Michael Tilson Thomas: Music and emotion through time

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Anny Chung 審譯者: Zenan (Roy) Zhou

Well when I was asked to do this TEDTalk, I was really chuckled,

當我受邀來TED演講時，我笑了，

because, you see, my father's name was Ted,

因為我的父親就叫Ted。

and much of my life, especially my musical life,

而我的人生，尤其是音樂方面的經歷，

is really a talk that I'm still having with him,

就像是和我父親之間的對談，

or the part of me that he continues to be.

他雖然過世了，但還是永存在我心中。

Now Ted was a New Yorker, an all-around theater guy,

我父親是紐約人，從事劇場工作，

and he was a self-taught illustrator and musician.

也是自學成才的插畫家和音樂家。

He didn't read a note,

他一個音符都看不懂，

and he was profoundly hearing impaired.

而且聽力還很差，

Yet, he was my greatest teacher.

但他是我最好的老師。

Because even through the squeaks of his hearing aids,

即使透過他那支支叫的助聽器，

his understanding of music was profound.

他對音樂的理解和造詣是極其深的。

And for him, it wasn't so much the way the music goes

而且對他而言，重要的不是音樂的形式，

as about what it witnesses and where it can take you.

而是音樂所能見證的和它所能讓你觸動的。

And he did a painting of this experience,

他曾將這個經驗畫下，

which he called "In the Realm of Music."

他叫這幅畫「在音樂的國度」。

Now Ted entered this realm every day by improvising

我父親每天都透過即興演奏進入這個國度，

in a sort of Tin Pan Alley style like this.

他的風格有點錫盤街(美十九世紀末風格)，像這樣:

(Music)

(音樂)

But he was tough when it came to music.

但他對於音樂挺嚴苛的。

He said, "There are only two things that matter in music:

他說：「在音樂中重要的只有兩件事:

what and how.

如何及為何。

And the thing about classical music,

而古典音樂的特別之處在於，

that what and how, it's inexhaustible."

『如何與為何』的答案，有無限多個。」

That was his passion for the music.

他對音樂的熱愛就是如此。

Both my parents really loved it.

我的父母都很愛音樂。

They didn't know all that much about it,

他們對音樂懂得不是很多，

but they gave me the opportunity to discover it

但他們給我機會

together with them.

和他們一起發掘音樂之美。

And I think inspired by that memory,

可能是因為受我父母的啟發，

it's been my desire to try and bring it

我一直希望盡我所能

to as many other people as I can,

將音樂帶給更多人，

sort of pass it on through whatever means.

竭盡所能地傳承下去。

And how people get this music, how it comes into their lives,

而人們對音樂的領悟，以及音樂如何影響他們的生活，

really fascinates me.

對我而言是很有趣的問題。

One day in New York, I was on the street

有天我走在紐約街上，

and I saw some kids playing baseball between stoops and cars and fire hydrants.

看到小孩在車子和消防栓中間打棒球。

And a tough, slouchy kid got up to bat,

然後有一個大塊頭上場打擊，

and he took a swing and really connected.

他用力一揮，結實地擊中球。

And he watched the ball fly for a second,

他花了一兩秒看著球飛出去，

and then he went, "Dah dadaratatatah.

然後唱著:「答答答...(音樂)

Brah dada dadadadah."

巴拉答答答... 」

And he ran around the bases.

邊唱邊繞著壘包跑。

And I thought, go figure.

我心裡想著，還真奇妙了。

How did this piece of 18th century Austrian aristocratic entertainment

十八世紀奧地利貴族的娛興，

turn into the victory crow of this New York kid?

昰如何變成這紐約孩子的勝利之歌?

How was that passed on? How did he get to hear Mozart?

是怎麼被傳承下來的？他怎麼聽到莫札特的？

Well when it comes to classical music,

然而講到古典樂，

there's an awful lot to pass on,

要傳承的東西可就多了，

much more than Mozart, Beethoven or Tchiakovsky.

比莫札特、貝多芬、柴可夫斯基還要多太多。

Because classical music

因為古典樂

is an unbroken living tradition

是超過一千年以來

that goes back over 1,000 years.

