2023考研英语：《经济学人》中英读译Day183

In the northern Italian city of Treviso, a Polish pianist, Slawomir Zubrzycki, sits down at an instrument that resembles a harpsichord and starts pumping a pedal with his right foot. As his hands float over the keyboard, the sound reaching his audience is as singular as it is beautiful: simultaneously reminiscent of the harpsichord, organ and a string quartet. The instrument is based on sketches Leonardo da Vinci made in his notebooks of a “viola organista” with the dream of simulating a viola ensemble that could be played from a keyboard. Hitting one or more keys brings the same number of strings inside the casing into contact with one of four bow-wheels spun by the pedal.

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在意大利北部城市特雷维索，波兰钢琴家斯洛沃梅尔·扎布奇克坐在一个类似于大键琴的乐器前，开始用右脚踩踏板。他的手指在键盘上舞蹈，独特悦耳的声音传到听众那里，同时让人想起大键琴、羽管键琴、管风琴以及弦乐四重奏的声音。该乐器是根据列奥纳多·达·芬奇在笔记本上画的素描《中提琴风琴》改编而成的，达芬奇本想模拟一种可以用键盘演奏的中提琴合奏。踩着踏板带动四个轮子中的一个转动，按一个或多个琴键就能让套管内相同数量的琴弦同时奏响。

Mr Zubrzycki’s concert, sponsored by the Benetton Foundation, was among the more unusual commemorations of the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death, which falls on May 2nd. It was also a reminder that, even in an age of polymaths, the breadth of the Tuscan master’s interests was exceptional. It encompassed not only painting, architecture, mathematics, engineering and numerous branches of science, but music too. “How many specialists would we need today to attempt Leonardo’s researches?” asks Martin Kemp, emeritus professor of the history of art at Oxford University. “At least 13. Maybe more.”In the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, Italy’s oldest working silk mill, Beatrice Fazzini turns by hand a vertical warper: a cylindrical machine that prepares yarn for weaving. It was constructed in 1786 and is based on a design by da Vinci that Stefano Ricci, the fashion house which owns the mill, says has been used in Florence since da Vinci was alive. If that is indeed so, it was one of his very few inventions that had a practical application.

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5月2日达芬奇逝世500周年纪念活动中，由贝纳通基金会赞助的扎布奇克先生的音乐会是最与众不同的活动之一。这也提醒人们，即使在一个博学多才的时代，这位意大利托斯卡纳区的大师的兴趣之广也超乎常人。他的兴趣不仅包括绘画、建筑、数学、工程和许多科学分支，还包括音乐。“今天我们需要多少位专家来尝试达·芬奇的研究？”牛津大学艺术史荣誉退休教授马丁•坎普问道。“至少需要13位，或者更多。”在意大利最古老的古丝绸铺Antico Setificio Fiorentino，比阿特丽斯·法兹尼用手转动整经机，这是一种为织造准备纱线的圆柱机。拥有这家丝绸铺的时装公司Stefano Ricci成立于1786年，以达芬奇的一项设计为基础，据说自达芬奇在世时，Stefano Ricci就在佛罗伦萨投入运营。如果真是这样的话，那也是他为数不多的几项具有实际应用价值的发明之一。