2020年经济学人 钢琴巨匠莱昂·弗莱舍(3)

He had already been giving classes at the Peabody Conservatory¹ in Baltimore, and now he did so, both there and at the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood, as energetically as if his life depended on it, as it did. He also took up conducting, which—despite the oddity of standing² in front of an orchestra—he greatly enjoyed. Both activities plunged³ him deeper into music, letting him see it through the eyes of other instrumentalists and, when he was teaching, pushing him to pin down the ephemeral beauty of notes with words alone. They went most of the way. Yet still he was not playing.

当时弗莱舍已经在巴尔的摩的皮博迪音乐学院授课了，现在也一样，除了皮博迪音乐学院，他还在波士顿交响乐团的唐格尔伍德音乐中心任职。他精力充沛，好像他的生命依赖于它，就像以前一样。弗莱舍也当起了指挥，尽管站在一个交响乐团前面看起来很奇怪，但是他非常享受。这两件事使他更加了解音乐，让他从其他乐器演奏者的视角来看待音乐，在教学时，促使他只用文字来说明音符的瞬息之美。弗莱舍大部分时间都在做这些事情。但是他还是没有演奏。

Stubbornly he went on practising a bit, though it was hopeless and probably did damage, and his attempt at a public two-handed comeback, in 1982, was a failure. Stubbornly, too, he resisted for a long time the left-hand piano repertoire⁴. Though it was wide, most of it was bad. The whole notion seemed gimmicky⁵, as well as an admission that, from now on, a left-handed pianist was all he could be. Old prejudices would keep surfacing.

尽管希望渺茫，也可能带来伤害，他还是固执地继续练习。而且1982年，他尝试双手弹奏公开复出，也没有成功。很长一段时间，他也固执地抵制左手弹奏的钢琴曲目。虽然左手曲目也很多，但大部分不是好作品。整个想法看起来很有欺骗性，弹了左手曲目就相当于承认，从现在起，他只能成为一个左撇子钢琴家。旧的偏见会不断浮现。

The right hand was the singer, doing most of the important work and so wearing out faster. The left balanced it and did its share, but inevitably⁶ had second billing. The disaster that had befallen him slowly changed that view. He found left-hand masterpieces, notably⁷ Ravel’s “Concerto for the Left Hand” and a transcription by Brahms of the Bach D minor⁸ Chaconne for solo violin, which became firm favourites. Friends and colleagues wrote new pieces for him. And he discovered that his left hand, even by itself, gave him more to say at the piano.

右手是主唱，做了大部分重要的工作，所以磨损得更快。左手平衡了这一比例，也尽了自己的一份力，但也只能是副手。降临在他身上的灾难慢慢地改变了这种看法。他发现了左手弹奏的杰作，尤其是拉威尔的《左手协奏曲》，还有勃拉姆斯改编的巴赫D小调演奏独奏小提琴，这两首曲子也成为了表演热门曲目。朋友和同事为他创作了新作品。他发现他的左手，即使是一只手，在弹钢琴的时候也能让他有更多的表达。

1 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

5 gimmicky   

adj.诡计的，骗人的

参考例句：

• A gimmicky or imbalanced team relies on one powerful tactic to win. 投机取巧的团队依靠单一的强力战术制胜。 来自互联网

6 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

7 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。