Each month, WETA Classical’s NSO Showcase features recordings of past performances by the National Symphony Orchestra. April’s program highlights two young conductors who have inherited their parents’ musical DNA. Ken-David Masur is the son of Kurt Masur (who was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 to 2002 and who was “instrumental” in restoring the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig). Our NSO Showcase program features a November 2023 concert by the younger Masur who stepped in for the ailing Michael Tilson Thomas. Masur led the orchestra in Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony as well as Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 with soloist Orion Weiss. Weiss’ playing inspired The Washington Post to write: “When you’re named after one of the biggest constellations in the night sky, the pressure is on to display a little star power — and the young pianist Orion Weiss did exactly that...”
American conductor Karina Canellakis also succeeded her Dad as a conductor, and she made her highly anticipated NSO debut in a November 2022 concert which featured Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, a five-movement work replete with Bartók’s beloved folk tunes. This immensely popular piece is a fascinating study in how to use the orchestra so that each section gets a turn to shine.
NSO Showcase airs Wednesday, April 2 at 9 p.m. on WETA Classical and streams all month long on WETAClassical.org.
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