10 pieces of classical music everyone should know
每个人都应该知道的10首古典作品
By Robert Rowat
推荐阅读：影评丨《玛利亚·卡拉斯的双面人生》
Are you the kind of person who appreciates multiple genres of music?
你是那种能欣赏多种音乐体裁的人吗？
Being familiar with the classics in any genre is a factor in one''s overall cultural awareness. In jazz, there''s Thelonious Monk''s ''Round Midnight.'' In country, Johnny Cash''s ''Ring of Fire.'' In R&B, everyone should know Gladys Knight and the Pips'' ''Midnight Train to Georgia.'' Notorious B.I.G.''s ''Juicy'' is a hip-hop classic; Michael Jackson''s ''Billy Jean'' is one of the greatest pop songs of all time.
熟悉任何体裁的经典作品是一个人整体文化意识的一个因素。在爵士乐中，有Thelonious Monk的《午夜时分》（Round Midnight）；乡村音乐有Johnny Cash的《火环》（Ring of Fire）；在节奏布鲁斯中，每个人都应该知道Gladys Knight和The Pips的《午夜列车到乔治亚州》（Midnight Train to Georgia）；Notorious B.I.G的《Juicy》则是一首嘻哈经典作品；而Michael Jackson的《Billy Jean》是有史以来最伟大的流行歌曲之一。
（译者注：Thelonious Monk，1917-1982，美国爵士乐钢琴家，作曲家。Johnny Cash，1932-2003，美国词曲作家，演员和作家。Gladys Knight&The Pips，节奏布鲁斯/灵歌组合，活跃于1952-1989年间。Notorious B.I.G，原名Christopher Wallace，1972-1997，美国说唱歌手。Michael Jackson，1958-2009，美国歌手、词曲作家和舞者。）
Classical music is a tougher nut to crack, not only because it has centuries of history behind it, but also because it seems classical music lovers belong to an exclusive club, throwing around terms like partita, singspiel and von Karajan.
欣赏古典音乐是一个较有难度的问题，不仅因为它背后有几个世纪的历史，而且，古典音乐爱好者似乎属于一个高级俱乐部，他们抛出的是像帕蒂塔、歌唱剧和卡拉扬·冯这样的术语。
（注：Partita，【意】帕蒂塔，意为分隔，17世纪初原指变奏，17世纪末德国作曲家用以称呼组曲，原因不明。Singspiel，【德】歌唱剧，有对白的德国喜歌剧。von Karajan，1908-1989，奥地利指挥家。）
For the classical curious, cutting through the mystique may be a challenge, but we''re here to help. Don''t be that person who says their favourite piece of classical music is Phantom of the Opera. Get to know the following works, and build your classical music foundation.Here are 10 pieces of classical music everyone should know.
对于古典音乐爱好者来说，打破神秘也许是一个挑战，但我们在这里是为了提供帮助的。不要成为那种说自己最喜爱的古典音乐作品仅是《歌剧魅影》的人。去了解以下10首作品，从而建立你的古典音乐作品基础吧。
Bach: Suite No. 1 in G major for cello
巴赫《为无伴奏大提琴所作的G大调第一组曲》
Everyone should know at least one work by J.S. Bach, considered by many to be the greatest composer in history. The Suite No. 1 for unaccompanied cello is a 15-minute distillation of everything that makes Bach''s music awesome:
每个人都应该知道巴赫的至少一部作品，他被许多人认为是历史上最伟大的作曲家。《为无伴奏大提琴所作的G大调第一组曲》是一首15分钟使巴赫的音乐更为美妙的全部提炼：
inventive harmonies, mind-blowing counterpoint and — always in Bach — something spiritual. The first movement, Prelude, is well known from its use in film, but all seven movements combine to make a varied, satisfying, even transcendent listening experience.
善于创新的和声、令人兴奋的对位以及——在巴赫的作品中总有一些精神上的东西。 第一乐章，前奏曲，因其在电影的使用而广为人知。但所有七个乐章结合在一起，从而构成了一种形形色色、使人满足乃至是超凡的听觉体验。
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
贝多芬《c小调第五交响曲》（Op.67）
''Da-da-da-daaaa.'' The opening theme of Beethoven''s Fifth has become a pop culture cliché for ''things just got real.'' (Beethoven''s biographer described it more poetically by saying, ''That''s how destiny knocks at your door.'')But this symphony has more to offer beyond those ominous opening measures. The intensity of the first movement casts a long shadow over the slow second movement, whose sweet lyricism is never allowed to shine for long.
