The 2013-14 arts season, at least for me, got off to a rousing start this past weekend with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's opening round of classical concerts.
Under the baton of maestro Jaap van Zweden, the concert opened with a Berlioz song cycle, Les nuits d'ete, or "Summer Nights," with mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa. I was not familiar with this work but found it enjoyable, although I'm unlikely to rush to the iTunes Store to download it.
The second half of the program was devoted to the ever-popular Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony. Leave it to Jaap and the DSO to give this chestnut a performance like you've never heard before! The goal of any great conductor (which Jaap is) and great orchestra (which the DSO is) playing great music (which this is) is to show you nuances that you had never noticed before. Which they did. Whether it's the contrasts of dynamics, tempos and emotions throughout the work, the beautiful French horn solo at the beginning of the second movement (performed flawlessly by the DSO's new principal horn David Cooper), the lilting waltz of the third movement, or the brilliant climax of the finale, this group performs like a world-class ensemble.
And make no mistake about it, the DSO under Jaap van Zweden in just a few years has turned very nearly into a world-class orchestra, if they're not already there. I'm frankly amazed and dismayed to look around and see ANY empty seats in the Meyerson Symphony Center when they perform. They should be selling out every concert. And their marketing arm is certainly doing their best to try to reel 'em in.
Somehow it is not sinking in to Dallas' fairly extensive classical music audience that you can go hear some of the best performances you'll ever experience with a short trip to Dallas' Arts District. Maybe if you're fabulously wealthy and can jet off to New York or Vienna, but even then you aren't guaranteed the consistency of great playing that you'll hear by staying in town.
Let me assure you that I'm not compensated in any way for this shamelessly glowing endorsement. Jaap and the DSO are just that good.
See you there!
