...the orchestra's new assistant conductor Ken-David Masur introduced himself in a fearless account of Hérold's Overture to "Zampa." He commanded the orchestra's full attention and even brought his own touches to the piece. He exaggerated the work's contrasts and took the restrained middle section so slow that it was all principal clarinetist Sheryl Renk could do to hold the solo clarinet line together (which she did in highly expressive fashion).
The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 2011
How often do you encounter a program of chamber music named for Mahler? Only one Mahler chamber work has survived in the literature; or rather, part of a work. What we call the Piano Quartet in A minor — written around 1876, when Mahler was 16 — was intended as the first movement of a larger piece, otherwise represented by only 24 bars of a scherzo. But there it was on Wednesday, "Mahler and Radical Departures," at the Leo Baeck Institute near Union Square, the second evening in a little gem of a series in its second year, the Chelsea Music Festival. MORE...
The New York Times, June 2011
Die Dresdner Philharmonie kehrt mit einem Konzert im Großen Saal des sanierten Deutschen Hygiene-Museums am am 19. Oktober an ihre frühere Spielstätte zurück. Von 1946 bis 1969 war das Museum Domizil der Philharmoniker, die beim Bombenangriff auf Dresden im Februar 1945 ihren Saal im Gewerbehaus verloren hatten. Nach Angaben des Orchesters vom Donnerstag erklingt beim Da capo nun Mahlers „Lied von der Erde“ in einer Version für Kammerorchester. Mit Ken-David Masur steht ein Sohn des Dirigenten Kurt Masur am Pult. Der hatte 1969 das letzte Philharmonie-Konzert im Hygiene-Museum geleitet. Danach zogen die Musiker in den neuen Kulturpalast um.
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten, October 2010
German TV Channel 2 visits with Ken-David Masur and his father, Kurt Masur, as they conduct a joint concert in Rio de Janeiro. View the video here.
Ein Blick zurück und einer nach vorn: Am 15. Juni 1969 dirigierte der damalige Chefdirigent Kurt Masur die Dresdner Philharmonie zum letzten Mal im Kongress-Saal des Deutschen Hygiene-Museums. Auf dem Programm stand "Das Lied von der Erde" von Gustav Mahler. Seitdem musiziert das Orchester im Kulturpalast und hofft dort auf bessere Akustik nach einem Umbau. Der Traum vom neuen Konzerthaus, in dem einmal alle Dresdner Orchester perfekt klingen könnten, scheint ausgeträumt. Statt dessen soll nun auch noch das Albertinum bespielt werden, in dessen neu geschaffenem Lichthof gastieren das Singapore Symphony Orchestra (20.10.2010) und das Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (5.6.2011), letzteres ausgerechnet mit der Orgel-Sinfonie von Camille Saint-Saëns. Akustiker werden gewiss ihre Freude dran haben. Oder sie lassen sich überraschen.
Überrascht wurde das Publikum nun nämlich auch mit der Wiedereinweihung der Spielstätte im Hygiene-Museum. Der 50er-Jahre-Saal wurde komplett entkernt, Architekt Peter Kulka hat eine Art Aquarium in Rot geschaffen. Eröffnet wurde der Saal, fortan der Ort für die Reihe "Philharmonie im Museum" im Beisein des Ehrendirigenten Kurt Masur. Dirigiert aber hat dessen Sohn Ken-David Masur, der Chefdirigent beim San Antonio Symphonieorchester in Texas ist. Auf dem Programm stand – Überraschung?! – "Das Lied von der Erde" von Gustav Mahler. Diesmal freilich in der erst 2006 vollendeten Kammerorchesterfassung von Glen Cortese. Die volle Originalbesetzung hätte hier keinen Platz gefunden.
Um das Monumentalwerk luzider zu machen, hatte sich bereits Arnold Schönberg an eine Version für kleine Besetzung gewagt. Aber die musste Fragment bleiben. Die nun gehörte Fassung des Amerikaners Cortese legte so manch Feinheit frei, die bei großem Orchester oft übertönt, übertüncht wird. Sie verlangt freilich nach schier solistischem Feingefühl aller Instrumentalisten – und sie gibt endlich auch den beiden Gesangssolisten mehr Freiheit, sich zu entfalten und bestens textverständlich aufzutreten. Mit der Mezzosopranistin Alexandra Petersamer und dem Tenor Stephan Rügamer war eine gute Wahl getroffen, denn beide fügten sich ins Konstrukt und gestalteten ihre Parts doch mit einer Entfaltung, die nie überflügelte.
Ken-David Masur führte Orchester und Solisten mit einem hervorragenden Gespür für die Binnendramatik durch das Werk, an dem das heftig applaudierende Publikum offenbar seine Freude hatte. Bei so manchem Gast im Saal schwang gewiss ein Pathos der Erinnerung an frühere Konzerte mit. Die dürften sicherlich frei von störendem Klimaanlagengeräusch über die Bühne gegangen sein – der Wohlstand hat eben auch seine Tücken.
Michael Ernst, Musik in Dresden, October 2010
A young conductor blooms
It would seem that Ken-David Masur, now in his fourth season as resident conductor of the San Antonio Symphony, crossed a line sometime this year -- the line between skill and talent.
