MUSICALAMERICA.COM
Festive Finale at the NY Phil
July 23, 2002
Nobody expected depth in Kurt Masur's final concert with the New York Philharmonic on Thursday, billed not only as a farewell but as a 75th birthday party, televised on Live from Lincoln Center. No matter. Avery Fisher Hall set the festive tone with colored banners festooning the stage, and that hostess non pareil, Beverly Sills, was onstage... MORE...

THE BOSTON GLOBE
Conductor Masur Goes Out In Style At Tanglewood
July 22, 2002
The New York Philharmonic was the first major orchestra to play in the Berkshires back in 1935, but after two seasons, it didn't return, opening the door to Serge Koussevitzky, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and history. In the years since, the Philharmonic has been an occasional visitor to Tanglewood, and it returned over the weekend for two concerts that marked the final appearances of Kurt Masur as music director. MORE...

THE NEW YORK SUN
Kurt Masur Says Goodbye
July 22, 2002
There was a lot packed into Thursday night's concert at Avery Fisher Hall: Kurt Masur's farewell to New York; his 75th birthday, and the end of the 25th season of "Live from Lincoln Center," on PBS. The hall was certainly decked out for the occasion... MORE...

NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Final Bow
July 22, 2002
Kurt Masur is a reflective guy. During his first days in New York after he left Leipzig to take the helm of the New York Philharmonic eleven years ago, he couldn't sleep, so he'd get up early and walk the streets, noticing that "everyone felt a little bit lonely, a little bit lost." MORE...

THE STAR-LEDGER
Masur's N.Y. Farewell
July 20, 2002
Farewells are typically filled with conflicting emotions: joy and anxiety for the new journey, sorrow in leaving, regrets over things left undone, satisfaction over things accomplished. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Pops Concert by Masur (and Why Not?)
July 20, 2002
Protracted farewells are traditionally the province of opera singers, but as he has geared up to leave the directorship of the New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur has become the Barry Bonds of goodbyes. After a string of farewells at the end of the season, a few weeks ago, Mr. Masur took the Philharmonic on a valedictory Asian tour, and on Thursday evening at Avery Fisher Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival gave Mr. Masur and his players an opportunity to celebrate Mr. Masur's 75th birthday, and to say goodbye again. MORE...

TIME OUT NEW YORK
Home Improvement
July 18, 2002
Kurt Masur exits the New York Philharmonic after restoring its sound and sprit. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Honored As Emeritus, Masur Is Speechless
June 3, 2002
Kurt Masur's English is not flawless. Still, the German maestro has never had trouble expressing himself eloquently when the occasion called for it. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Cordial Notes Resound, As Tough Downbeats Fade
June 1, 2002
Nothing sounds quite as happy as a happy ending. Certainly, the New York Philharmonic on Thursday night was not the orchestra it was a few years ago, when one heard it smarting weekly under the intense discipline of its now-departing music director, Kurt Masur. All that harsh, tight honesty seemed to melt away. Bartok's Divertimento for String Orchestra floated on air, ripe and relaxed. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Philharmonic's Masur Era Draws Near To Its Coda
May 30, 2002
Kurt Masur arrived at the New York Philharmonic in 1991 as an unapologetic conductor of the old school: authoritarian, exacting, caustic when dissatisfied and stinting with praise. The musicians were shaken by the German maestro's demanding ways. But before long they accepted Mr. Masur's tough love. MORE...

NEWSDAY
His Cathedral Swan Song: Maestro Bids Farewell
May 28, 2002
Thousands of classical music enthusiasts filled the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine last night to hear one of the final concerts conducted by Kurt Masur as musical director of the New York Philharmonic. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Showcase For Masur In Schnittke And Bruckner
May 25, 2002
Like the programs of most music directors, Kurt Masur's have been influenced by ticket sales, but Mr. Masur is making no compromises in his final weeks with the New York Philharmonic. MORE...

WASHINGTON POST
May 20, 2002
When conductor Kurt Masur took over the New York Philharmonic from Zubin Mehta 11 years ago, the orchestra had lost its edge and much of its lofty reputation. Rampant infighting and Mehta's inattention to detail -- the complex orchestral circuitry that must be constantly tuned and calibrated to something like perfection if it is to fire in unison -- had left the Philharmonic sounding like a hundred soloists routinely plying their trade. Masur's old-school discipline and scrupulous attention to ensemble work soon yielded finely graded articulation... MORE...

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
N.Y. Philharmonic Finds A Big Sound
May 20, 2002
Five major orchestras have now tested the acoustics of Verizon Hall. Among them, only the New York Philharmonic has been able to create a sense of orchestral bigness - the kind of high impact the city should expect after spending $275 million-plus on a new orchestra venue. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
With A Smile And A Wave To The Past
May 18, 2002
Kurt Masur's neatly orchestrated withdrawal from the New York Philharmonic took its historical turn on Thursday night. A music director in his waning moments was conducting the music of former music directors: before intermission, Leonard Bernstein's Serenade for Strings, Harp and Percussion; after intermission, the Mahler First Symphony. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Conductor Of Authority And Warmth
May 12, 2002
I cannot claim to have heard every one of Kurt Masur's 860 New York Philharmonic concerts. I have not even heard his every Philharmonic recording. He is not a close friend. But I do know him in two rather different contexts, journalistic and collegial. I admire him, I think he's a noble conductor, and I will regret his departure. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Kurt Masur's Bittersweet Goodbye With Might Have Beens
May 12, 2002
Even the harshest critics of Kurt Masur would have to grant that the New York Philharmonic has played better during his 11 years as music director than it did in the decade before. MORE...