“Da-da-da-daaaa”。贝多芬《第五交响曲》的开头主题已经成为流行文化中一个陈词滥调，因为“事已成真”。（译者注：贝多芬的自传作者将它描述为更具诗意的格言：“那是命运在敲打你的门”。） 但这首交响曲除了带有不详征兆的开头几小节之外，有更多的东西需要表达。第一乐章的强度给速度缓慢的第二乐章蒙上了一层长时间的阴影，因而第二乐章甜美的抒情性绝不被允许持续很长时间。
The third movement is incredibly tense and leads directly — dramatically — into the fourth movement, which is probably the most heroic music ever written (24:40 in the video below). Make it your soundtrack the next time you run 10 kilometres, hand your term paper in on time, find jeans that fit, don''t have cavities, etc.
第三乐章以极其紧张性和直接性——戏剧性地——进入到第四乐章，该乐章可能是曾被写作的最具英雄性的音乐（下方视频的24:40分处。）下次你跑10公里的时候、或是准时提交你的学期论文、找一条合适的牛仔裤、没有蛀牙等等情况下，让它成为你的原声带。
Franz Schubert: ''Du bist die Ruh,'' D. 776
舒伯特《你是我的归宿》（D.776，Op.59）
Singers and accompanists often say a song recital is the purest form of musical expression. ''Art song offers musical drama without any packaging,'' explains collaborative pianist Erika Switzer. ''It suits the moments in life when you crave raw, unadulterated musical communication. Art song is to opera what Adele is to Madonna: the singer-songwriter of the classical world.''
歌手和伴奏者通常会认为，歌曲的独唱音乐会是音乐表达中最纯洁的形式。“艺术歌曲不需要任何包装便给予了音乐的戏剧效果”，钢琴家协会成员Erika Switzerland解释道：“艺术歌曲满足的是生命中你所渴望的原态的需要，即纯粹的音乐交流。艺术歌曲之于歌剧如同阿黛尔之于麦当娜：古典世界的唱作歌手。”
The classical song repertoire is dominated by German lieder and French mélodies, and one''s enjoyment of the music is definitely enhanced by an understanding of the words.There''s no better place to start than Schubert. He wrote more than 600 lieder and there isn''t a dud among them.
古典歌曲的全部曲目以德国和法国的艺术歌曲为主导，一个人对音乐的享受在对歌词的理解之上而明显增强。没有比开始欣赏舒伯特更好的了。他写作了600多首艺术歌曲，当中没有一首是劣品。
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 25
勃拉姆斯《第一钢琴四重奏》（Op.25）
Chamber music sometimes gets a bad rap. It doesn''t have the sheer power of orchestral music, nor the narrative aid of lyrics, nor is there a conductor with star appeal to give it a personality. Some people say it''s boring. It''s not.Like their jazz-playing cousins, chamber musicians need to be totally attuned to each other, and there''s no safety net. Each player is vital to the success of the performance. That energy is transmitted to the audience.
室内乐有时候名声不太好。它并没有管弦乐的纯粹力量，因为它既没有叙述性歌词的辅助，也没有指挥家赋予它个性的感染力。有些人认为室内乐是乏味的，但其实并不是这样。如同与室内乐相似的爵士乐演奏，室内乐音乐家需要与彼此之间完全相协调，且没有防备不测的保障。每一位演奏者都是表演成功的关键，那样能量才能传送给听众。
Brahms''s chamber music — especially the works with piano — have great tunes and momentum that get you out of your seat. The fourth movement of his first piano quartet is a tour de force.
勃拉姆斯的室内乐——尤其是与钢琴相互合作的作品——有着美妙的音调和动能，使你听后想要离开你的座位。《第一钢琴四重奏》的第四乐章是精彩绝伦的一部分。
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9
肖邦《降b小调夜曲》（Op.9,No.1）
Experts agree, Chopin was the poet of the piano. Janina Fialkowska, one of the world''s leading Chopin pianists, says, ''There is no composer who wrote better for the instrument.'' Chopin spins such beautiful, singing melodies that pianist Anton Kuerti calls him ''the greatest opera composer who never wrote an opera.''
