6 pieces of music that killed their composers
6首“謀殺”作曲家的音樂作品
From Classic FM
Music has the ability to cause joy, sadness, reflection and countless other emotions, but is it possible that it can cause...death? Here are six instances where iconic pieces of music have caused and contributed to the composer's death.
音樂有一種“魔力”：能夠引發(fā)喜悅、悲傷、反思以及其他數(shù)不盡的情緒，但是它有可能導(dǎo)致…死亡嗎？以下是6個例子，它們是導(dǎo)致以及促成作曲家之死的典型音樂作品。
Mozart – Requiem
莫扎特《安魂曲》
Mozart's Requiem is a mass for the repose of the souls of the dead. It was both the first and last Requiem that Mozart wrote… because spookily he died while writing it, on 5 December 1791.It is not completely clear what the iconic composer died of, meaning many myths have spring up around his death.The cause of death was officially recorded as “severe miliary fever” but other suggested causes of death include syphilis, rheumatic fever, infection, trichinosis from eating undercooked pork, and even poison.
莫扎特的《安魂曲》是為亡靈安眠而作的彌撒曲。它是莫扎特寫的第一部也是最后一部安魂曲…因為很詭異，莫扎特在1791年10月5日寫這部曲子的時候，離世了。目前尚不明了這位典型作曲家的死因是什么，這意味著圍繞著他的死亡有很多未解之謎。官方記錄顯示死因是“嚴重的粟疹熱”（譯者注：粟疹熱是當(dāng)時對所有發(fā)熱出疹疾病的統(tǒng)稱,包括猩紅熱、傷寒、斑疹傷寒等），但其他可能的死亡原因包括梅毒、風(fēng)濕熱、感染、食用未煮熟的豬肉而導(dǎo)致的旋毛蟲病（譯者注：旋毛蟲病是旋毛形線蟲引起的人畜共患病。人因生食或未煮熟含有活的旋毛蟲幼蟲而感染。主要臨床表現(xiàn)有胃腸道癥狀、發(fā)熱、眼瞼水腫和肌肉疼痛。），甚至中毒。
The film Amadeus took up the poisoning story and suggested that a rival composer, Antonio Salieri, brought about Mozart's death. Although this story is almost certainly very far from the truth, Mozart’s final days have remained shrouded in mystery.But the true story of the Requiem is strange enough on its own: Mozart received the commission from a mysterious messenger, who Mozart later called The Grey Stranger.
電影《莫扎特傳》講述了一個惡毒的故事，暗示另一位競爭對手——作曲家安東尼奧·薩列里導(dǎo)致了莫扎特之死。盡管這個故事聽來與事實相差甚遠，莫扎特生平最后的時光仍舊籠罩在一層神秘面紗之下。但是《安魂曲》的真實故事本身就很奇怪：莫扎特接受了一個神秘信使的委托，后來莫扎特稱其為灰衣陌生人。
（譯者注：電影《安魂曲》里竟然把安東尼奧·薩列里當(dāng)做“灰衣人”，很明顯不符合事實。薩列里其實是一個非常稱職的音樂家和有愛心的老師，他非常欣賞莫扎特的音樂。莫扎特死后被隨意安葬在亂石堆里也是無稽之談，當(dāng)時也只有薩列里和莫扎特的朋友出席了葬禮。By the way,電影里薩列里愛吃甜食是真的，莫扎特也愛吃巧克力?；乙氯?有些地方也稱為“黑衣人”，無論是黑衣還是灰衣，其實也都是好事者YY的，因為這么說有點像地獄使者的味道，更讓后人有種這個使者是從地獄來索命的感覺。）
The strange never revealed his identity to Mozart and the composer began to believe he was writing his own Requiem.