EVENING STANDARD
The Dash Of A Maestro
April 29, 2002
Time to celebrate: Kurt Masur, recovered from transplant surgery, was back at last with the London Philharmonic, and marking his 75th birthday. MORE...

LE MONDE
L'Orchestre national de France rencontre son chef
April 14, 2002
Deux fois dans son histoire, l'Orchestre national de France (ONF) aura vécu une rencontre avec des chefs venus de l'Orchestre philharmonique de New York : ce fut Léonard Bemstein, dans les années 1970 ; ce sera, à partir de la rentrée 2002-2003, Kurt Masur... MORE...

LE FIGARO
De profondis du XX^e siècle
April 13, 2002
Kurt Masur ne pouvait souhaiter plus bel accueil du public et des musiciens de l'Orchestre national dont il sera directeur musical en titre à partir de septembre : c'est d'adoubement qu'il faudrait parler après le concert de jeudi retransmis par France Musiques du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. MORE...

ALTAMUSICA
Ample Masur
April 11, 2002
A 75 ans, Kurt Masur porte beau, très beau. Haut et droit, une courte barbe blanche, les épaules puissantes, il incarne cette force tranquille, faite de concentration et d'énergies rassemblées, qui précède l'entrée dans l'arène. PLUS...

REPERTOIRE
BIENVENUE à PARIS, MR. MASUR
April 2002
Nous y voilà! Kurt Masur prendra, à compter de la saison 2002/2003 les rênes de l'Orchestre national de France. En prélude à cette saison, qui s'ouvrira le 14 septembre, il le dirige dans deux concerts, les 11 et 12 avril et 8 et 10 mai prochains. Voici des «avant propos» concernant la manière dont il envisage son action à Paris. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Music That's A Painting, Music That's Pure Sound
April 6, 2002
Art and the art of illustration were topics at the New York Philharmonic on Thursday night. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Playing For The Maestro In A Show Of Affection
February 20, 2002
Friday night's Philharmonic concert at Avery Fisher Hall was a buoyant occasion, a feast of orchestration MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
From the Young, Nothing Less Than Full Commitment
February 20, 2002
Kurt Masur has long felt that part of his responsibilities as music director of the New York Philharmonic should include working with young musicians in the area. MORE...

ANDANTE.COM
Kurt Masur's Magnificent Tristan und Isolde
Several great orchestras have performed operas in concert in New York recently, which might indicate that the public is beginning to regard opera as a musical rather than a theatrical experience. MORE...

MUSICALAMERICA.COM
Masur Returns in Triumph
February 11, 2002
Kurt Masur could hardly have chosen a more impressive agenda for his return to the podium of the New York Philharmonic on Thursday, after a three-month absence to undergo a kidney transplant. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Not Long After Surgery, Masur Takes On 'Tristan'
February 9, 2002
Just nine weeks after undergoing a kidney transplant operation, Kurt Masur returned to the podium of the New York Philharmonic on Thursday night. Following such an ordeal, many conductors would have wanted to ease slowly back. MORE...

NEWSDAY
Philharmonic Makes Wagner Opposites Attract
February 9, 2002
"TRISTAN UND ISOLDE" is an opera of impossibilities. Wagner's score strains the steeliest vocal cords, yet demands to be sung as a reverie and spun out in liquid lines. MORE...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philharmonic Conductor Masur Returns
February 8, 2002
The New York Philharmonic billed this season as "Thank you, Kurt Masur." It was a chance to say farewell to the towering maestro who took over as music director on Sept. 11, 1991, tamed an ensemble of egos and held the post longer than anyone except Zubin Mehta. MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Masur Delivers a Message From Shostakovich, Darkly
November 20, 2001
All Kurt Masur's musical strengths come boiling to the surface when he conducts Shostakovich. The harshness suits him: the sense of music torn into shape MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
An Elegant Bridge to a World in Upheaval
November 13, 2001
The gulf between serial music and general audiences can offer only a few fragile bridges, but none is more passable than Alban Berg's Violin Concerto. Its most obvious but not its most compelling argument comes in the finale: MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Measuring Kurt Masur's Giant Strides
November 4, 2001
The New York Philharmonic season, so intricately woven as an elaborate farewell to Kurt Masur, began to unravel before it had even started. In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Mr. Masur and the orchestra MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Disparate Works Connected By Barely Visible Threads
November 3, 2001
At a glance, Kurt Masur's program with the New York Philharmonic on Thursday evening looked oddly diffuse. The opening work, Susan Botti's "EchoTempo," which had its world premiere, is a kind of double concerto for voice and percussion. MORE...

THE NEW YORKER
Requiems -- New Yorkers take refuge in patriotic hymns and Brahms
October 8, 2001
On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo, taking with it more than a thousand lives. Later that day, in downtown Manhattan, an insurance executive and part-time composer named Charles Ives MORE...

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Brahms, Masur and Philharmonic Touch the Heart of the Matter
September 22, 2001
Kurt Masur's unabashed belief in the power of music to make big statements and foster healing has sometimes invited kidding. No longer. If ever there was a moment when Americans, particularly New Yorkers, needed musical inspiration and healing it is now. MORE...