专家一致认为，肖邦是“钢琴诗人”。世界性肖邦钢琴家领头人Janina Fialkowska认为：“没有哪位作曲家能为钢琴写出如此美妙的作品。”肖邦讲述了如此美妙和歌唱性的旋律，以至于钢琴家Anton Kuerti称他为“从未写作一部歌剧的最伟大的歌剧作曲家。”
（译者注：Janina Fialkowaka，1957-，加拿大古典钢琴家。Anton Kuerti，1938-，加拿大钢琴家，音乐教师，作曲家，指挥家。）
If you have ever fallen in love, paddled a canoe on a lake by moonlight, gotten up early to watch the sunrise, eaten an oyster pulled fresh from the sea, cried during a film or had a baby wrap its fingers around your pinky, then you need to pay attention to Chopin. He understands you.
如果你曾一度坠入爱河，乘着月光在湖中划行一艘独木舟，早起欣赏了日出，吃了一只刚从海里捞起来的新鲜牡蛎，在整场影片中痛哭流涕过或是拥有了一个将他的手指缠绕着你小指的孩子，那么你需要欣赏肖邦，因为他懂你。
Georges Bizet: Carmen
比才《卡门》
Opera is not everyone''s cup of tea. As Will & Grace''s Will Truman said, ''I love the opera. Dressed up, hanging out with fabulous people, drinking champagne. If it weren''t for the damned music, it would be a perfect evening!''Jokes aside, everyone should know at least one opera, and there''s none crammed with greater arias, duets and ensembles than Bizet''s Carmen. The music is brilliant and it''s a great piece of theatre too.
并不是每个人都喜欢歌剧。正如《Will&Grace》中Will Truman所说的那样，“我喜欢歌剧。穿上盛装，与极妙的人儿闲逛，品着香槟。如果不是那可恶的音乐，这将会是一个完美的夜晚！”（译者注：《Will&Grace》，美国情景喜剧。Will Truman，剧中由Eric McCormack扮演的虚构的人物。） 别开玩笑了，每个人都应该知道至少一部歌剧，没有比比才的《卡门》更好的咏叹调、二重唱和重唱了。该音乐是杰出的，同时它也是伟大的戏剧。
The title role is a terrific vehicle for an accomplished singing actress. Carmen marches to the beat of her own drum. Uninterested in a monogamous relationship with the smitten soldier Don José, she prefers the bohemian life and no-strings-attached thing she''s got going with the bull fighter, Escamillo. As always in opera, this love triangle ends badly, but sounds beautiful along the way.
卡门这个角色对于一位技艺高超的女歌手来说，是一个极好的表达媒介。卡门随着她自己的鼓点行进，她对与着了迷的军士唐·何塞（Don Jose）之间一夫一妻制的关系并不感兴趣，她更喜欢放荡不羁的生活和毫无束缚的东西，并和斗牛士艾斯卡米洛（Escamillo）在一起。
Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
理查德·施特劳斯《查拉图斯特拉如是说》
You already know its opening measures from the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it''s worth familiarizing yourself with all 30 minutes of Strauss''s symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra).Strauss was an innovator who painted pictures with an orchestral palette unlike anyone who came before him. The symphonic poems he composed between 1880 and the outbreak of World War I were startlingly modern works.
也许你已经从2001年的原声带中知道它开头的几小节：《太空漫游》（A Space Odyssey），但令你自己去熟悉一下施特劳斯这首30分钟的交响诗《查拉图斯特拉如是说》（同为Thus Spake Zarathustra）是有所值的。施特劳斯不同于先于他之前的任何人，他是一位以管弦乐为调色板绘画的创新者。他于1880年和第一次世界大战爆发期间所创作的多部交响诗皆是令人震惊的现代作品。
You don''t really need to know all that in order to appreciate Also sprach Zarathustra, although it is helpful to understand that Strauss based his work on a novel of the same name by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In it, Nietzsche introduces the notion of the übermensch, the heroic, self-mastered individual to whom humankind aspires.
为了欣赏《查拉图斯特拉如是说》，你无需去了解所有东西，不过了解了施特劳斯的这首作品是基于哲学家尼采的同名小说而作是十分有用的。在这部著作中，尼采介绍了人类渴望的“超人、英雄和自我意识”的概念。
If that all sounds a bit over the top, at least it explains the epic nature of the music. It''s a huge workout for any orchestra, and is probably as much fun to play as it is to hear.
