DOES ANY musician get around(四处走动；活跃于各地) as much as Max Richter? In April he will be in Las Vegas, providing musical direction for Oprah Winfrey’s “immersive(沉浸式的) symphony of senses” at the Sphere(拉斯维加斯球形剧场). He is on screens: his soundtrack(电影配乐；原声带) for “Hamnet(《哈姆奈特》)” was nominated for an Academy Award this year. And he may well be in your bedroom: “Sleep”, his eight-and-a-half-hour-long composition, has been stream(在线播放；流媒体播放)ed more than 2bn times.
有哪位音乐家的足迹能像马克斯·里希特这样遍布四方？今年四月，他将现身拉斯维加斯，为奥普拉·温弗瑞在球形剧场打造的“沉浸式感官交响”担任音乐指导。他也出现在银幕上：他为《哈姆奈特》创作的配乐今年获得了奥斯卡提名。他甚至可能就在你的卧室里：他那部长达八个半小时的作品《睡眠》，播放量已超过20亿次。
But it is probably through “On the Nature of Daylight”, a soulful six-minute composition for string quintet from 2004, that Mr Richter (pictured) has most successfully colonised the consciousness of listeners.(但里希特最成功地占据听众意识的，恐怕还是通过《在自然之光中》这首2004年的深情弦乐五重奏。) It heightens emotions in at least a dozen films and television programmes, including “My Brilliant Friend(《我的天才女友》)” and “Arrival(《降临》)”. It transforms millions of commute(通勤；上下班路程)s into occasions for reverie(遐想；白日梦). Listeners will hear echoes of(……的回响；……的影子) it on “While the Flood Rages”, a new album.
但里希特（见图）最成功地占据听众意识的，恐怕还是通过《在自然之光中》——一首2004年创作、时长六分钟、深情动人的弦乐五重奏。它至少为十几部影视作品烘托了情绪，包括《我的天才女友》和《降临》。它把数百万人的通勤时光变成了遐想的时刻。听众会在新专辑《当洪水肆虐》中听到它的回响。
Achieving such ubiquity(无处不在；普遍存在) would be a feat(壮举；功绩) for any composer. That Mr Richter writes classical music makes it more remarkable.(而里希特写的是古典音乐，这就更了不起了。) Born in Germany and brought up in Britain, Mr Richter studied at the Royal Academy of Music(英国皇家音乐学院) in London and with Luciano Berio(卢西亚诺·贝里奥（意大利现代主义作曲家）), an Italian modernist. If you do not detect the classical pedigree(血统；出身；渊源) in Mr Richter’s music, he may point it out to you. In an interview at his studio in the Cotswolds(科茨沃尔德（英国乡村地区）) he relocates from the sofa to the piano to demonstrate that a falling sequence of notes from his new album is reminiscent(使人联想到……的) of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach(约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫). His record label is Decca(迪卡唱片（古典音乐厂牌）), among the most storied(有传奇色彩的；历史悠久的) in classical music.
对任何作曲家来说，取得这样的普及度都堪称壮举。而里希特写的是古典音乐，这就更了不起了。里希特生于德国、长于英国，曾就读于伦敦皇家音乐学院，并师从意大利现代主义作曲家卢西亚诺·贝里奥。如果你没听出里希特音乐中的古典血统，他可能会主动指给你看。在他科茨沃尔德工作室的一次采访中，他从沙发挪到钢琴前，演示新专辑中一段下行音符如何让人联想到约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫的音乐。他的唱片公司是迪卡，古典音乐界最具传奇色彩的厂牌之一。