不曾中斷過的傳統。

And every one of those years

而在這當中的每一年，

has had something unique and powerful to say to us

都能透過獨一無二的語道，

about what it's like to be alive.

告訴我們活著，是什麼樣的感受。

Now the raw material of it, of course,

當然這所有的原料，

is just the music of everyday life.

僅是日常生活中的音樂。

It's all the anthems and dance crazes

是所有的詩歌和瘋狂舞蹈，

and ballads and marches.

民謠及進行曲。

But what classical music does

但是古典樂的角色在於，

is to distill all of these musics down,

把所有這些音樂提煉

to condense them to their absolute essence,

凝聚出它們的精華，

and from that essence create a new language,

並用這精華創造出一個新的語言。

a language that speaks very lovingly and unflinchingly

這語言以充滿愛和執著堅定的口吻，

about who we really are.

傾訴著我們的真實面貌。

It's a language that's still evolving.

這是個仍在演變的語言。

Now over the centuries it grew into the big pieces we always think of,

經過幾世紀的沿革， 它發展成我們常常想到的大型曲目，

like concertos and symphonies,

像是協奏曲和交響曲等等。

but even the most ambitious masterpiece

但是即使是最具有企圖心的巨作，

can have as its central mission

它的最終宗旨，

to bring you back to a fragile and personal moment --

仍是將你帶回曾經歷的脆弱、孤單的時刻，

like this one from the Beethoven Violin Concerto.

就如這首貝多芬的小提琴協奏曲:

(Music)

(音樂)

It's so simple, so evocative.

它是如此的簡單，如此的令人回味，

So many emotions seem to be inside of it.

之中似乎夾雜著無數情緒。

Yet, of course, like all music,

然而，就如所有的音樂，

it's essentially not about anything.

它實質上並沒有任何含意。

It's just a design of pitches and silence and time.

它僅是音調、寂靜、和拍子的設計組合。

And the pitches, the notes, as you know, are just vibrations.

而那些音符，你應知道，只是振動而已。

They're locations in the spectrum of sound.

它們是聲波譜上的一些位置。

And whether we call them 440 per second, A,

我們可以叫它"每秒振440次"，或是A，

or 3,729, B flat -- trust me, that's right --

或每秒振3729次，這是降B -- 相信我，這是正確的 --

they're just phenomena.

但它們只是物理現象而已。

But the way we react to different combinations of these phenomena

但是我們對於這些現象的各種組合 產生的反應，

is complex and emotional and not totally understood.

是非常複雜且情緒化的，並尚未被完全解釋。

And the way we react to them has changed radically over the centuries,

而且我們對音樂的反應 在過去幾世紀中也有極大的轉變，

as have our preferences for them.

對音樂的喜好也是一樣。

So for example, in the 11th century,

我舉例來說，在十一世紀時，

people liked pieces that ended like this.

人們喜歡音樂有這樣的結尾:

(Music)

(音樂)

And in the 17th century, it was more like this.

但在十七世紀，人們卻比較喜歡這樣:

(Music)

(音樂)

And in the 21st century ...

然後在21世紀:

(Music)

(音樂)

Now your 21st century ears are quite happy with this last chord,

你們的21世紀耳朵聽到那最後一個和絃 覺得挺順耳的，

even though a while back it would have puzzled or annoyed you

然而在一些年前它可能會使你覺得奇怪或厭煩，

or sent some of you running from the room.

或是使你們一些人奪門而出。

And the reason you like it

而你會喜歡它的原因

is because you've inherited, whether you knew it or not,

是因為不管你知不知道，你已經繼承了

centuries-worth of changes

幾世紀累積下來

in musical theory, practice and fashion.

音樂理論、實行、及流行的演變。

And in classical music we can follow these changes very, very accurately

而在古典樂中我們可以非常準確地追尋這些演變。

because of the music's powerful silent partner,

多虧於音樂強大而沉默的搭檔，

the way it's been passed on: notation.

也是它傳承的機制: 樂譜

Now the impulse to notate,

想把音樂以符號表示的衝動，

or, more exactly I should say, encode music

或更正確地說，將音樂編碼，

has been with us for a very long time.

