Performances run from August 29, 2008 through May 23, 2009 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, marking its 20th season as the home of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Tickets go on sale for season subscriptions Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.
The Texas Instruments Classical Series, aptly titled Unleashed, is about the power and passion inside our orchestra, now united with the power and passion of our new Music Director Jaap van Zweden for 12 weeks in 2008-2009. "This season marks a new beginning for the musicians of the DSO and me, and a new beginning for our audiences," says van Zweden. "You can feel the energy."
Jaap van Zweden begins and ends the DSO's 2008-2009 season with two special performances. Maestro van Zweden takes the stage as music director for the first time September 11-14, 2008 performing a program which features Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 with acclaimed Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax. And as the season's grand finale, van Zweden will lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra May 21-23, 2009 in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, the complete opera in concert.
Other highlights of van Zweden's inaugural season include two world premiere events, a series of musical showpieces and masterful, but rarely heard, works brought to Dallas audiences for the first time. In the second week of the season, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra showcases a major new work, August 4, 1964, by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky and librettist Gene Scheer celebrating former President Lyndon B. Johnson's 100th year birth anniversary. This is followed in the spring with a world premier concerto composed by Alexander Raskatov to commemorate the 400th birthday of DSO Concertmaster Emanuel Borok's violin. "My violin, which dates back to 1608, has survived through numerous dramatic events and has been played by so many talented people on both sides of the ocean," says Borok. "I am honored to have this sought-after composer write this special piece to celebrate the first 400 years of my violin." Powerful and recognized works including Mozart's Requiem featuring the Dallas Symphony Chorus and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 are also featured, as well as four of the DSO's seven Dallas premieres including the Leopold Stokowski orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Additional season highlights include the return of conductor Leonard Slatkin to lead the DSO in works by Rossini and Dvorak, as well as a co-commissioned work by Bright Sheng featuring acclaimed harpist Yolanda Kondonassis; the return of celebrated conductor Pinchas Zukerman to lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in works by Stravinsky, Schumann and Brahms both in Dallas and on tour in Florida; the DSO premieres of Osvaldo Golijov's Azul for cello and orchestra featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein; Alexander Glazunov's Concerto for alto saxophone featuring saxophonist Branford Marsalis; and the return of the traditional family favorite - NorthPark Center and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Celebration.
The Pops Series opens the season with music and laughs August 29-30, 2008, as Emmy Award-winning superstar Wayne Brady takes the Meyerson stage for a night of song, humor and a Sammy Davis, