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第一段
1 .Listen to part of a lecture in a music history class.
听一段音乐历史课。
第二段
1 .Up until now in our discussions and readings about the Baroque early classical periods, we've been talking about the development of musical styles and genres within the relatively narrow social context of its patronage by the upper classes.
到现在我们在课堂上对巴洛克早期时代的讨论和阅读，大多集中在相对较狭窄的上层社会所光顾的音乐的风格、类型及其发展上。
2 .Composers, after all, had to earn a living and those who were employed in the services of a specific patron...
作曲家还得过日子，那些被某些特别的顾客雇佣的音乐家
3 .well, I don't have to spell it out for you, the likes and dislikes of that patron, this would've had an effect on what was being composed and performed.
他们的名字我就不用点出来了，他们雇主的喜好，会对他们的创作和表演有一定影响。
4 .Now, of course, there were many other influences on composers, um, such as the technical advances we've seen in the development of some of the instruments, uh, you remember the transverse flute, the clarinet and so on.
当然，影响作曲家的还有许多其他因素，比如音乐器材中体现出来的技术进步，嗯，比如你们记住的长笛、单簧管等等。
第三段
1 .But I think if I were asked to identify a single crucial development in European music of this time, it would be the invention of the piano, which, interestingly enough also had a significant effect on European society of that time.
不过，如果要我说出一项当时欧洲音乐的举足轻重的飞跃的话，钢琴的发明是当仁不让的选择。钢琴的产生过程很有意思，而且对当时的欧洲社会也有重要影响。
2 .And I'll get to that in a minute.
我一会儿就会回到这个话题。
3 .Now, as we know, keyboard instruments existed long before the piano - the organ, which dates back to the Middle Ages, as do other keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord which is still popular today with some musicians.
嗯，正如我们所知，带键盘的乐器在钢琴诞生之前很久就已经存在了——譬如风琴，它的历史可以溯源到中世纪；还有其他的乐器，比如带键竖琴，也有同样长的历史，它至今仍为许多音乐家的宠儿。
4 .But none of these has had as profound an impact as the piano.
但是，这些乐器都没有能够与钢琴媲美的影响力。
第四段
1 .Um, the piano was invented in Italy in 1709.
嗯，钢琴于1709年产生于意大利。
2 .The word piano is short for pianoforte, a combination of the Italian words for soft and loud.
钢琴这个词是意大利语“pianoforte”的缩写，这个词的意思是柔软的、发声的。
3 .Now, unlike the harpsichord which came before it, the piano is a percussion instrument.
嗯，与它的前辈键竖琴相比，它的不同之处在于它是一种打击乐器。
4 .You see, the harpsichord is actually classified as a string instrument, since pressing a key of a harpsichord causes a tiny quill that's connected to the key to pluck the strings that are inside the instrument, much the same as a guitar pick plucks the strings of a guitar.
我们知道，键竖琴一般被分入弦乐器一类，因为当按下某一个键时，与这个键相连接的琴拔就会拨动某一根安装在乐器内部的琴弦。这种发音原理与弦乐器吉他非常相似
5 .But pressing the keys of a piano causes tiny felt-covered hammers to strike the strings inside the instrument, like drumsticks striking the head of a drum.
但是，当我们按下钢琴的某一个键时，就会有一只包裹了毛毡的小音锤敲击钢琴内部的发声弦，这个过程好比鼓锤击打鼓面。
6 .This striking action is why the piano is a percussion instrument instead of a string instrument.
钢琴这种敲击式发声原理，是我们将其划入击打乐器，而非弦乐器的原因了。
第五段
1 .Okay, so why is this so important?
好了，说了半天，为什么这个话题很重要呢？
2 .Well, the percussive effect of those little hammers means that the pianist, unlike the harpsichordist, can control the dynamics of the sound - how softly or loudly each note is struck, hence the name, pianoforte, soft and loud.
嗯，这种击打式发声原理（即这些小音锤敲击发声弦这一过程）意味着弹琴的人可以控制钢琴所发出声音的力度变化——即每一个音符的柔软度、强度，与钢琴的名字——能控制音色与音强之琴——很匹配吧！
3 .Now artistically for both composers and performers this was a major turning point.