On Oct. 22 in the Majestic Theater, Masur led the orchestra in a program of Italian works from three centuries. The main event was Gioacchino Rossini's setting of the Stabat Mater, with the Mastersingers chorus and a quite good quartet of vocal soloists. The orchestra opened with Antonio Vivaldi's terse but perfectly formed Concerto “Alla Rustica” for strings and continuo. The centerpiece (garish or colorful, depending on one's taste) was Ottorino Respighi's “The Pines of Rome.”
In his previous outing on the classical subscription series, last February, Masur did a fine job in three full-bore Romantic works. He conducted with "crisp diction, fleet tempos, a wide dynamic range and quite a good sense of line," I wrote of that concert.
The same qualities were in evidence again eight months on, but this time they melded into organic interpretations that were more than the sum of their skills. It was as though Masur had grown confident enough in his abilities, and comfortable enough with his orchestra, to let technique be a given. He was making music, and making it from a distinctive point of view -- fluid, sensuous, energetic, emphatic.
Sense of line has been one of Masur's consistent strengths, but in this concert -- particularly in Vivaldi and Rossini -- the lines were woven into long, coherent paragraphs. Tempi and dynamics were beautifully (not excessively) shaped to support the line. It all seemed to unfold naturally. There were a couple of momentary ensemble mishaps, but on the whole the performances were taut and precise.
In the Stabat Mater, the Mastersingers chorus was generally on firm ground, though in unaccompanied movements some slight pitch problems emerged. The powerhouse soprano Heidi Melton and the bright-edged bass of Kevin Maynor made a particularly good impression. Tenor Rusell Thomas was a little underpowered but very attractive. Mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore conveyed an excellent sense of the text, though she was vocally patchy at times. But she started with a competitive disadvantage: Florence Quivar's glorious singing in the 1984 San Antonio Festival performance of the Rossini Stabat Mater is still resonating in my ears.
"The Pines of Rome" is a showpiece of orchestration -- and I can't hear it without thinking of its compatriot and coincident showpiece of political orchestration, the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Unfair? Maybe. But that manipulative, grandiose, triumphal finale....
At any rate, the piece was dazzlingly played, with terrific solo work from (among others) principal clarinet Ilya Shterenberg, principal English horn Stephanie Shapiro and principal trumpet John Carroll. The whole brass section, with extra brass deployed at opposite ends of the mezzanine, made a splendid (and very loud) sound in the finale. Alas, the recorded nightingale call in the third movement sounded at times like Daffy Duck.
Mike Greenberg, Incident Light, October 2010
For Ken-David Masur, the new resident conductor of the San Antonio Symphony, the position is all about passion.
"It's about making a connection with people, to raise awareness and passion about music," he says. "Music has no meaning if it doesn't have a connection with people on a personal level. And there's no better way to do that - to make that connection - than as a resident conductor, where you have the contact with the people and with the music."
He'll start making that con-nection at the "A World of Music" interactive family concert Sunday, where he'll introduce kids to the inner-workings of the symphony and lead a program of internationally inspired works.
Activities begin at 1:30 p.m., and the concert starts at 2:30 p.m. at Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for children 10 and younger at all Ticketmaster outlets. Call (210) 224-9600 for information.
"The idea is that we chose to do pieces that are ... from different countries, and try to elaborate on the world of music. Musicians all over the world use music to express their cultural background, to express different emotions and different occasions with different types of music. We have music all over and everywhere."
The performance will feature movements from Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony and Elgar's Enigma Variations, as well as selections from Prokofiev, Lecuona, Mozart and Dvorak.
Before the show, Masur will work with kids in an interactive setting at the "instrument petting zoo," where folks can touch and hear the instruments up close, as well as have the opportunity to build their own instruments and perhaps even conduct the orchestra. The goal? To give families a "hands-on, fun but educational" evening with the orchestra so that "they can breathe, smell, touch and hear it' all. They can use as many senses as possible to be encouraged. to be curious, to let kids just explore their emotions and the world."
Masur's own exposure to music began young. His mother was a successful vocalist; his father, a noted conductor. Masur began playing the piano at 6 and singing in the Gewandhaus Children's Choir at the age of 9.
"I always had music with me," he says. "The vocal music and symphonic music was a strong influence when I was a little child."
As a teenager, he played trumpet and composed rock music. For a time, he consid-ered becoming a biologist. But sometime late in high school, he says, he recognized that he "didn't want to live without music." He went on to earn his degree in music from Columbia University and studied voice as a master student of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.
Professionally, Masur has gone on to make his name as a recitalist and conductor, performing and directing around the world. In his San Antonio post, Masur will conduct more than 30 shows, including community concerts, Young People's Concerts and Interactive Family Classics concerts. He succeeds David In-Jae Cho, who accepted a post as the assistant conductor of the Utah Symphony and Opera in Salt Lake City.
While still settling in. Masur is excited to learn more about his role each day. "To be the resident conductor of such a wonderful, wonderful ensemble that can play so many different styles ... it's exciting. I'm really looking forward to conducting the orchestra and making music with these musicians," he says.
