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WORLD-RENOWNED CONDUCTOR KURT MASUR
TO CONDUCT MARCH 7 SCHOOL OF MUSIC CONCERT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Kurt Masur, a leading figure among the world's top conductors, will visit the Indiana University Bloomington campus early next month.
Masur, the music director of the New York Philharmonic, will lead the IU Concert Orchestra in a March 7 performance at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center. The concert will be free and open to the public. The program will consist of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
An authoritative figure in the area of programming, Masur often pairs the symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich, believing that -- though they lived in different eras -- each responded similarly to political oppression by leaders (Napoleon, Stalin) initially hailed but then rejected by freedom-loving peoples.
"You can't live without Shostakovich anymore, the same way you couldn't live without Beethoven before," said Masur, who met and worked with Shostakovich (1906-75) during the 1960s, and who has conducted all 15 of his symphonies.
Masur, who also is the newly appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, is returning to IU for the first time since 1996, when he was honored with a doctorate from the School of Music.
One of the most widely admired and respected musicians of his generation, he was for many seasons the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister (music director) of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra -- a position of profound historic importance that such figures as Mendelssohn, Nikisch, Furtwängler and Walter have held. The Gewandhaus named him its first-ever Conductor Laureate upon his retirement from the post in 1996.
Masur is well known to orchestras and audiences not only as a distinguished conductor, but also as a humanist. He played a central role during the peaceful demonstrations in Leipzig that led to German reunification. The impact of his leadership has attracted worldwide attention: he holds the Cross of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany (1995), the Gold Medal of Honor for Music from the National Arts Club (1996), and the title of Commander of the Legion of Honor from the government of France.
Since 1992, he has held the lifetime title of Honorary Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
(School of Music, Maria Talbert, Assistant Director of Communications, 812-856-5719, mtalbert@indiana.edu, or Arizeder Urreiztieta, Director of Communications, 812-855-9846, aurreizt@indiana.edu)