April 16th

 The Orange Plan

   Sergei Prokofiev's previous trip to America had not gone very well.  The critics had panned his piano pieces and playing as "Bolshevism in art" and "the epitome of Godless Russia."  Worse, he had become known as a performer with a mechanical style.

   Now it was 1920 and Prokofiev came to America with a plan.  He had two compositions in hand.  His Third Piano Concerto and his comic opera The Love for Three Oranges.  If the opera succeeded, he could use the concerto to show his versatility.  If the opera failed, he could use concerto to divert attention from the failure. But right away his plan ran into trouble.  Preparations for the opera's Chicago debut ran behind schedule and word got out that a small fortune was being spent on its production. On top of that, an orange-growing company offered to advertise the opera as the inspiration of someone who liked their oranges. Prokofiev turned down the offer and the resulting publicity overshadowed both the Third Piano Concerto and the opera.

    When the opera finally was performed its humor found the mark.  The Chicago audience not only laughed, they went away humming two hit tunes—the scherzo and the celebrated march from Act 2. 

    But not so in New York. The press tore into Prokofiev and his oranges.  Prokofiev summed up his American experience by saying, "I was left with a thousand dollars in my pocket, a bad headache, and an overwhelming wish to get away to some quiet place where I could work in peace."

    He had also made it easier for the next "modernists" to come to America.  And for himself.  The next time both Prokofiev and America would be better prepared.

4月16日日              橙子计划

              ——摘自《音乐启蒙书：音乐中的希望和力量》            

                （中央编译出版社2007年4月出版，李波译）

谢尔盖·普罗科菲耶夫 Sergei Prokofiev (1891～1953) 著名前苏联作曲家、钢琴家。主要作品：《第七交响曲》、歌剧《对三个桔子的爱情》、《战争与和平》、交响童话《彼得与狼》、交响组曲《冬日的篝火》、舞剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》、《灰姑娘》、清唱剧《亚历山大·涅夫斯基》、《保卫和平》。

    谢尔盖·普罗科菲耶夫以前的美国演出铩羽而归。评论家们把他的钢琴曲抨击得体无完肤，把他的演奏挖苦为“艺术中里布尔什维主义”和“无神论的俄罗斯缩影”。更糟糕的是，他变成了一个众所周知的“机械表演家”。

    转眼到了1920年，普罗科菲耶夫带着一个计划再次来到美国。他手头有两部作品：《第三钢琴协奏曲》和喜剧歌剧《对三个橙子的爱情》。如果歌剧成功了，他就能利用音乐会来展示他的多才多艺。如果歌剧失败了，他还可以用协奏曲来转移人们对歌剧失败的注意。但很快他的计划遇到了麻烦。为芝加哥首演的准备赶不上日程了，但消息已经泄露出去——一小笔资金已经投入到演出中。紧接着，一家生产橙子的公司愿意为这部歌剧做广告，广告的创意是某人爱上了他们的橙子。普罗科菲耶夫拒绝了这个提议，结果他以前留下的臭名声严重影响了他的《第三钢琴协奏曲》和歌剧。

    当歌剧最终上演后，它的幽默让它成功了。芝加哥的观众不仅笑了，在他们离开时，嘴巴里还不时哼着两个极受欢迎的调子——第二场中的诙谐曲和精彩的进行曲。

    但在纽约情况不一样，媒体把普罗科菲耶夫和他的橙子贬个稀烂。普罗科菲耶夫通过下面的话总结了他的美国经历：“我这样离开了美国：口袋里揣着1000美元，得了一次严重头痛，带着一个压倒一切的愿望——快离开，找个可以让我安静工作的地方。”

    普罗科菲耶夫让后面的“现代主义者”到美国时更轻松一些了。至于他呢，第二次演出时，无论是他本人还是美国，都会准备得更好一些。