Stalin listened to the live broadcast of Maria Yudina playing Mozart and ordered
A record to be sent to his villa by morning. But, because, perhaps,
She once read a poem from Doctor Zhivago as an encore, then there must exist
An unwritten regulation: She shall not be recorded, play as she may.
By that midnight, Stalin’s panic underlings found her shabby shag
And drove her to a studio where a small and equally panic orchestra was assembled.
By early morning a legend came into being:
A single pressing of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 was produced.
Ere long, Maria Yudina received a money of 20000 ruble, as a Stalin Award,
To which she felt obliged to write an acknowledgement letter:
"Thank you for your help, Iosif Vissarionovich. I will offer my perpetual
Prayers for your sins committed before the people and the state. Lord, I have faith,
Is merciful, and he will forgive you, as I have donated the money to my church."
Before sending in the letter, Stalin’s underlings had already prepared
An arrest warrant, and they were waiting to be approved by a scowl from their master.
Stalin did not make a sound, putting the letter beside a pile of letters
From seksots, and for an unbearably long period they stood there waiting,
But Stalin remained silent, face blank, even without his pipe.
When he was found dead in his villa, the Mozart record was still on the gramophone,
Making a never-ending creaking sound. Needless to say, before the grate,
Stalin had faced the music alone, and perhaps in horror of death, but Yudina’s Mozart
Was running like a brave creek from a hot spring, indomitably washing away
The icy snow cap on the black stones along its way.
Thanks for this "creature that sleeps in a coffin," as people said of her,
That our human world has known a Mozart with a Stalin era style.
Think about the contrast, the force!
September 13, 2009
斯大林时代的莫扎特
斯大林听到广播直播尤金娜的演奏，立即要手下
将她的唱片送去他的别墅。可是，因为，或许，
她在一次演奏会上以朗读《日瓦戈医生》作为安可，所以
早有不成文的文件：她不得留下录音。
那些慌了神的委员们半夜找到她那四处漏风的小屋，
强行将她带走，一个传奇版本终于在清晨诞生：
全世界只有一张的《莫扎特第23号钢琴协奏曲》唱片。
不久，尤金娜收到两万卢布的奖励，她被告知
那是斯大林的指示。于是她觉得有必要写信致谢：
“谢谢你的帮助，约瑟夫·维萨里昂诺维奇。我将日夜为你
祈祷，求主原谅你在人民和国家面前犯下的大罪。主，
是仁慈的，他一定会原谅你；因为我已把钱捐给了我的教会”。
他的手下在将这封信报送斯大林之前，已预备好了
逮捕令，只等他看信时皱一下眉头；可斯大林一声没吭，将信
放在一堆告密文件旁；他久久地站着，毫无表情，竟然还没抽烟斗。
斯大林死了的时候，那场唱片还在他的唱机上
发出嗤嗤声；不用说，在那刺耳的杂音之前，斯大林独自
面对死亡，或许也曾恐慌，但尤金娜的莫扎特
如奔涌的溪流来自温泉，不屈地洗刷着被冰雪凝结的黑岩石。
这个睡在棺材里的生灵，有了她，人间才有
斯大林时代风格的莫扎特。那对比、那力度！
2009年9月13-14日
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