Urt Masur

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…

"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)

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral"
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig / Rundfunkchor Leipzig / Gewandhaus-Kinderchor / Kurt Masur
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 279 MB | Full Artwork: 127 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Philips 432 995-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1993
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Orchestral

Kurt Masur (born 18 July 1927) is a retired German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music. Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany (now Brzeg in Poland) and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. (…) 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…

German maestro Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra have recorded the complete Beethoven Symphonies for Philips twice. The first traversal was made in the 1970's. That cycle also included some of the overtures, and became legendary from the day it was issued. I well remember how sad and dismayed many collectors were when Philips elected not to issue that set in the USA. It was only available in specialty stores in large cities for a premium price.

Judged on the musicality and style of the performance, Kurt Masur's live 1981 reading of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is comparable with many mainstream interpretations of its time, and may be regarded as a reasonable choice among the affordable CDs put out by Berlin Classics. Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra are certainly at home in this symphony, and the interpretation and the execution are well-matched. For historical value, this recording is significant for marking the opening of the new Gewandhaus hall, which Masur was instrumental in planning since he began his tenure in 1970.

New from the London Philharmonic’s own label is a previously unreleased recording by their former Principal Conductor Kurt Masur. And artist who NPR described as the “conductor who rebuilt the New York Philharmonic”. Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky cantata features music originally composed for the 1938 film by pioneering Russian director Sergei Eisenstein. It’s a rare example of film music that has found a regular place in the standard classical repertoire.