The New York Philharmonic’s “Kapellmeister,” Kurt Masur, has died.
I attended one of his concerts in Philadelphia, back in 1990, in which he presented Strauss’ “Death and Transfiguration” on the same program with Brahms’ “A German Requiem.” I still remember it, so it must have been pretty good. With Masur you could always count on solid performances, though you were pretty much guaranteed he wasn’t going to do anything to scare the horses.
His reputation rests comfortably in the thick of the bratwurst and sauerkraut repertoire. I am thankful that he kept enough breadcrumbs in his pocket that he was able to stray a little off the beaten path every once in a while in order to give us recordings like those of the Bruch violin concertos, with Salvatore Accardo (ranging beyond the familiar Concerto No. 1 and the “Scottish Fantasy”), and the complete symphonies, with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
He also gave many world premieres of contemporary music in New York, something for which he is not often credited. Still, Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn were always in his strike zone.
R.I.P. Kurt Masur.
His obituary in the New York Times:
An interview he gave with Bruce Duffie:
http://www.bruceduffie.com/masur.html
Interestingly, he advises audiences to be open to new experiences.
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