Music: Grand Chamber

St. Paul's virtuoso style

Like Doctor Dolittle's pushmi-pullyu, the chamber orchestra is a curious beast that faces in two directions at once: toward the intimacy of the string quartet and toward the richness of the symphony. It stands between both, the way a watercolor stands between an engraving and an oil painting. Or, as Conductor Dennis Russell Davies says, the way baseball stands between tennis and football: "There are just a few players, each one is a virtuoso, and all are involved in every moment of what's going on."

Davies should know. He is...

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