已經跟著我們很久了。

In 200 B.C., a man named Sekulos

在西元前200年，一位叫Sekulos的人

wrote this song for his departed wife

為他去世的妻子寫了這首歌，

and inscribed it on her gravestone

並以希臘人的記譜系統

in the notational system of the Greeks.

把它刻於她的墓碑上。

(Music)

(音樂)

And a thousand years later,

而一千年後，

this impulse to notate took an entirely different form.

我們寫下音樂的慾望演變成完全不同的型式。

And you can see how this happened

你可以想像這是如何發生的。

in these excerpts from the Christmas mass "Puer Natus est nobis,"

聽聽這些片段，取自聖誕彌撒 "Puer Natus est nobis" (拉丁文)

"For Us is Born."

" (嬰孩) 為我們誕生"

(Music)

(音樂)

In the 10th century, little squiggles were used

在十世紀，扭曲的小線條

just to indicate the general shape of the tune.

用來表示曲調的大概形狀。

And in the 12th century, a line was drawn, like a musical horizon line,

然後在十二世紀，增加了一條線，像是音樂的地平線，

to better pinpoint the pitch's location.

用來更準確地指出音調的位置。

And then in the 13th century, more lines and new shapes of notes

然後於十三世紀，有更多的線條和不同形狀的音符，

locked in the concept of the tune exactly,

將曲調的概念更加準確地具體化，

and that led to the kind of notation we have today.

並演變成我們現今擁有的記譜系統。

Well notation not only passed the music on,

記譜不只是讓音樂傳承下去，

notating and encoding the music changed its priorities entirely,

將音樂記下並編碼完全改變了音樂的重心，

because it enabled the musicians

因為它使音樂家們

to imagine music on a much vaster scale.

能於更加遼闊的規模想像音樂。

Now inspired moves of improvisation

如此一來即興的演出

could be recorded, saved, considered, prioritized,

就能夠被記錄、保存、研究、給予優先順序，

made into intricate designs.

並加以構成精密的設計。

And from this moment, classical music became

從此刻開始，古典音樂就形成

what it most essentially is,

它最根本的特質，

a dialogue between the two powerful sides of our nature:

也就是我們本性最重要的兩面: 直覺與智慧，

instinct and intelligence.

之間的對話。

And there began to be a real difference at this point

從此刻起，即興創作的藝術

between the art of improvisation

與作曲的藝術之間

and the art of composition.

開始有實質的不同之處。

Now an improviser senses and plays the next cool move,

現在，即興演奏家感受並演出下一個很酷的招數，

but a composer is considering all possible moves,

但是作曲家卻能夠考慮所有可能的路數，

testing them out, prioritizing them out,

一個個嘗試、評斷

until he sees how they can form a powerful and coherent design

直到他看出它們如何形成一個強大連貫的設計

of ultimate and enduring coolness.

充滿著最絕對與持久的「酷」。

Now some of the greatest composers, like Bach,

然而世界上一些最頂尖的作曲家，像是巴哈，

were combinations of these two things.

是這兩者的組合。

Bach was like a great improviser with a mind of a chess master.

巴哈就像是一個擁有西洋棋大師般縝密思維 的即興創作家，

Mozart was the same way.

莫札特也是。

But every musician strikes a different balance

但是每一個音樂家在信念與邏輯，

between faith and reason, instinct and intelligence.

直覺和智慧間，會取得不同的平衡點。

And every musical era had different priorities of these things,

而每一個年代的音樂 對於這些東西的優先順序也有所不同。

different things to pass on, different 'whats' and 'hows'.

傳承著不同的東西，不同的「如何」及「為何」。

So in the first eight centuries or so of this tradition

在這個傳統的前八個世紀左右

the big 'what' was to praise God.

最重要的「為何」是去榮耀上帝。

And by the 1400s, music was being written

到了十五世紀，人們開始創作音樂

that tried to mirror God's mind

來揣摩上帝於設計夜晚星空

as could be seen in the design of the night sky.

所表現出的思想端倪。

The 'how' was a style called polyphony,

而「如何」表現則是一種叫複音音樂的風格，

music of many independently moving voices

它由許多獨自移動的人聲組成，

that suggested the way the planets seemed to move

用來象徵托勒密的地心宇宙觀中

in Ptolemy's geocentric universe.

