Hefty and leonine, with a voice similar to Cher's, Ms. Dexter is a thoughtful interpreter who resists taking the easy path of overacting like a pseudo-blues mama.

The Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sophie von Otter is a thoughtful interpreter who produces a ravishing sound.

But she has a good command of the keyboard and is an obviously thoughtful interpreter.

Brendel is regarded as one of the most thoughtful interpreters of classical Germanic works by such composers as Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart.

Always a thoughtful interpreter, Mr. Zehetmair rightly treats these works as more than just vapid showpieces.

Mr. Jackson began with a dramatic, personalized account of the Beethoven "Waldstein" Sonata that captured the work's extremes of thunderousness and meditative grace and quickly established the pianist's credentials as a thoughtful interpreter.

Mr. Scarlata, a winner of the young-artists auditions in 1999, is a thoughtful and engaging interpreter with an attractive baritone.

If Mr. Masur (pronounced mah-ZOOR) is not as flashy a conductor as some who were considered, he comes to the orchestra with a reputation as a thoughtful, serious interpreter of mainstream Romantic literature.

If Paul Agnew, in the title role, produced an oddly dry sound, he is a thoughtful interpreter who has a remarkable way with a pianissimo, which he used effectively to draw listeners into Idomeneo's most wrenching arias.

He is also a superb technician and a thoughtful interpreter.