Meet the Merolini 2011
SF Opera's Siegfried Cycle 2

MTT conducts Missa Solemnis at SFS

Missa-solemnis * Notes * 
This week San Francisco Symphony and Chorus have been performing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas kept the musicians synchronized. The orchestra was often rather loud, but the playing was clean. Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik's the violin solo in the Sanctus was beautiful. The brass was warm and pretty. The chorus was impressive, more so than the four soloists, though given a mass, perhaps this is appropriate. Both bass Ain Anger and mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus had a tendency to blend in well with the sound of the chorus and the orchestra. Gregory Kunde's voice had more ping, yet could sound a little constricted. Christine Brewer did not overpower her fellow soloists and never screamed the notes. It was gratifying to hear this piece live.

* Tattling * 
A man in BB 20 on the Orchestra Level spoke twice, but for the most part, only a few people around me whispered infrequently.

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