星球移動的現象。

This was truly the music of the spheres.

這真正是星體的音樂:

(Music)

(音樂)

This is the kind of music that Leonardo DaVinci would have known.

李奧納多‧達文西可能聽的就是這種音樂。

And perhaps its tremendous intellectual perfection and serenity

而搞不好這種音樂的知性完美及寧靜

meant that something new had to happen --

代表著某些新穎的作品必須出現--

a radical new move, which in 1600 is what did happen.

革命性的新舉，而這在十七世紀時的確發生了

(Music) Singer: Ah, bitter blow!

(音樂) 男聲: 阿，嚴酷的打擊!

Ah, wicked, cruel fate!

阿，邪惡又殘酷的命運!

Ah, baleful stars!

阿，凶煞之星!

Ah, avaricious heaven!

阿，貪婪的上天!

MTT: This, of course, was the birth of opera,

這正是歌劇的誕生，

and its development put music on a radical new course.

而它的發展將音樂引往全新的軌道。

The what now was not to mirror the mind of God,

那時的「為何」不再是揣摩上帝的心意，

but to follow the emotion turbulence of man.

而是追尋人類如漩渦般的複雜情緒。

And the how was harmony,

而「如何」則表現於和聲，

stacking up the pitches to form chords.

把音符堆疊起來變成和絃。

And the chords, it turned out,

他們發現和弦可以表現

were capable of representing incredible varieties of emotions.

驚人的多種不同情緒變化。

And the basic chords were the ones we still have with us,

最基本的和弦我們現在仍在使用，

the triads,

就所謂的三和弦，

either the major one,

可以是大調的，

which we think is happy,

我們覺得聽起來是快樂的，

or the minor one,

或是小調的，

which we perceive as sad.

而我們感覺它是難過的。

But what's the actual difference between these two chords?

但這兩個和弦之間的不同到底在哪裡?

It's just these two notes in the middle.

其實就只是中間的這兩個音符罷了。

It's either E natural,

它可以是還原E，

and 659 vibrations per second,

每秒振動659次，

or E flat, at 622.

或是降E，每秒622次。

So the big difference between human happiness and sadness?

所以人類快樂與悲傷的不同到底在哪裡?

37 freakin' vibrations.

就那37個振動而已阿!

So you can see in a system like this

因此在這麼一個系統中，

there was enormous subtle potential

你可想有多少細微變化和潛力

of representing human emotions.

來表示人類的情緒變化。

And in fact, as man began to understand more

事實上，當人們開始更加了解

his complex and ambivalent nature,

他們自己複雜又模稜兩可的本性時，

harmony grew more complex to reflect it.

和聲便隨之演變得更加複雜。

Turns out it was capable of expressing emotions

人們發現它能夠描繪

beyond the ability of words.

言語無法傳述的情感。

Now with all this possibility,

所以擁有了這無限可能，

classical music really took off.

古典樂真正開始飛黃騰達。

It's the time in which the big forms began to arise.

這就是那些主要的作曲形式開始發展的時代。

And the effects of technology began to be felt also,

並開始受到科技的影響，

because printing put music, the scores, the codebooks of music,

因為印刷技術將樂譜，音樂的編碼書，

into the hands of performers everywhere.

放入世界各處的演奏家手中。

And new and improved instruments

而更新改良的樂器，

made the age of the virtuoso possible.

造就了演藝精湛的音樂家世代。

This is when those big forms arose --

那些大型的音樂型式就是這時開始崛起--

the symphonies, the sonatas, the concertos.

如那些交響樂、奏鳴曲、協奏曲。

And in these big architectures of time,

而在這些跨越時空的結構中，

composers like Beethoven could share the insights of a lifetime.

像貝多芬這樣的作曲家就能夠與別人分享他一生的經驗。

A piece like Beethoven's Fifth

如貝多芬的第五號交響曲，

basically witnessing how it was possible

讓我們見證它如何能夠

for him to go from sorrow and anger,

由悲傷和憤怒

over the course of a half an hour,

在半個鐘頭之中

step by exacting step of his route,

一步一步，精確地，

to the moment when he could make it across to joy.

