Kurt Masur Makes His Welcome Debut at Benaroya Hall

By R.M. Campbell

Even though the Seattle Symphony Orchestra is in another uneasy period with troubled labor negotiations, the imminent departure of its chief executive and a long-standing deficit, it made splendid music to open the New Year Thursday night at Benaroya Hall.

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The galvanizing force was Kurt Masur in his local debut. While the German conductor is in his early 80’s and suffers from Parkinson’s, he was a dynamic force on the podium, revealing his utter command over Mozart and Bruckner. SSO musicians responded with vigor and insight. The entire concert was a revelation and, for once, the cheers and standing ovation were justified.

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Mozart’s G Minor Symphony, No. 40, opened the concert. Within the first few bars, Masur established his authority over the music. Instead of the customary loud declamations, Masur and the SSO produced something softer, yet firm, with more legato and ample room to develop. Already this ubiquitous symphony was sounding fresh and evocative. That was only the beginning. Throughout the four movements, Masur demonstrated not only his grasp of Mozart but his insight and individuality of approach. He could run fast but not pell-mell. Crispness was always maintained as well as textural clarity. There was the extraordinary sense of the unexpected although every note is implanted in the ears of many concertgoers. Wondrous details were everywhere, in voicing and balance and ensemble. Masur provided a compelling performance based not on a series of fortes but from elegance and beautiful proportions. Growth was inevitably organic and dynamic contrasts vivid but not exaggerated.

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony followed. It was a performance of the utmost lyricism and warmth. Again, nothing slam-bang and loud for its own sake. One limpid phrase led to another with seemingly no effort. As with the Mozart, everything fell into place naturally. Masur produced sonorities uncharacteristically resonant. For this series of concerts, which concludes Saturday night, the conductor rearranged the strings. The second violins and cellos changed places, and the double basses were moved from stage right to stage left. Often the symphony is admired more for individuals bits than the whole work. With Masur the famous moments were all one could hope for, but no more than the context from which they came. For all of its separate and distinct parts, the symphony seemed one with Masur. There were moments of great beauty which were suitably moving. Other sections were dramatic or mysterious or haunting. Masur, along with Bruckner and the able SSO musicians, provided a constantly changing landscape with multiple colors. I will long remember this concert.

Everyone played well, but principal French horn John Cerminaro’s solos throughout the work were glorious. His associates in the section did their work admirably. It was a night for the horns, but also all the brass. Those low timpani rolls by Michael Crusoe were magnificent in their subtlety and perfect placement within the ensemble.

Masur conducted the Mozart from memory. As one knowledgeable patron said to me at intermission, “He probably could do the Mozart in his sleep.” But the Bruckner? He did that as well. No score. Remarkable.