Jennifer Rome Laster, San Antonio Express-News, 2007
The circumstances of Ken-David Masur's rookie outing as the San Antonio Symphony's new resident conductor didn't allow a full measure-taking, but the eyeball impression was mostly favorable.
On Sunday afternoon, Masur conducted the season's first Interactive Classics concert in Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium.
This series is designed for young children and their parents, who filled only a few hundred of Laurie's 2,479 seats. But there was plenty of activity in the lobby before the concert as children got to know some of the symphony musicians and play their instruments.
Masur was there, too, leading a conducting class for a dozen or so ankle- biters. In this close-up context he was personable and enthusiastic, and he either genuinely likes kids or is a superb actor.
With limited rehearsal time, the absence of most principals and the acoustical desert of Laurie's vast fan-shaped hall, one can't expect top-drawer music-making at the Interactives.
But Masur impressed with an uncommonly spirited, rhythmically alive account of the first movement from Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony and an incisive, nicely shaped reading of Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No. 8.
Masur got crisp ensemble from the orchestra in both those pieces - no small achievement in Laurie - though the rest of the music wanted more rehearsal.
Mozart's Fugue in C Minor didn't hold together or flow well. But Masur brought a nice sense of line to Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony and musicality to the finale of Elgar's "Enigma" Variations.
Conducting with his whole body, Masur was communicative and fun to watch.
Though he was born and reared in Germany, the son of the eminent conductor Kurt Masur, Ken-David Masur speaks clear, precise, unaccented English.
His pacing of the explanatory talk between musical works was slow, causing symphony general manager David Filner to repeatedly look at his watch and frantically signal the conductor to speed it up as the projected 65-minute concert stretched to more than 80 minutes.
But there were few defections, and squirming appeared to be minimal, so Masur must have been doing something right.
Mike Greenberg, San Antonio Express-News, 2007
Given that Halloween is just around the corner, this may be the perfect time of the year for "Oz With Orchestra."
That's how Ken-David Masur sees it. Masur, the San Antonio Symphony's new resident conductor, will be conducting the Pops program this weekend. The musicians will play the score to "The Wizard of Os" while the 1939 movie plays on a big screen overhead.
Masur still remembers being frightened by the film when he saw it as a child in East Germany, and no wonder. He didn't speak any English, and was watching it undubbed. Those flying monkeys and their green-skinned employer are pretty scary even when you understand the language.
"It was something I was really scared of," he said, noting that Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West was one reason he was so troubled by the film. "It's amazing how she created a character that makes us shiver so much. She's one of the main reasons why people who are in the mood for Halloween should come see it."
Working on the program has given him a deeper appreciation for the complexities of the film score.
"I saw in the score, for the first time, every time a certain character appears, he has his theme. 'If I Only Had a Brain' appears hundreds of times in different variations, and 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' appears many times in different variations in connection with Dorothy"
Hearing the orchestra play the score live should give audiences a stronger sense of the music, too, he said, and just how much there is. He estimates that at least 90 percent of the action on the screen is scored.
"This is not just a soundtrack; it's definitely a symphonic experience," he said.
Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News, 2007
Fans of symphonic music in San Antonio had at least two things to enjoy at Friday night's performance of "Oz with Orchestra," a screening of the classic Judy Garland film with the San Antonio Symphony providing a live soundtrack.
One: The orchestra, which was crisp, clean and precise.
Two: The audience, which comprised all ages, including at least two pigtailed little girls decked out as Dorothy in blue-checked gingham.
The house wasn't packed Friday night, but there was a healthy buzz and quite a few young children - a good thing for the San Antonio Symphony and the audience at large, which had a chance to rediscover the joys of the legendary 1939 musical "The Wizard of Oz."
Friday night's performance showcased an orchestra that was deft and able under director Ken-David Masur's skillful handling. But the joy of a production like this is as much in the movie as in the music. There is a thrill to seeing the beloved story of farm girl Dorothy Gale's trip through the merry old land of Oz play out on the big screen, not to mention the fun of enjoying the adventure with a crowd. Dorothy's quest to save Toto is more poignant, the Cowardly Lion's posturing is more humorous, and the Wicked Witch of the West is all the more deliciously wicked when the crowd sniffles, laughs or cringes as one.
That said, the live music certainly amped up both the foreboding and the fun, putting the crowd in the mood to shy away from the Wicked Witch or laugh at the bumbling Scarecrow.
The symphony players rendered a seamless incorporation of orchestral passages, passing in and out of the on-screen action smoothly. The sound wasn't noticeably impassioned, but it was a perfectly pleasant accompaniment to an old-fashioned night at the movies.
There were a handful of times when folks in the mezzanine couldn't hear the movie's lines over a too-enthusiastic orchestra. But for most of the evening, which clocked in at just over two hours, the symphony made Dorothy's Technicolor wanderings that much more magical. The orchestra brought refreshing sprightliness to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," lyrical poignancy to "If I Only Had A Brain" and a kick-up-your-heels bombast to "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead," all giving folks one more reason to rediscover a classic.
Jennifer Rome Laster, San Antonio Express-News, 2007
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