如果这些听起来有点夸张的话，但它至少解释了这部音乐作品史诗般的本质。对于任何一个管弦乐队来说，这是一次巨大的锻炼，也许演奏它与聆听它一样有趣。
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
拉赫玛尼诺夫《c小调第二钢琴协奏曲》
Concerto is an elegant name for a composition for instrumental soloist with orchestral accompaniment. There are many great concertos: Sibelius''s Violin Concerto, Dvorak''s Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky''s Piano Concerto are favourites among young musicians taking part in music competitions.
作为为器乐独奏和管弦乐伴奏而作的作品来说，协奏曲是一个优雅的名称。有许多杰出的协奏曲：西贝柳斯的小提琴协奏曲、德沃夏克的大提琴协奏曲以及柴可夫斯基的钢琴协奏曲等都是那些参加音乐比赛的年轻音乐家所喜爱的作品。
We recommend Rachmaninoff''s Piano Concerto No. 2 as a good place to start exploring the concerto repertoire. (Call it ''Rach 2'' and sound like a pro.) Rachmaninoff wrote this work around the same time Strauss penned Also sprach Zarathustra, but the two works are worlds apart.
我们推荐拉赫玛尼诺夫的《第二钢琴协奏曲》作为探索协奏曲全部曲目的一个好的起点。（译者注：称其为“拉2”，这听起来很专业。）拉赫玛尼诺夫写作这首作品与施特劳斯写作《查拉图斯特拉如是说》的时间差不多，但两部作品却是截然不同的。
Rachmaninoff''s music is unabashedly lush and tuneful, with lots of opportunities for the piano soloist to impress with powerful chords and dazzling finger work. The gorgeous theme of the slow second movement (12:25 in the video below) is one of history''s greatest melodies. Can you name the famous power ballad that borrowed it?
拉赫玛尼诺夫的音乐是不加掩饰地具有吸引力和优美悦耳的。对于许多钢琴独奏者来说，他们有许多机会利用强有力的和弦和令人眼花缭乱的指法给人留下深刻的印象。第二慢乐章的华丽主题是历史上最伟大的旋律之一。你能说出那首引用它的著名的歌谣的名字吗？
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
库普兰《阿拉帕契亚之春》
Has there ever been a piece of music that captured the essence of a nation better than Copland''s 1944 ballet score, Appalachian Spring? Copland''s best-known work appeared smack dab in the middle of the American Century, as the 20th was known, and conjures up images not only of vast fields of wheat and the wild frontier, but also the modern city and the age of the automobile. In short, the music creates a tableau of modern American life.The opening moments of the score depict an awakening — perhaps a sunrise, or maybe the awakening of an entire nation — that never fails to give you shivers.
有比库普兰1944年所作的舞剧《阿拉帕契亚之春》更能抓住一个民族的精髓的音乐作品吗？库普兰这首中所周知的作品不偏不倚地出现于美国世纪中期，意即20世纪，这部作品不仅将广阔的麦田和无垠的边疆画面浮现于脑海中，也同样使人联想起现代美国城市和汽车时代。简而言之，这部音乐作品创造了一幅现代美国人生活的场景。总谱中开头的片段描述的是一种觉醒——也许是一次日出，抑或是整个国家的觉醒——那总是让你不寒而栗。
Ann Southam: Glass Houses
Ann Southam《玻璃屋》
Everyone should know some Canadian classical music, and Ann Southam''s Glass Houses, a set of solo piano pieces composed in homage to minimalist composer Philip Glass, is the perfect introduction. Southam''s style of minimalism is more intricate and ornamented than her American counterpart''s. While the music is complex, it falls easily on the ear.Pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico has recorded the full work and, with the composer''s permission, released a revised version in 2011.
每个人都应该会知道一些加拿大古典音乐以及Ann Southam的《玻璃屋》，这一套对简约派音乐作曲家格拉斯（Philip Glass）致敬而创作的钢琴独奏作品就是一次完美的介绍。Southam的简约主义风格比起她的美国同行作品来说更为复杂和具有装饰性。尽管这种音乐是复杂的，但它容易入耳。钢琴家Christina Petrowska-Quilico已经收录了整部作品并获得了作曲家的许可，且于2011年发布了修订版。（译者注：Ann Southam，1937-2010，加拿大电子音乐和古典音乐女性作曲家。Christina Petrowska-Quilico，1948-，加拿大钢琴家。）
