The Next Festival of Emerging Artists also has its eyes on the future. An annual event founded by composer-conductor Peter Askim in 2013, it brings together young like-minded string players and cutting-edge composers for a week of intensive preparation followed by a pair of performances.
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.
