蝙蝠序曲 Overture to "Die Fledermaus"

Composer: Johann Strauss Jr. (1825-1899)小約翰˙施特勞斯 (1825-1899)

輕歌劇《蝙蝠之謎》是奧地利作曲家小約翰˙施特勞斯的名作，據說他用了４２天的時間，不眠不休地完成這首作品，故事說一場化妝舞會所接連衍生的一連串花花草草荒謬趣事。輕歌劇的序曲是其音樂精華所在，五段主旋律來自劇中的三幕，不停穿插出現，充分顯現出作曲家的圓舞曲才華，難怪他被稱許為「圓舞曲之王」。

Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss Jr. to a German libretto by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée. Composed non-stop in forty-two “nights of veritable rapture”, this is the younger Strauss's most celebrated and popular operetta - intoxicatingly melodious and exuberant. The story is based on a farce of mistaken identities, flirtations at a masked ball, elegant frivolities and confusions of all kinds to provide a hilarious vehicle for captivating music. The Overture is one of the most popular ever written, with five of the best tunes woven into a framework of the great 'Fledermaus Waltz'.

莫札特A大調小提琴協奏曲,第一樂章 Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 - First Movement

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 莫札特 (1756-1791)

莫札特作有五首小提琴協奏曲，經考證後全都是在他十多歲時寫的。A大調第五小提琴協奏曲完成於１７７５年，當時十九歲的莫札特是薩爾茲堡宮廷樂團的領隊，作品可能是給自己作獨奏之用。樂隊在第一樂章以「寬廣的快板」(Allegro aperto)開始，圓號為充滿力量的音樂增添溫暖。獨奏家進入之後，小提琴卻出乎意料地嫵媚婀娜，唱出如歌的旋律，直至後半部音樂再重拾開始時的能量。難怪愛因斯坦說這首小提琴協奏曲蘊藏著無可比擬的光芒、溫柔及機智。

All of Wolfgang's violin concertos were composed within a brief period in his teens. Violin Concerto No. 5 was the last of the series, completed in 1775 when he was serving as concertmaster for the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg. In the first movement, the horns add warmth to a robust opening (Allegro aperto). Somewhat surprisingly, when the soloist enters, the melody is richly lyrical, accompanied by gently swaying strings, forgetting the energetic mood in the beginning. The original energy is not resumed until after the violinist's ruminative little preamble, following which the solo violin introduces a commanding new theme over the same orchestral chords heard at the opening. One apt description of this master piece was by Alfred Einstein who wrote "this concerto is unsurpassed for brilliance, tenderness and wit."

「仲夏夜之夢」音樂選段 Selections from “A Midsummer Night's Dream”

Composer: Felix Mendelssohn 孟德爾頌 (1809-1847)

才十七歲的孟德爾頌閱讀了莎士比亞的「仲夏夜之夢」後受了感動，創作了一首序曲，原本是單獨在音樂會中演奏的曲目。在孟德爾頌三十多歲時，他獲普魯斯國王委任為柏林藝術學院的音樂總監，作曲家加入了其他段落，薈集成一套完整的組曲，作為莎劇「仲夏夜之夢」的配樂。今天很多音樂會都會抽取其中選段演出。

• Overture 序曲

  樂曲一開始奏出四個神妙的和弦，將氣氛帶入仲夏夜的月光下。接著由小提琴以跳弓方式拉奏出描繪精靈嬉戲的第一主題，隨而由樂團強奏，代表國王與仙后的威嚴形象。第二主題為溫柔的「愛情主題」，由單簧管奏出，小提琴接唱，代表平民世界中戀人的真摯感情。不久，粗獷的舞曲小丑之舞出現，模仿驢子的嘶叫聲。發展部再以精靈主題作開展，暗示著劇情的曲折變化，進入再現部後重覆主題，至結尾開頭的四個和弦再度出現，氣氛再歸於平靜。

• Nocturne 夜曲

  安寧平靜的夜曲，描繪兩對小情人在追逐後怠倦不堪在森林中熟睡，一段美麗的圓號獨奏，把聽眾帶到神秘的荒野，作曲家巧妙地利用巴松管跟圓號齊奏，沈厚的木管為圓號加添溫暖，如夢的旋律在末段漸現光芒，似是黎明將至，為下一場作序幕。

