粗魯的伴奏者

Performing for the great Henri Vieuxtemps wasn’t bad enough， violinist Leopold Auer had to put up with one of the worst accompanists imaginable—the wife of Vieuxtemps.1

It happened about 1859， when Auer was a student. Auer and his father went to visit Vieuxtemps and the violinist received them cordially， but his wife—who was also his accompanist—was icy. After some small talk2 about his studies， Auer was allowed to take out his violin—not a very good one—and play. Madame Vieuxtemps sat down at the piano， looking bored. Auer had a nervous disposition as it was and he was trembling as he began to play Vieuxtemps’ “Fantasie Caprice.”3

Years later when he told the story， Auer couldn’t remember whether he had played well or not so well， but he remembered pouring his whole soul into each note even though his technique wasn’t the best. Vieuxtemps encouraged him with a friendly smile.

Suddenly， in the middle of the performance， Madame Vieuxtemps jumped up from the piano and began prowling4 around the room， bending to the floor， looking underneath the furniture， and under the piano as if she had lost something.

Auer was at a complete loss. He stood open-mouthed， feeling as if he had been knocked from a bright pinnacle5 by a fiery explosion from a pit. Even Vieuxtemps seemed amazed as he watched his wife scouring the room. Finally he asked her what she was doing.

“A cat or two must be hiding in the room，” she said，“meowing6 in every key.”

When Auer realized that she was referring to his playing， he fainted. His father caught him before he fell to the floor. Vieuxtemps turned the entire debacle7 into a joke， though， patted Auer on the cheek and told him everything would be all right. Leopold Auer went on to become one of the world’s great violinists， but he would never forget the setback he suffered at the age of fourteen.

能夠為偉大的亨利·維奧克斯騰普斯（比利時小提琴家——譯者注）演出，應該不至于太糟吧，但小提琴家李奧坡· 奧爾卻不得不忍氣吞聲，因為伴奏者——維奧克斯騰普斯妻子的粗魯簡直出乎他的想象。

這事兒大約發生在1859年，當時奧爾還是個學生。奧爾和他父親去拜訪小提琴家維奧克斯騰普斯，他很熱情地接待了他們，但他的妻子——也是他的伴奏者卻冷若冰霜。在閑談了一陣奧爾的學業后，維奧克斯騰普斯讓奧爾拿出小提琴演奏，奧爾那把小提琴質地并不太好。維奧克斯騰普斯夫人坐在鋼琴旁，很不耐煩的樣子。奧爾很緊張，顫抖著開始拉維奧克斯騰普斯的作品《幻想隨想曲》。

多年后，當奧爾說起這段往事，他無法回憶起當時他到底拉得好不好，但他還記得，盡管他的技藝還不完美，卻對每個音符都全神貫注。維奧克斯騰普斯微笑著鼓勵他。

在演奏中，維奧克斯騰普斯夫人突然從鋼琴旁跳起來，在房內東找西找。她彎下身去，朝家具下、鋼琴下張望，好像她丟了什么東西。

奧爾大吃一驚，他站在那里目瞪口呆，就像在快樂的巔峰突然被地坑里的劇烈爆炸炸翻了。甚至當維奧克斯騰普斯看見他的夫人在房間里折騰個沒完時，也大為驚訝。最后，他問她到底在干什么。

“一定有一兩只貓藏在屋里哪兒了，”她說，“每個音符都是喵啊喵啊的。”

當奧爾意識到她是在對他的演奏含沙射影時，他昏厥了。父親及時扶住了他他才沒昏倒在地上。還是維奧克斯騰普斯出面，將這場災難轉變成一個笑話。他拍著奧爾的臉頰，告訴他沒事，一切都會好起來的。李奧坡·奧爾后來成為世界上最偉大的小提琴家之一，但他永遠無法忘懷14歲時所遭受的挫折。

1. Leopold Auer： 李奧坡·奧爾（1845—1930），匈牙利著名小提琴家，教育家。主要作品有：《小提琴演奏法教程》、《我的小提琴演奏教學法》、《小提琴名作解釋》及回憶錄《我的音樂生活》;put up with： 忍耐。

2. small talk： 閑談，家常。

3. disposition： 性情，處理;fantasie： 幻想曲;caprice： 隨想曲。

4. prowl： 搜尋。

5. pinnacle： 頂尖，頂峰。

6. meow： 喵喵（貓叫聲）。

7. debacle： 災難，崩潰。