美国国家公共电台 NPR Chopin In The Shadows: The Supernatural Adventures Of Byron Janis

 

(SOUNDBITE OF BYRON JANIS PERFORMANCE OF CHOPIN'S WALTZ, OP. 70: NO. 1 IN G-FLAT MAJOR)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is the "Waltz In G-Flat Major" by Chopin. It was unknown to the world in this version until it was discovered at a chateau¹ in France in 1967 by the man who plays it here, Byron Janis. And the circumstances of that discovery are at the centerpiece of his autobiography², "Chopin And Beyond: My Extraordinary Life In Music And The Paranormal." Byron Janis turned 89 years old this year. He celebrated³ with the release of his album "Byron Janis Live On Tour." He joins us from New York. Mr. Janis, thanks so much for being with us.

BYRON JANIS: I'm delighted to be here.

SIMON: And how did you find this piece of music?

JANIS: This was found in a very old chateau dating back to 1500. Count La Panouse, whose property it was, showed us around and took us in to the old antique room, where there were all kinds of letters and things. And there was a box marked old clothes. We opened the trunk, and that was something that looked like a manuscript. I said, I found a waltz here. He said, oh, my grandmother used to write down music all the time and fool around. I said, no, no, no. This is not your grandmother. This is Chopin (laughter).

SIMON: So do you feel that you were drawn⁴ somehow to find that manuscript? Or what happened?

JANIS: I found - no, not the first time. But the second time, when I found them at Yale - the same two waltzes again in different versions - I felt I was drawn to that somehow.

SIMON: So you unexpectedly and by coincidence found two versions of the same Chopin waltz years apart from each other?

JANIS: Yeah, six years between the time I found the first one at Thoiry and the later one at Yale.

SIMON: You do feel a special connection with Chopin, don't you?

JANIS: Actually, I do. Many things have happened to me. I don't like the word paranormal. I like the word the unknown normal because that's what it really is.

SIMON: So it's extraordinary that you should discover two different versions of a Chopin waltz that was previously⁵ unknown.

JANIS: I agree. I was shocked - really shocked - when I found them. And then many things happened to me with Chopin through my life.

SIMON: Such as?

JANIS: Well (laughter), you're not going to believe this if you don't believe in the unknown normal. But I had a death mask of Chopin given to me. Some friends came over, and they said, what's that? I said, it's death mask of Chopin. That's what they used to do in those days. When someone died, they'd get someone to put wax on his face and make this death mask as a memorial. I took it off - down. I said, please be careful with it because it's, you know, very unique. There are only two or three in the world. My wife was there. My son was there - he was about 17 - and these two friends. And, suddenly, a fluid started coming out of one of the eyes. And I put my hand into this fluid, and it was salty. So I guess there was no question in my mind these were tears. What I felt was that Chopin was happy that he could communicate somehow with the current world.

You know, I learned one thing. People who are negative about these kinds of unknown normal things - they will never change. They'll always find another way that it could've happened or try to find another way that it could've happened. But I just give up try to convince them because they won't ever be convinced. The ones who are skeptics - once they hear about it, they say, oh, actually, it's real.

(SOUNDBITE OF BYRON JANIS PERFORMANCE OF CHOPIN'S NOCTURNE, OP. 27: NO. 1 C-SHARP MINOR)

SIMON: You've been afflicted⁶ with arthritis⁷ in recent years, I gather.

JANIS: Yes.

SIMON: But you've continued to play.

JANIS: Yes. I can speak about it - the fact that I had arthritis for some 12 years. And then it was announced - Arthritis Foundation, when I was one of the spokesmen. It was announced at a lunch at the White House by Nancy Reagan. So she announced it. And I remember one of the things I said was, I have arthritis, but it doesn't have me (laughter). And it was very difficult.

SIMON: Yeah.

JANIS: It got worse and worse. The joints⁸ were affected⁹. I had to have injections. I will not to try to tell you what that pain was like (laughter). But I managed somehow to play and to keep my standards. You know, music is and was my life. And I had fortune. I was born with a talent. And, secondly¹⁰, I am passionate¹¹ about making music. And when you're - you've got to be passionate about something, so you just keep trying. At moments, I was going to give up because it was very difficult. I couldn't do what I wanted to do. But I persisted. I said no, no, no, keep going. Come on. You'll be able to do it. It was kind of, like, a mind-over-matter thing. It worked, to the amazement¹² of the doctors.

SIMON: Byron Janis - thank you so much for being with us, Mr. Janis.

JANIS: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF BYRON JANIS PERFORMANCE OF CHOPIN'S NOCTURNE, OP. 27: NO. 2 IN D-FLAT MAJOR)

1 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

2 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

7 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

8 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

11 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

12 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。