這個陌生人從未向莫扎特透露過自己的身份，后來莫扎特開始相信，他在創(chuàng)作他自己的安魂曲。（譯者注：當(dāng)然不透露身份了，其實歷史“真相”是一個伯爵派仆人來讓莫扎特寫一部安魂曲，然后署上伯爵自己的名字，假裝是自己寫的，裝成很厲害的樣子，圖個留下好名聲。）
What we do know is that the composer was so ill he couldn't finish the work. The signed manuscript shows that Mozart completed the first movement and had detailed drafts of the second, beginning of the third, and the fourth movement of the piece. It was later completed in 1792 by Franz Süssmayr, Mozart's apprentice, but other composers have also written their own completions of the piece.
我們現(xiàn)在所知道的是，作曲家因為病重?zé)o法完成這部作品。從簽字署名的手稿來看，莫扎特完成了作品第一樂章，第二樂章的詳細草稿，第三樂章和第四樂章的開始部分。（譯者注：第三樂章《繼敘詠》（Sequenz）除了最后一段《落淚之日》（Lacrimosa）之外都完成了旋律譜，在配器方面莫扎特亦有較為具體的指示，《落淚之日》部分莫扎特只寫了八小節(jié)，第四樂章《奉獻經(jīng)》莫扎特寫了聲樂部分。）
Puccini – ‘Turandot’
普契尼《圖蘭朵》
Puccini’s operatic masterpiece Turandot was unfinished by the composer when he died on 29 November 1924. The composer had written up to the death of Liù in Act 3 and had sketched out the remainder of the opera.
1924年10月29日普契尼去世時，他的歌劇杰出代表《圖蘭朵》尚未完成。作曲家已經(jīng)寫到了第三幕柳兒的死亡，勾勒出了歌劇剩下的部分。（譯者注：此劇1926年4月5日在斯卡拉歌劇院首演，指揮為托斯卡尼尼，首演之夜，劇情到第三幕柳兒自刎時，托斯卡尼尼放下指揮棒對聽眾說：“就在這里，普契尼放下了筆?！保?/span>
The composer knew he was dying from cancer, and left instructions to Riccardo Zandonai to finish the opera, along with 36 pages of sketches for the end of Turandot. After Puccini’s son objected to this, the score was finished by Franco Alfano using the sketches left behind.
作曲家知道他將死于癌癥，為了完成圖蘭朵，他將完成這部歌劇的使命交給贊多納伊（Riccardo Zandonai），并留下36頁的草圖。在普契尼兒子的反對之下，任務(wù)交由阿爾法諾（Franco Alfano）利用留下的草圖完成。Puccini ultimately died from a haemorrhage following complications of invasive throat surgery, but it would seem that Turandot was occupying his thoughts until the end. Before undertaking the surgery that would ultimately cause his death, he visited Toscanini and begged “Don’t let my Turandot die”.
普契尼最終死于開刀喉部手術(shù)引起的并發(fā)性出血，但可以看出圖蘭朵到最后都始終占據(jù)著他的思想。在動那個最終讓他去世的手術(shù)之前，他還拜訪了托斯卡尼尼（Toscanini）并且乞求“不要讓我的圖蘭朵死了。”
Lully: Te Deum
呂利《感恩贊》
Jean-Baptiste Lully was a Baroque French-Italian composer. He was a great favourite of Louis XIV of France and spent most of his career composing in the court for the King. Lully would conduct his work, as would most other conductors from this period, using a large wooden conducting staff. During one particular performance of Te Deum, a work composed to celebrate Louis XIV’s recovery from surgery, Lully struck his foot with the staff.
讓·巴普蒂斯特·呂利（Jean-Baptiste Lully）是巴洛克時期法國—意大利作曲家。他是法國路易十四的寵兒，職業(yè)生涯的絕大部分時間都在宮廷中為國王供職。呂利會指揮他的作品，和這個時期的大多數(shù)指揮家一樣，使用的都是一根巨大的木制指揮棒。在一場為慶祝路易十四從手術(shù)中康復(fù)的而特別演出《感恩贊》時，呂利用指揮棒刺傷了他的腳趾。
Gangrene infected Lully’s leg after this accident, but he refused to have his leg amputated to prevent the infection spreading. He wanted to be able to dance, and to Lully the joy of dancing was greater than the worry of the spreading gangrene.But tragically, the gangrene spread through his body and killed him.