走向喜悅的那一剎那。

(Music)

(音樂)

And it turned out the symphony could be used for more complex issues,

而且交響樂也可以用來表達更複雜的領域，

like gripping ones of culture,

像是文化，

such as nationalism or quest for freedom

如民族主義或是對自由的追尋，

or the frontiers of sensuality.

或是人類性情的邊境。

But whatever direction the music took,

但無論音樂的走向是如何，

one thing until recently was always the same,

一直到最近，有一樣東西一直都不變，

and that was when the musicians stopped playing,

那就是，當音樂家停止演奏時，

the music stopped.

音樂也隨之靜止。

Now this moment so fascinates me.

這一刻一直令我十分感興趣。

I find it such a profound one.

我認為它意義深遠。

What happens when the music stops?

當音樂停止時，會發生什麼事?

Where does it go? What's left?

它跑去哪裡?它留下了什麼?

What sticks with people in the audience at the end of a performance?

當表演結束後，觀眾腦海裡還遺留着些什麼?

Is it a melody or a rhythm

是曲調，是節奏，

or a mood or an attitude?

還是一種情緒或是一種態度?

And how might that change their lives?

而這會如何改變他們的生活?

To me this is the intimate, personal side of music.

對我而言這是音樂最深切、私人的一面。

It's the passing on part. It's the 'why' part of it.

是那個傳下去的部分，那個「為什麼」的部分，

And to me that's the most essential of all.

對我來說這才是最重要的。

Mostly it's been a person-to-person thing,

這大多都是一種人和人之間的互動，

a teacher-student, performer-audience thing,

像是師生之間，或演出者與觀眾之間。

and then around 1880 came this new technology

但在1880年代一個新科技誕生了，

that first mechanically then through analogs then digitally

先由類比而後經由數位訊號

created a new and miraculous way of passing things on,

創造了一個奇蹟般傳承音樂的新方法，

albeit an impersonal one.

然而它不是透過人際傳達的。

People could now hear music all the time,

現在人們隨時都可以聽音樂。

even though it wasn't necessary

for them to play an instrument, read music or even go to concerts.

他們不需要

會演奏樂器，視譜，甚至是去聽音樂會。

And technology democratized music by making everything available.

科技把音樂帶給了人們，使之民主化，大眾化。

It spearheaded a cultural revolution

它引起了一場文化革命，

in which artists like Caruso and Bessie Smith were on the same footing.

在此中聲樂家Caruso和藍調歌手Bessie Smith 的地位是相當的。

And technology pushed composers to tremendous extremes,

而科技也將作曲家的靈感逼到最極限，

using computers and synthesizers

利用電腦和合成器

to create works of intellectually impenetrable complexity

創作複雜得令人費解的作品，

beyond the means of performers and audiences.

超越演奏家和觀眾的的想像。

At the same time technology,

科技同時經由

by taking over the role that notation had always played,

替代樂譜過去扮演的角色，

shifted the balance within music between instinct and intelligence

轉移了音樂裡直覺與智慧的平衡，

way over to the instinctive side.

遠遠的到直覺那邊去。

The culture in which we live now

我們現在的文化

is awash with music of improvisation

充斥著即興組合的音樂，

that's been sliced, diced, layered

被重複切割、組合、複疊

and, God knows, distributed and sold.

還有，誰知道，被發行販售。

What's the long-term effect of this on us or on music?

這對我們和音樂的長期影響是什麼?

Nobody knows.

沒有人知道。

The question remains: What happens when the music stops?

而問題仍存在: 當音樂停止時，會發生什麼事?

What sticks with people?

哪些部分留在了人的的腦海中?

Now that we have unlimited access to music, what does stick with us?

如今我們可以無限享受音樂，什麼部分會跟隨我們?

Well let me show you a story of what I mean

讓我跟你說一個故事，來講明

by "really sticking with us."

"跟隨著我們"的意思。

I was visiting a cousin of mine in an old age home,

我之前去養老院拜訪我的表兄，

and I spied a very shaky old man

然後看見一個顫抖的老人

making his way across the room on a walker.

