2020年经济学人 钢琴巨匠莱昂·弗莱舍(4)

Unlike the right, it was built for the instrument, since the high tune¹ could still be tapped out by the thumb while the other fingers kept to the bass². Besides, melody was the least important element in a piece. Rhythm came first, the heartbeat, then harmony, and these were both the province of the left hand— though they might emerge, as in the opening of the Ravel, out of the murkiest³ depths.

不像右手，左手是为乐器量身打造的，因为在其他手指弹奏低音时，拇指仍然可以敲出高音。此外，旋律是一首作品中最不重要的元素。首先是节奏，心跳，然后是和声，这些都是左手的专长——尽管它们可能会像拉威尔的曲目一样，起于最黑暗低沉的音符。

He performed that piece in concert, by his reckoning, more than 1,000 times, sliding across the stool through its leaps and glissandi, his right hand now a mere⁴ anchor to grip the frame. A later album cover of his works showed his left hand protectively covering the still-eager, straining right. But he had never quite given up hope that the same karma that had knocked him sideways might one day, equally mysteriously, heal that hand again. By 1994 a combination of Botox and Rolfing, or deep massage⁵, seemed to be helping⁶.

据弗莱舍估计，他在音乐会中演奏了1000多次这首曲子，他在弹奏其中跳跃与滑音的地方时，身体也从长凳的一侧滑到另一侧，而他的右手现在只用来保持身体平衡。在弗莱舍后来发行的专辑封面上，他的左手以保护的姿态搭在仍然渴望弹奏却已变形的右手。但他从未完全放弃希望，业力曾经把他击倒，也许有一天会同样神秘地再次治愈他的那只手。到1994年，肉毒杆菌素和罗夫按摩(或深层按摩)的结合疗法似乎起了作用。

He was cautious. The pretence⁷ of his “comeback” more than a decade before still haunted him, when the cheering audience had no idea how he had struggled to control his right hand, and when he had had to rule out playing Beethoven’s fourth concerto⁸ in favour of something less exposed. This time, as it turned out, the improvement heralded⁹ a definite return to full playing. But on that first day of real hope he took no public chances. As he felt his hand properly opening again, he went instead to his study, where only the sun observed him through the windows. There, in the sunlight, with two hands, the piece growing note by note whole and complete, he played the Brahms.

他很小心。十多年前“复出”的假象仍然困扰着他，当时，欢呼的观众根本不知道，他是如何艰难地控制自己的右手，以及，他不得不放弃演奏贝多芬的第四协奏曲，而选择不那么费力弹奏的曲子。这一次，正如它所展现的那样，右手的改善预示着他可以再次用双手演奏。但在真正有希望的第一天，他没有冒险公开表演。相反，当他觉得自己的手又可以伸展时，他回到了自己的书房，在那里，只有阳光透过窗户照在他的身上。在阳光下，他用双手弹奏着一个接一个的音符，完整的勃拉姆斯乐曲流淌而至。

1 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

2 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

3 murkiest   

adj.阴暗的( murky的最高级 )；昏暗的；（指水）脏的；混浊的

参考例句：

• This law cannot in itself resolve the murkiest question: who owns what? 此物权法本身并没有解决这个最模糊的问题：谁拥有什么？ 来自互联网

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

8 concerto   

n.协奏曲

参考例句：

• The piano concerto was well rendered.钢琴协奏曲演奏得很好。
• The concert ended with a Mozart violin concerto.音乐会在莫扎特的小提琴协奏曲中结束。

9 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》