Always a Treat

It's always a treat to hear the concerts when Marin Alsop is in town. As Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, she is the first woman heading up a major American orchestra and her choice of interesting works brings an entirely different type of energy to the stage of Severance Hall. Today the orchestra seemed a bit tired, not surprising after a lengthy European tour, and there were a number of key members not in attendance. The depth of the orchestra's talent pool was readily evident though, especially in the depleted violins and violas where shifts of stands occurred and one not familiar with the ensemble would have been none the wiser...