Kurt Masur

Citing health reasons, conductor Kurt Masur has canceled his appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in three performances of Beethoven's monumental "Missa Solemnis," starting tonight. Details about the maestro's condition were not available. Masur will be replaced in all of the Boston concerts by TFC conductor John Oliver. Masur has also withdrawn from the BSO's Carnegie Hall performance of the work scheduled for March 6. His replacement for the New York Concert has not yet been announced.

Citing health reasons, conductor Kurt Masur has canceled his appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in three performances of Beethoven's monumental "Missa Solemnis," starting tonight. Details about the maestro's condition were not available. Masur will be replaced in all of the Boston concerts by TFC conductor John Oliver. Masur has also withdrawn from the BSO's Carnegie Hall performance of the work scheduled for March 6. His replacement for the New York Concert has not yet been announced.

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Kurt Masur, conductor At: Symphony Hall, Thursday night (repeats tonight) Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. It's hard to get lucky when playing the last-minute artist replacement game, as Boston Symphony Orchestra audiences know all too well, but that's exactly what happened Thursday night in Symphony Hall. The dependably fine pianist Yefim Bronfman, a frequent visitor at the BSO, had been the scheduled soloist before a fractured finger forced his withdrawal.

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Kurt Masur, conductor At: Symphony Hall, Thursday night (repeats tonight) Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. It's hard to get lucky when playing the last-minute artist replacement game, as Boston Symphony Orchestra audiences know all too well, but that's exactly what happened Thursday night in Symphony Hall. The dependably fine pianist Yefim Bronfman, a frequent visitor at the BSO, had been the scheduled soloist before a fractured finger forced his withdrawal.

The London Philharmonic arrived at Symphony Hall Friday night without its principal conductor, Kurt Masur, who is ill. Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier took over the East Coast segment of the US tour and conducted in Symphony Hall. The program remained as Masur planned and served to introduce the spectacular young violinist Sergey Khachatryan (born 1985), who played the daylights out of the concerto Aram Khachaturian composed in 1940. Colorful, tuneful, and exciting as it is, the piece goes on for 40 minutes, longer than the material can sustain interest, but it does offer a total aerobic workout...

Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine, interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS earlier this week, admitted there are some composers whose music he feels no need to conduct. Pressed for details, he said he loves to listen to Bruckner and Shostakovich, but can't find a meaningful way to conduct their music himself. Paradoxically last night's BSO concert brought a Shostakovich/Bruckner program, done on a very high level by guest conductor Kurt Masur. It is good that Levine, like his predecessor Seiji Ozawa, wants to make sure that works he wouldn't necessarily want to...

Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine, interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS earlier this week, admitted there are some composers whose music he feels no need to conduct. Pressed for details, he said he loves to listen to Bruckner and Shostakovich but can't find a meaningful way to conduct their music himself. Paradoxically, Thursday night's BSO concert brought a Shostakovich/Bruckner program, done on a very high level by guest conductor Kurt Masur.

Whether you were ready or not, the BSO is suddenly awash in Schumann. To mark the composer’s bicentenary, the orchestra is slipping in a full survey of his four symphonies over three programs, all taking place before the year is out. The veteran maestro Kurt Masur is on podium this week to do a generous share of the heavy lifting, leading the BSO in the First and Fourth Symphonies. These works, especially the First, are spotted less frequently than you might think. But the truly unusual performance last night came from the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, who made a rare local...

So what are your plans for Mendelssohn's 200th birthday? The big day is not until Feb. 3, but the Boston Symphony Orchestra is already celebrating with an all-Mendelssohn program this week in Symphony Hall. Next season the BSO will perform the composer's remarkable oratorio "Elijah," but for now it's a bread-and-butter program of the Third and Fourth Symphonies along with the "Hebrides Overture. " On the podium this week is the German maestro Kurt Masur, who is not a bad guy to have around for a Mendelssohn birthday party.

After 60 professional years, most of Kurt Masur's resume has collected honorifics. Conductor laureate of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and music director emeritus of the New York Philharmonic, Masur will add another in the fall: honorary music director for life of the Orchestre National de France - but not before one last tour as music director proper, which brought orchestra and conductor to Symphony Hall on Sunday afternoon. The program contrasted youth and maturity - the former courtesy of Beethoven's Piano Concerto in B-flat, published as No. 2 but written...

