Ken-David Masur – Press

“What I noticed most in this performance was Masur’s attention to the chorales. His interpretation involved a lot of massaging of tempos to emphasize certain text. The results were striking, and the message did indeed come through. Masur clearly has a passion for both the music of Bach (he developed a two-part Bach Festival at the MSO this year) and the spiritual considerations of this piece. Before an audience singalong of two chorales at the end of the concert, he spoke on how the chorales represent the common people, allowing anyone to find a way into the music and subsequently the message.”

“[Mahler’s style] was buttressed by Masur’s stylish reading, devoide of romantic indulgence and full of dance-like buoyancy.”

“Ken-David is so expressive, he always has the emotional component that he wants the chorus to understand.”

“Maestro Masur and the orchestra turned this movement into something epic, from a nicely played trumpet solo to the chamber-music textures near the end.”

“Conductor Ken-David Masur shaped this material well…It was a strong season opener, offering virtuosic star power and an orchestra that could handle a piece as ambitious as the Strauss.”

“Masur and the players gave a polished, rousing, utterly engaging performance.”

“Ken-David Masur milked every ounce of romantic grandeur from the sweeping string lines and signaled each assertive articulation from the brass.”

“Masur, Weiss and the orchestra played with precision, control and wonderful musical abandon, picking up energy and speed, swirling to breathless, thrilling conclusion.”

“… Masur and the orchestra brought down the house with it, winning a long, cheering, shouting ovation… They created brilliantly executed contrasts from pristine, delicate passages to big, bold, full-orchestra lines, wonderfully full, rich sounds from the low strings and some thrilling brass playing.”

“With careful eye to detail, Masur navigated the wide divergences between the lyrical and the energetic — between song and dance — in Berlioz’s score.”

“…the tactic of lean and long-limbed Ken-David Masur superseded older models by way of sprawling arms in rehearsed athleticism supplanting wanted poetic imagination á la Berlioz.”

“Ken-David Masur was one with the podium and could do no wrong. He blew the doors off Vets Auditorium with a blazing account of Berlioz’s game-changing “Symphonie fantastique,” the best showing by the orchestra all season, with a smoking brass section that would not quit.”

“Thank you, Maestro Masur, for your introduction to a tantalizing piece and bringing your talents to our Louisville Orchestra podium. I hope that this will not be your only visit to our lovely and talented Possibility City.”

“Broad sweeping gestures and an expressive baton articulated by all the joints in his right arm drew a kaleidoscope of dramatically appropriate sound, rhythm and color, giving so much voice to the ballet that it took on the quality of an opera without words… …Masur has the knack for building and sustaining drama and tension within each piece in a program, creating a sense of inevitability through to the end. It would be a treat to hear him bring that skill to bear on an opera sometime.”

“Masur and the BSO fully embodied the tension, scampering, scarpering, playful fast passagework, and luxuriating unbridled passion; we are the richer for the experience.”

“…Masur led the orchestra through a neat mix of excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet “Romeo and Juliet.” Each was given a transparent, eloquent reading…”

“Under Masur, the music emerged with refined subtleties with only rare and selective moments of heat. What seemed to be a bond of trust between musicians and conductor, and vice versa, created especially sensitive playing.”

“Masur and the orchestra filled the program’s second half with a beautifully rendered performance of Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, using perfectly placed tempos shifts, artfully layered textures, and meaningful dynamic changes to bring a fresh energy to the four movements, along with musical urgency and momentum.”

“Masur… …steered the orchestra through a piquant journey through those magical, dreamlike passages…”

“Conducting with economy of gesture and without a baton, Masur nonetheless used his whole body as appropriate with impressive results.”

“…I can happily report that Masur and the orchestra raised their game in the Grieg by several notches…”

“He did not lack warmth, and he had excellent, focused control over the L.A. Phil.”

“The reading of Lutoslawski’s difficult and underperformed Concerto for Orchestra was especially notable, with Mr. Masur showing complete command and the students playing at a near-professional level.”

“In the concerto and two nonstandard orchestral works, BSO assistant conductor Ken-David Masur took charge on the podium. Literally. With gestures that were both commanding and expressive, he had a reduced BSO playing with taut ensemble and vivid excitement.”

“Masur was charming as a conductor. His natural enthusiasm came across as expressive and familiar. His skill and connection with the orchestra were evident. Before the break he made sure to note that ‘(Omaha is) very fortunate to have such an orchestra!’”

“The Boston University Symphony gave a brilliant reading of Hindemith’s work. The principals had plenty of bright solo work, but the ensemble was expertly coordinated and balanced. Masur commanded them all with complete confidence and reassurance.”

“Conducting without a baton, Masur used a score but hardly looked at it. He showed an impressive structural grasp both in his warm and perfectly paced Andante and in his supple shaping of the score’s wraith-like transition from the Scherzo into the bracing Allegro finale. Masur also highlighted the riveting virtuosity of the Phil’s cellos and brasses in the Scherzo’s trio section.”

“If a conductor doesn’t share Tchaikovsky’s penchant for the shamelessly bombastic, then a “classier” or more reserved composer might be a better choice. But Masur is fearless of Tchaikovsky’s over-the-top grandiloquence, and he knows how to pull out the stops and damn the torpedoes at appropriate times.

Don’t all conductors do this when the score calls for it?

It may appear that they do. But under Masur’s direction on Saturday, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 crackled with such vitality and force that past performances of the work now seem pale and tentative by comparison. The crowd was ready to explode long before the piece ended. And when it did, they stood and roared.”

“My mindset is a great level of curiosity and anticipation. I look forward to knowing the city and its people, and finding where our music and art form will hit a nerve. I’m always inviting people I’ve met, from around the world, to come and see.”

“I want to tell audiences that we are in this together — exploring something new. We are starting this journey together.”

Enjoy this clip of Ken-David Masur leading the BSO in Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” from last night.

“I loved music, but I thought maybe that wasn’t for me,” he said. “So I set out going to Columbia University and searching for subjects that I related to, that were maybe more interesting than music.” He followed those last words with a laugh, knowing how his life has turned out.