Ben Zander and the BPO: Far More Exciting...LLoyd Shwartz, The Boston Phoenix, October 21, 2005Posted: 2005-10-20 10:37:05 Far more exciting Schumann was delivered by Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic. Their Rhenish Symphony — uninhibited yet unforced — snapped, crackled, and popped: bursting with exuberance; suspenseful; flowing; joyous and solemn in all the right places. The concert began with an intense and searching Brahms Tragic Overture. In between came the overdue Boston premiere of John Harbison's 1989-'90 Viola Concerto, with the rich-toned yet sensitive and rhythmically alert Kim Kashkashian. Harbison uses a small orchestra then reduces it further into intimate chamber ensembles, so you can hear every note of the viola. It's a mercurial piece — fresh, dappled, powerful, and utterly exquisite in those smaller groupings. For her encore, Kashkashian played a soulful Armenian folksong, "The Crane," about being displaced from one's native land.
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