這次事故之后，壞疽（譯者注：就是壞死的肌肉，發(fā)黑，膽小者千萬別百度）感染了呂利的腿，但是他拒絕了截肢以防感染蔓延。他想可以跳舞，對呂利而言，跳舞的誘惑要大于壞疽擴散的煩惱。但是悲劇的是，壞疽最后蔓延至全身然后……
Smetana – ‘Viola’
斯美塔那《薇奧拉》
Bed?ich Smetana was working on his final opera, Viola, when he was removed from his family home and sent to an asylum in Prague. The composer’s suffered a stroke 1882 and he'd never been the same. Smetana had written to a friend, the Czech poet Jan Neruda, in 1879 saying he was afraid he was going mad.
貝多伊齊·斯美塔那（Bed?ich Smetana）從家中轉(zhuǎn)移并送往布拉格的一個庇護所時，他正在完成最后一部歌劇——《薇奧拉》。這位作曲家在1882年中了一次風(fēng)，而且再也沒有過這樣的經(jīng)歷。斯美塔那曾在1879年寫信給他的朋友、捷克詩人詹聶魯達(Jan Neruda)，說他擔(dān)心自己會發(fā)瘋。
By the winter of 1882 the composer was depressed, anxious, hallucinating, and was experiencing loss of speech. It was at this point that Smetana was forbidden to compose to try and avoid damaging his physical and mental health any further.He ignored that medical advice and tried to finish his last opera along with other compositions, but the strain of composing drove him to a breakdown. He was then moved to the Kate?inky Lunatic Asylum where he died on 12 May 1884, probably of syphilis, within a few weeks of being institutionalised.
1882年冬天，這位作曲家情緒低落、焦慮、產(chǎn)生幻覺，并經(jīng)歷了失語。就在這時，斯美塔那被禁止作曲，以避免進一步損害他的身心健康。他沒有理會醫(yī)生的建議，試圖完成他的最后一部歌劇和其他作品，但創(chuàng)作的壓力迫使他崩潰。隨后他被轉(zhuǎn)移到Kate?inky瘋?cè)嗽海ń菘说囊蛔鞘校?，就在幾周的入院治療之后，?884年5月12日去世，可能是由于梅毒的原因。
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.6 ‘Pathetique’
柴可夫斯基《第六交響曲“悲愴”》
To understand the story surrounding Tchaikovsky’s death and his final Symphony, also nicknamed “Pathetique”, you need to know a bit about the composer's personal life.Tchaikovsky was one of the most famous composer's of his time, but he had a secret: he was gay. And in Russia, in the 19th century, that was illegal. What's more, he was infatuated with his much younger nephew Vladimir Davydov, known as Bob.
為了理解柴可夫斯基之死的故事以及他最后一首交響曲，又稱“悲愴”，你需要知道一些關(guān)于作曲家私人生活的事。柴可夫斯基是他那個時代最著名的作曲家之一，但是他有個秘密：他是個同性戀者。在俄羅斯，在19世紀，這是違法的。更重要的是，他迷戀上了比他年輕得多的侄子弗拉基米爾·達維多夫(Vladimir Davydov)，也就是大家熟知的鮑勃(Bob)。
Tchaikovsky was already highly paranoid and sensitive (he even had a phobia that his head would fall off when conducting), so the fear of his secret being revealed terrified him.The musical journey of this symphony is unusual – while the first three movements are bright and optimistic, the final movement is different. It begins with lamenting strings and has a melancholic feel throughout. The movement is even marked Adagio lamentoso.And the symphony also ends very unusually for Tchaikovsky. Unlike his other thrilling symphony finales, this one dissolves to silence.
