁要问：为什么不设指挥的管弦乐团其数量不多再一些呢？大指挥家们的表演比起乐团组合更卖座。所以许多自信固执的音乐家们凑在一起很难成为出色的乐坛组合。奥菲斯已经在曼哈顿音乐学院和朱莉亚音乐学院开设学习班，学员们可以在第一时间了解到奥菲斯乐团花费多年克服的各种困难。一名演奏单簧管的学生说：“有时我很疲惫，不想去思考，就想有人能给我指点迷津。此外，指挥们往往非但不能鼓舞人心，反而碍手碍脚。”

Listening to a brilliant conductor leading a superb orchestra is very special. Even Orpheus members admit it can be thrilling working with energetic and inspiring maestros. But as orchestras struggle to redefine themselves, a few brave Juilliard and Manhattan students could do worse than follow the Orpheus example.
聆听一场由才华出众的指挥家同技艺精湛的管弦乐团合作的演奏是一件可遇而不可求的幸事。即使是奥菲斯乐团的成员们也不得不承认，能够同充满活力、激励人心的音乐大师合作表演令人精神抖擞。因为各管弦乐团都力图使自己能在乐坛拥有一席之地，所以上述两所音乐学院中一些敢于尝试的学生学习奥菲斯的模式，但未必能取得奥菲斯那样的成功。

奥菲斯室内乐团简介
在古希腊神话中，奥菲斯是音乐之神，歌声不但能感动生命，还能振奋草木；山石因他而滚动，河流为之而改道。以音乐之神为名，美国奥菲斯室内乐团(Orpheus Chamber Orchestra)是当代最优秀的室内乐团之一，1972年由大提琴家法菲(Julian Fifer)创立，一开始，乐团的宗旨就是要以室内乐的形式，演奏交响作品。这个开创性的实验所取得的结果是：世界出现了第一个，也是唯一一个不设指挥的乐团。
奥菲斯现有28名固定团员，弦乐有18人，吹管乐有10人，一些演出，乐团会外请客卿演奏家，编制可达40到45人，但不管阵容多强，奥菲斯30年如一日，演出一律不设指挥，这不但没有影响它的艺术表现力，评论还一致认为，奥菲斯因为不受指挥“控制”，音乐反而更细腻、深刻和不落俗套。
奥菲斯旗下有60张唱片，2001年录制的《影子舞：史特拉文斯基缩影》还得了格莱美大奖。
奥菲斯乐团团员大多任教于纽约的高等音乐学府，有极高的音乐修养，演奏华美细腻，每一个细节、每一个音符都交代得清清楚楚，绝不含糊。

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