• Wedding March 婚禮進行曲

  相信大部分的觀眾都不會對婚禮進行曲中的小號調子感到陌生，但不會有太多人知道它跟莎劇「仲夏夜之夢」的關係，更鮮為人知的是當時孟德爾頌在普魯斯國王贊助的柏林藝術學院當音樂總監，國王的兒子跟維多利亞女皇的女兒成婚，在婚禮用上了孟德爾頌這段音樂，自此在西方社會成為習俗。
  

Felix Mendelssohn's score for William Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream” is probably the most famous incidental music ever written. Shakespeare’s play inspired the 17-year old Mendelssohn to compose the “overture”, which was first performed in 1827 as an isolated concert piece. In 1842, when the matured Mendelssohn served as Music Director of the newly established Berlin Academy of Arts, the composer added vocal sections and other instrumental movements, and included the overture as one of the 14 sections of a complete set of incidental music to “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. The instrumental movements are often excerpted for orchestral concert performance.

The Overture opens with four of the most evocative chords in music which beguilingly invite the listener into the magical forest outside. Scurrying bouncing strings depict the fairies darting through the woods, and the full orchestra proclaims the noble lovers' music. A series of accented, forceful chords in the low strings and brass pound out an earthy rhythm before the orchestra gives us a musical mischievous magic that has transformed one character into an ass. The development section starts again with fairies, after which Mendelssohn recapitulates the theme for the lovers. With the ass’ hee-hawing, a passage of gentle modulation in the winds opens the end theme of the piece. The strings play a serenely beautiful transformation of the lovers' theme before the overture ends as it began, with those four magical chords.

The tranquil Nocturn depicts the deep mystery of the German forest as the lovers are falling asleep in complete exhaustion after a merry chase. The beautiful horn solo is doubled with the bassoon to absorb some of the brassy tone, magically added warmth to the music. The melodrama closes with a dreamy brightening up at the end to suggest the softness of dawn, preparing for the rise of the curtain in the next scene.

Although everybody is familiar with its trumpet solo tune in Wedding March, few know how popularity of this piece is connected to Mendelssohn’s patron, the Prussian king who sponsored the Berlin Academy of Arts where the composer was Music Director. The king chose this piece as part of the ceremonial music at his son’s wedding to the daughter of Queen Victoria in 1858, thereby popularizing its use at weddings in English-speaking countries.

電閃雷鳴波爾卡 Thunder and Lightning Polka

Composer: Johann Strauss Jr. 小約翰˙施特勞斯(1825-1899)

電閃雷鳴波爾卡相信是最響閙的舞曲了，作曲家大量利用敲擊樂器包括定音鼓及鈸製造出特殊的音響效果，來模擬行雷閃電的聲音，配合弦樂奏出的旋律，這段精彩的波爾卡經常在輕歌劇《蝙蝠之謎》中出現。

The Thunder and Lightning Polka, once heard and never forgotten, is possibly the noisiest of dance pieces. The music evokes the sound of thunder and lightning through incessant drum rolls and cymbal crashes to accompany vigorous Polka dancing. It is more frequent than not included into theatre productions of Die Fledermaus.

拉德斯基進行曲 Radetzky March

Johann Strauss Sr. 老約翰˙施特勞斯 (1804-1849)

儘管兒子小約翰˙施特勞斯比老父更受歡迎，老約翰˙施特勞斯其實是首先把當時被視為難登大雅之堂的沙龍音樂帶進音樂廳的先驅，令維也納的華爾滋及波爾卡舞曲流行至全世界。拉德斯基進行曲可算是老約翰˙施特勞斯的代表作，每年的維也納新年音樂會都會奏出此曲，讓觀眾隨著節奏拍掌頓足，令音樂會在一片歡愉聲中結束。

Although overshadowed by his son as the waltz king, Johann Strauss Sr. and his musical partner Joseph Lanner are credited with popularlizing the Viennese waltz and other salon dances like the quadrille and the polka. The two colleagues soon become rivals, but it was the son who would eventually eclipse them all. The father is best known for his Radetzky March, dedicated to the namesake Austrian Field Marshal. Supposedly the officers clapped their hands and stomped their feet during its premier performance. The custom has been carried out ever since and is traditionally used to end the New Year's Concert in Vienna as homage to the father.