Caught an eclectic program of American composers from the NSO Saturday, led by the American conductor Sarah Hicks. The program opened with a disciplined run of John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," which predates Nixon in China but points to many of the familiar themes from the opera's third act. If the strings sounded frayed at times Hicks and the NSO captured the propulsive momentum and whiplash shifts that make the work tick. Organist Cameron Carpenter then joined the band for Samuel Barber's 19 [...]
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