Not everyone appreciates exuberant expressivity in classical music performances, but critics in the year of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday are finding it more difficult than ever to maintain even the appearance of reasoned thinking in their expressions of contempt.
When an all-Russian ensemble like Chamber Orchestra Kremlin performs Shostakovich, the listening experience is strangely gripping and uniquely satisfying. Why? Because the music is about them.
Under Ken-David Masur’s direction on Saturday, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 crackled with such vitality and force that past performances of the work now seem pale and tentative by comparison.
Soyeon Kate Lee’s delivery of Scriabin’s Op. 28 is so manifestly heartfelt that it would be difficult to say whether she owns the piece or is possessed by it.
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