This May, Maestro Ken-David Masur leads the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (his debut with that organization) in works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn at Symphony Center on May 8. In June he oversees the Chelsea Music Festival, of which he is music director, alongside his wife, Melinda Lee Masur. July and August finds him at Tanglewood, leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra on July 23 and the Boston University of Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Orchestra on August 12. On September 5 he returns to the Hollywood Bowl, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic and pianist Inon Barnatan in an LA Phil commission, a new piano concerto from Alan Fletcher. Also on the program are Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”.
After leading orchestras in Germany, Korea, and Russia, and in North America with the New England Conservatory of Music and the Boston University Symphony, 2017 began with Masur leading a subscription week with the Boston Symphony Orchestra featuring concertos by Vivaldi, Krommer, Jolivet, Rota, and Schumann, followed by a night leading the Orchestre National de France with Anne-Sophie Mutter in an homage to his late father. Ken just led the Omaha Symphony this month in a program of Strauss, Mozart, and Mendelssohn.
“Masur was charming as a conductor. His natural enthusiasm came across as expressive and familiar. His skill and connection with the orchestra were evident.” – Omaha World Herald, April 8, 2017