John Halbrooks ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>Are his interpretations pedestrian?
I've always thought so. Then I saw him do Das Lied von der Erde in
Carnegie Hall w/ Jessye Norman and Ben Heppner--a performance which changed
my opinion of Ozawa and the BSO (and Jessye Norman--she should stick to
alto/mezzo repertoire). I'm not rushing out to buy BSO/Ozawa discs, but
his performance and the clarity of his conducting (Das Lied and Miraculous
Mandarin from memory) were revealing. He maintained a seductive intensity
throughout the work, helped by Jessye Norman's extremely wide dynamic
range, which, I think, brought out the same scope in the orchestra.
And what an orchestra!
Marcus Maroney
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