Mendelssohn Kurt Masur

"Kurt Masur has made some excellent recordings of Liszt's orchestral works where the music has been nobly served by his balanced approach. His performances have been characterized by an underlying warmth and romance, and he has shown real passion where it is appropriate, of a kind where there is no spilling over into the rhetorical posturing which can sometimes bedevil performances of this composer's music. Those admirable qualities are again apparent in this latest record." (Gramophone)

Tomoko Sakurai & Kurt Masur - Tomoko Sakurai & Kurt Masur
Orchester der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 263 MB | Full Artwork: 57 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Unisono # G 89718 | Country/Year: Germany 1993
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Romantic, Early 20th Century, Contemporary

Kurt Masur is a retired German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music. (…) He and his third wife, Tomoko Sakurai, have a son, Ken-David, a classical singer and conductor. Masur conducted the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra for three years ending in 1958 and again from 1967 to 1972. He also worked with the Komische Oper of East Berlin. In 1970, he became Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, serving in that post until 1996…

Mendelssohn's Elijah is a work that definitely stands among the ranks of phenomenal oratorios. This is a tremendous performance where the chorus and conductor seem to have achieved an ideal rapport with the Israel Philharmonic. This recording presents a wonderfully fresh, dramatic exposition of an old favorite that makes it sound new-minted. It's lithe, lean and classically mean. It propels itself along at quite a lick - sometimes considerably faster than Mendelssohn's often surprisingly slow metronome marks. Pauses between movements are kept to a bare minimum, so that the momentum is not lost…Masur's generally speedy traversal is however not an unmixed blessing.

Kurt Masur led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in two recordings of the complete symphonies of Felix Mendelssohn - the first for Eurodisc in the early '70s when he was a beardless young man and the second for Teldec in the late '80s and early '90s when he was a fully bearded mature man. Although the first set was only intermittently available outside of Europe, it was considered at the time one of the great Mendelssohn cycles: brilliantly colorful, ardently lyrical, powerfully dramatic, and completely controlled.

Kurt Masur’s achievement is defined above all by his relationships with two orchestras exemplifying vastly different traditions. Having spent some 20 years as Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, which traces its roots to the 15th century, he became the transformational music director of the New York Philharmonic, an embodiment of the New World. Through all this, his musical integrity remained consistent. As the New York Times wrote: “He brought to the podium the ardent conviction that music-making was a moral act that could heal the world.”

Kurt Masur’s achievement is defined above all by his relationships with two orchestras exemplifying vastly different traditions. Having spent some 20 years as Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, which traces its roots to the 15th century, he became the transformational music director of the New York Philharmonic, an embodiment of the New World. Through all this, his musical integrity remained consistent. As the New York Times wrote: “He brought to the podium the ardent conviction that music-making was a moral act that could heal the world.”

Mendelssohn - The 5 Symphonies & The 13 String Symphonies - Kurt Masur & Concerto Koln (2016) {6CD Set Warner Classics}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.80 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 908 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 100 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2016 Parlophone / Warner Classics | 0190295974909
Classical / Romantic / Symphony

In 1835 Felix Mendelssohn became music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in his native city of Leipzig. 135 years later, Kurt Masur became the orchestra’s Kapellmeister, remaining in the post for 26 years, so there is an indisputable seal of authenticity on these interpretations of the complete Mendelssohn Symphonies. Joining them in this collection, and making it unparalleled in its scope, are the complete early String Symphonies; they are performed on period instruments – and without a conductor – by Concerto Koln.