柴可夫斯基是高度偏執(zhí)癥患者，還很敏感（他甚至有恐懼癥，害怕指揮的時候頭會掉下來。），所以害怕秘密被揭露的恐懼折磨著他。這部交響曲的音樂進展是非同尋常的——前三個樂章明亮又積極，終樂章卻不同。開始使用悲傷的弦樂，整體基調(diào)是抑郁的感覺。樂章甚至標(biāo)注了悲哀的柔板（Adagio lamentoso）。此交響曲的結(jié)束也非常得不“柴可夫斯基”。不同于其他激動的交響樂的結(jié)尾，這首交響樂終于寂靜。
Tchaikovsky conducted the symphony’s premier just nine days before his death in 1893 and some experts regard the symphony as the composer's musical suicide note. The composer died of cholera – no one disputes that – but there have been persistent stories and rumours that the composer killed himself by drinking contaminated water, or even that he was forced to kill himself. Ultimately, this is a mystery that is likely to remain unsolved.
在去世前九天，柴可夫斯基指揮了這部交響曲的首演，所以一些專家認為這首交響曲是作曲家的音樂式自殺遺言。柴可夫斯基死于霍亂——沒人對此提出異議——但一直有傳聞?wù)f這位作曲家是喝了污染的水自殺的，甚至是被迫自殺的。最終，這是一個可能仍未解開的謎。
Mahler – Symphony No.10
馬勒《第十交響曲》
Mahler was a superstitious man; his wife Alma even suggested that he had a prophetic gift.
馬勒是個迷信的人，他的妻子艾瑪甚至說他有預(yù)知未來的天賦。
While he was writing his final symphony, it suddenly occurred to him that great composers like Beethoven had only managed to write nine symphonies. He began to worry that he was nearing the end. In fact, to avoid what he saw as a sort of curse of the ninth symphony, he named what would have been his ninth symphony 'The Song of the Earth' instead (Das Lied von der Erde).
當(dāng)馬勒創(chuàng)作最后一部交響曲時，他突然想到，以往偉大的作曲家像貝多芬都只寫過九部交響曲。他開始害怕他要死了。事實上，為了避免被他視為第九交響曲的詛咒，他將第九交響曲命名為“大地之歌”。
When he was working on his Tenth Symphony he told his wife “Now the danger is past”. But he never lived to finish the Tenth, or to hear his actual Ninth Symphony performed (he did eventually write a Ninth Symphony).
當(dāng)他創(chuàng)作第10交響曲的時候，他告訴自己的妻子危險已經(jīng)過去了。但是他沒有活到完成第10交響曲，甚至連第九交響曲的演出都沒有聽過一次。（最終還是寫了9部交響曲）
（譯者注：第九交響曲魔咒指在貝多芬之后的作曲家，都會在創(chuàng)作第九交響曲后不久離世。貝多芬死于1827年；舒伯特1828年寫完第九交響曲后去世；捷克作曲家德沃夏克給自己的第九交響曲起名為“第五”，不久之后也去世了；馬勒把第九改名為“大地”，也去世了；像芬蘭的西貝柳斯就很聰明，寫了8首交響曲，干完最后一票就回家了，所以最后活到了92歲。當(dāng)然魔咒只是笑談，很多作曲家也逃脫了魔咒的威脅，比如俄羅斯的肖斯塔科維奇，可能這個魔咒像滅霸的響指一樣，完成九首交響曲，就隨機“死亡”一個作曲家。）
Mahler didn’t manage to finish the draft of the symphony before he died at the age of 50 from a blood infection. At the time of his passing, legend has it that Mahler's last words were: “Mozart! Mozart!”
馬勒在50歲因血液感染去世之前，并沒有完成《第10交響曲》的草稿。在他去世的時候，傳說馬勒最后喊出了“莫扎特！莫扎特！”。
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