December 1, 2006
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The Post's Daniel Ginsberg was at the Kennedy Center last night, where the NSO's principal guest conductor, the Hungarian Ivan Fischer, led the orchestra in a performance of "unflagging vigor and uncharacteristic clarity," he writes.  "Detail and precision sometimes have been missing from the orchestra's concerts in recent years," says Ginsberg, "but last night there was none of that wayward vagueness...."  read the review>>

 
Leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday night, Kurt Masur gave an "engagingly straightforward, extroverted account" of the Brahms Second Symphony, writes The Post's Joe Banno.  (Too bad the same piece is also being played this week by the NSO!)  But soloist Sarah Chang had less luck with the Sibelius Violin Concerto, says Banno.  "Her excitable, Gypsy-tinged phrasing and insistent vibrato were at odds with the crystalline Nordic cast of this score." read the review >>