而相比之下，键竖琴的演奏者就做不到了。钢琴的产生，对于作曲家和演奏家的音乐表现都是一个转折点。
4 .This brand new instrument, capable of producing loud and soft tones, greatly expanded the possibilities for conveying emotion.
这种全新的、能够发出强度大、音色柔软的调子的新乐器，大大地扩展了音乐家的情感传达力。
5 .This capacity for increased expressiveness, in fact, was essential to the Romantic style that dominated 19th century music.
这种更高级别的表现力，实际上，对于19 世纪占统治地位的浪漫主义音乐而言，是必不可少的。
6 .But I'm getting ahead of myself.
不过我现在要回答我之前提过的话题。
第六段
1 .Um, before we get back to the musical impact of this development, I wanna take a look at the social impact that I mentioned earlier.
嗯，在继续钢琴对于音乐界的冲击这个话题之前，我想粗略地谈谈钢琴的社会影响力，之前也讲过一些。
2 .Now, in the late 1700s and the earlier 1800s, the development of the piano coincided with the growth of the middle class in Western Europe.
在18 世纪晚，19 世纪初期，钢琴的兴起恰好遭逢了西欧中产阶级的扩张。
3 .Of course folk music, traditional songs and dances had always been part of everyday life.
当然，民谣，传统歌曲和舞蹈那时都是日常生活的一部分。
4 .But as mass production techniques were refined in the 19th century, the price of pianos dropped to the point that a larger proportion of the population could afford to own them.
但是，随着19 世纪工业大规模生产能力的改良，钢琴的价格一路下跌，越来越多的人买的起它了。
5 .As pianos became more available, they brought classical music, the music which previously had been composed only for the upper classes, into the lives of the middle class people as well.
随着钢琴的日渐普及，它们将古典音乐这种先前只流行于社会上层的音乐形式也引入了中产阶级家庭中。
第七段
1 .One way in particular that we can see the social impact of this instrument is its role in the lives of women of the time.
钢琴在当时妇女的日常生活中的地位，可以特别有效地帮助我们窥探它的社会影响力。
2 .Previously, it was quite rare for a woman to perform on anything, but maybe a harp or maybe she sang.
之前的时候，它对于西欧妇女而言还是很稀有的，女性在进行演奏时很少能用到它；一般的妇女要么会弹奏竖琴，要么会唱歌。
3 .But suddenly in the 19th century it became quite acceptable, even, to some extent, almost expected for a middle-class European woman to be able to play the piano, partly because among upper-middle class women it was a sign of refinement.
但是，事情到了19 世纪就突然发生了很大变化。钢琴变得非常受欢迎，甚至绝大部分中上层阶级出身的妇女都被要求拥有弹奏它的能力。
4 .But it was also an excellent way for some women to earn money by giving piano lessons.
之所以形成这种局面，一部分是因为中上层女性把弹奏钢琴看成是优雅的标志。同时，很多女性也把教授弹钢琴看成谋生的一种不错的手段。
5 .And some women, those few who had exceptional talent and the opportunity to develop it, their lives were dramatically affected.
并且，那些为数不多的、在钢琴演奏上颇有天赋且对钢琴演奏的发展做出了贡献的女性，她们的生活因为钢琴的流行而发生了很大的变化。
第八段
1 .Later we'll be listening to works by a composer named Robert Schumann.
稍后我们会播放作曲家罗伯特•舒曼的作品
2 .But let's now talk about his wife Clara Schumann.
不过我们现在要讲一下他的妻子克拉娅•舒曼。
3 .Clara Schumann was born in Germany in 1819.
克拉娅于1819 年生于德国
4 .She grew up surrounded by pianos.
她的成长经历都与钢琴不无关系。
5 .Her father sold pianos and both her parents were respected piano teachers.
她的父亲是钢琴商人，并且她父母都是颇受尊敬的钢琴教师。
6 .She learned to play the instrument when she was a small child and gave her first public recital at age 9.
她在幼年时就学会了钢琴演奏，9 岁就第一次登台演出。
7 .Clara grew up to become a well-known and respected piano virtuoso, a performer of extraordinary skill who not only gave concerts across Europe, but also was one of the first important female composers for the instrument.
克拉娅长大后成为一名备受尊敬的钢琴演奏大师。不仅她的演奏技巧风行全欧，而且她还是音乐史上第一位重要的钢琴曲作曲家。