正移著助行器走過房間中央。

He came over to a piano that was there,

他走到那裡的鋼琴前，

and he balanced himself and began playing something like this.

他坐好後開始彈類似這樣的曲子:

(Music)

(音樂)

And he said something like, "Me ... boy ... symphony ... Beethoven."

然後他說:「我...小時候...交響曲...貝多芬」

And I suddenly got it,

然後我忽然間聽懂了，

and I said, "Friend, by any chance are you trying to play this?"

然後我說:「這位朋友，你是不是想試著彈這個?」

(Music)

(音樂)

And he said, "Yes, yes. I was a little boy.

他說:「對，對，我那時只是個小男孩。

The symphony: Isaac Stern, the concerto, I heard it."

那首交響曲: Isaac Stern (小提琴家)， 那協奏曲，我聽過。」

And I thought, my God,

然後我心裡想，我的天啊，

how much must this music mean to this man

音樂對這位老先生而言是多麼重要，

that he would get himself out of his bed, across the room

使他從床上爬起來，走過房間，

to recover the memory of this music

就為了喚回這首曲子的記憶。

that, after everything else in his life is sloughing away,

在他生活中所已的事物都慢慢流失時，

still means so much to him?

這對他來說仍如此重要?

Well, that's why I take every performance so seriously,

這就是為什麼我如此嚴肅的看待每一場演出，

why it matters to me so much.

為什麼這對我來說這麼重要。

I never know who might be there, who might be absorbing it

我無法知道誰會在現場，誰會將之吸收，

and what will happen to it in their life.

已及他們的命運將會如何。

But now I'm excited that there's more chance than ever before possible

但是我很興奮，因為從來沒有如現在如此多的機會

of sharing this music.

來分享音樂。

That's what drives my interest in projects

這就是為什麼我有興趣參與

like the TV series "Keeping Score" with the San Francisco Symphony

如和舊金山交響樂團合作的"Keeping Score"電視節目，

that looks at the backstories of music,

來探索音樂背後的故事，

and working with the young musicians at the New World Symphony

或是在新世界交響樂團與年輕音樂家合作

on projects that explore the potential

開發能運用新演奏廳的潛力

of the new performing arts centers

之類的計畫，

for both entertainment and education.

來促進娛樂與教育。

And of course, the New World Symphony

當然，新世界交響樂

led to the YouTube Symphony and projects on the internet

衍伸出YouTube交響樂已及其他網路上的計畫，

that reach out to musicians and audiences all over the world.

讓世界各地的音樂家及觀眾一同參與。

And the exciting thing is all this is just a prototype.

而且令我興奮的昰，這只是雛形而已。

There's just a role here for so many people --

這領域有空間讓更多人參與，

teachers, parents, performers --

老師、家長、演出者，

to be explorers together.

一起成為探險家。

Sure, the big events attract a lot of attention,

沒錯，那些大型活動吸引很多人的目光，

but what really matters is what goes on every single day.

但真正重要的是每一天發生的事。

We need your perspectives, your curiosity, your voices.

我們需要你的觀點，你的好奇心，你的聲音。

And it excites me now to meet people

而且我也很興奮能夠認識新的朋友，

who are hikers, chefs, code writers, taxi drivers,

登山客、廚師、程式設計師、計程車司機，

people I never would have guessed who loved the music

有些我從來沒想過會如此喜愛音樂的人，

and who are passing it on.

他們也將音樂傳承下去。

You don't need to worry about knowing anything.

你不需要擔心你什麼都不會。

If you're curious, if you have a capacity for wonder, if you're alive,

如果你擁有好奇心，如果你能夠接受驚喜， 如果你活著，

you know all that you need to know.

你就已知道你所需的所有東西了。

You can start anywhere. Ramble a bit.

你可以從任何地方開始，隨處看看。

Follow traces. Get lost. Be surprised, amused inspired.

尋跡而覓，迷路，讓它令你驚訝、會心一笑、感動。

All that 'what', all that 'how' is out there

有無限的「如何」及「為何」

waiting for you to discover its 'why',

待你發現它的「為什麼」，

to dive in and pass it on.

來一頭栽進去吧！並一起傳承。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)