Whether you were ready or not, the BSO is suddenly awash in Schumann. To mark the composer’s bicentenary, the orchestra is slipping in a full survey of his four symphonies over three programs, all taking place before the year is out. The veteran maestro Kurt Masur is on podium this week to do a generous share of the heavy lifting, leading the BSO in the First and Fourth Symphonies. These works, especially the First, are spotted less frequently than you might think. But the truly unusual performance last night came from the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, who made a rare local appearance as...

LENOX - The Boston Symphony Orchestra concluded its summer season at Tanglewood on Sunday afternoon with a rousing performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony led by Michael Tilson Thomas. Even the weather cooperated with the rain holding off and the skies brightening for a couple of hours. Maybe Schiller’s “Daughter of Elysium’’ pulled a few strings. The previous evening, Kurt Masur had lead the penultimate BSO concert, an all-Mendelssohn affair drawn mostly from the program he led last season in Symphony Hall.

So what are your plans for Mendelssohn's 200th birthday? The big day is not until Feb. 3, but the Boston Symphony Orchestra is already celebrating with an all-Mendelssohn program this week in Symphony Hall. Next season the BSO will perform the composer's remarkable oratorio "Elijah," but for now it's a bread-and-butter program of the Third and Fourth Symphonies along with the "Hebrides Overture. " On the podium this week is the German maestro Kurt Masur, who is not a bad guy to have around for a Mendelssohn birthday party.

After 60 professional years, most of Kurt Masur's resume has collected honorifics. Conductor laureate of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and music director emeritus of the New York Philharmonic, Masur will add another in the fall: honorary music director for life of the Orchestre National de France - but not before one last tour as music director proper, which brought orchestra and conductor to Symphony Hall on Sunday afternoon. The program contrasted youth and maturity - the former courtesy of Beethoven's Piano Concerto in B-flat, published as No. 2 but written...

The London Philharmonic arrived at Symphony Hall Friday night without its principal conductor, Kurt Masur, who is ill. Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier took over the East Coast segment of the US tour and conducted in Symphony Hall. The program remained as Masur planned and served to introduce the spectacular young violinist Sergey Khachatryan (born 1985), who played the daylights out of the concerto Aram Khachaturian composed in 1940. Colorful, tuneful, and exciting as it is, the piece goes on for 40 minutes, longer than the material can sustain interest, but...

Some of the music of Chinese composer Tan Dun stands balanced on a knife edge between a brilliant synthesis of East and West and meretricious acts of cultural opportunism. It is possible to feel both aspects during his "Water Concerto," but guest conductor Kurt Masur evidently believes in Tan's music. When he was still music director of the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra commissioned the concerto, and Masur led the premiere back in 1999. This week he brought it to Boston, which first heard the work last May in a performance by the Boston Modern Orchestra...

Some of the music of Chinese composer Tan Dun stands balanced on a knife edge between a brilliant synthesis of East and West and meretricious acts of cultural opportunism. It is possible to feel both aspects during his "Water Concerto," but guest conductor Kurt Masur evidently believes in Tan's music. When he was still music director of the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra commissioned the concerto, and Masur led the premiere back in 1999. This week he brought it to Boston, which first heard the work last May in a performance by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Kurt Masur made a tumultuous exit from the New York Philharmonic in 2002 after some well-publicized friction with the Philharmonic's board. Anyone who thought that would signal his withdrawal from the music scene was mistaken: The 77-year-old German maestro now directs both the Orchestre National de France and the London Philharmonic, has a slew of guest conducting engagements (he conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in April), and generally seems busier than ever. On Sunday, Masur and the French orchestra made their first visit to Boston, showing off an artistic...

Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine, interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS earlier this week, admitted there are some composers whose music he feels no need to conduct. Pressed for details, he said he loves to listen to Bruckner and Shostakovich but can't find a meaningful way to conduct their music himself. Paradoxically, Thursday night's BSO concert brought a Shostakovich/Bruckner program, done on a very high level by guest conductor Kurt Masur.

Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine, interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS earlier this week, admitted there are some composers whose music he feels no need to conduct. Pressed for details, he said he loves to listen to Bruckner and Shostakovich, but can't find a meaningful way to conduct their music himself. Paradoxically last night's BSO concert brought a Shostakovich/Bruckner program, done on a very high level by guest conductor Kurt Masur. It is good that Levine, like his predecessor Seiji Ozawa, wants to make sure that works he wouldn't necessarily want to lead himself are...