Slowly making his way to the podium, the acclaimed conductor Leonard Bernstein (Aug. 25, 1918 – Oct. 14, 1990) raised his baton and led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the Four Sea Interludes by British composer Benjamin Britten and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. This concert, on Aug. 19, 1990 at Tanglewood in Massachusetts, US, came 50 years after Bernstein first appeared on the scene, in the same place and with the same orchestra, as assistant conductor. As such, it was a fitting close to the conductor’s illustrious career. In the elderly Bernstein’s hands, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, usually so full of Dionysian ecstasy, took on a weighty solemnity. His frail frame leaning against the podium, his labored breathing punctuated by bouts of coughing, the conductor’s failing health was apparent for all to see. At the conclusion of the performance, the entire audience got to their feet and, as their rapturous applause filled the room, Bernstein left the stage. The concert would be his swan song, and his final public appearance.
Leonard Bernstein is regarded as one of the great conductors of the 20th century. Both a composer and a pianist, he was also the last of the great conductor-composers of the classical music tradition. Born and bred in the US, where he received his music education, his career and his achievements challenged the perception, held at the time, that all of the great conductors were trained in Europe. His teacher Serge Koussevitzky’s championing of modern music had a profound influence on Bernstein, leading to his frequent inclusion of the works of modern composers in his concerts. Two other major figures in Bernstein’s career were Bruno Walter and Dimitri Mitropoulos: These men introduced him to the symphonic world of Gustav Mahler, the great fin-de-siecle Austrian-Jewish composer whom Bernstein would subsequently use his influence, and emotional connection to, to promote.
Bernstein had a unique conducting style. His rather extreme yet persuasive use of rubato and his strong rhythmic sense, almost balletic body language and prolonged phrasing, together with the maverick expressiveness in his later years, were occasionally met with criticism, but also brought fresh meaning to familiar works, attracting new audiences to the world of classical music. In Bernstein’s hands, the adagio finale of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 — the Pathetique Symphony — was performed at almost half the normal tempo, while his handling of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, one of the few operas he recorded, lasted almost an hour longer than with other conductors. His controversial interpretations often led to him being criticized for conducting pieces as if they were his own work, and not according to the original intent of the composer. When you listen carefully to his interpretations, however, it is difficult not to concede that Bernstein was a true master of his art.
Photo: AP
照片：美聯社
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
步履蹣跚地走上指揮台，指揮大師伯恩斯坦舉起指揮棒，率領波士頓交響樂團演奏英國現代作曲家班傑明‧布列頓的《四首海的間奏曲》以及貝多芬的第七號交響曲。這場一九九○年八月十九日在檀格塢舉行的音樂會，距離伯恩斯坦—在同一個地點、與同一個樂團，以助理指揮的身分—初出茅廬，相隔正好五十年，為大師的生涯畫下巧合的句點。在年邁的伯恩斯坦帶領下，通常充滿希臘酒神戴奧尼索斯式狂喜的貝多芬第七號交響曲，變得無比沉重。側身靠在指揮台欄杆的虛弱身影，沉重的呼吸聲和咳嗽，暗示著大師愈來愈差的健康狀況。演奏結束後，伯恩斯坦在全場觀眾的起立鼓掌中形單影隻地步入後台。這場音樂會是大師的天鵝之歌，也是他在公開場合留下的最後身影。
李奧納德·伯恩斯坦堪稱是二十世紀最偉大的指揮家之一，身兼作曲家與鋼琴家的他，也是繼承「指揮家暨作曲家」這個古典音樂傳統火炬的最後一位大師。伯恩斯坦還是一位土生土長的美國人，並在美國接受音樂教育，他的發跡與成名完全打破了當時樂壇的成見，認為只有歐洲大陸的文化薰陶才能培育出偉大指揮家。恩師謝爾蓋·庫塞維茲基推廣當代音樂的不遺餘力，深深地影響伯恩斯坦，讓他在演奏會中經常加入當代作曲家的新作品；另一方面，伯恩斯坦生涯中的另外兩位貴人──布魯諾‧華爾特與狄米崔·米特羅普洛斯──引介伯恩斯坦進入古斯塔夫‧馬勒的交響曲世界，讓他後來藉由自己的影響力，以及自己與馬勒產生的心理連結，大力推廣這位世紀之交的奧地利猶太裔偉大作曲家。
伯恩斯坦的指揮風格獨樹一幟：極端卻充滿說服力的彈性速度、強烈的節奏感、宛如舞者般充滿律動感的身體語言、綿長的分句法，以及晚年極度個人化的表現性，雖然偶爾招來樂評嚴格的批判，卻也經常為耳熟能詳的作品帶來新意，吸引更多大眾進入古典音樂的世界。舉例來說，伯恩斯坦指揮的柴可夫斯基第六號交響曲《悲愴》的慢板終樂章，演奏速度比其他指揮家慢上幾乎一倍；在伯恩斯坦稀少的歌劇錄音中──他指揮的華格納《崔斯坦與伊索德》，演奏時間也比其他指揮家多了將近一小時。這樣極具爭議性的詮釋，經常招致「這是伯恩斯坦演奏自己的作品，並非作曲家本意」等批評，但在仔細聆賞過後，卻又不得不佩服伯恩斯坦已成「一家之言」。
（台北時報章厚明撰）
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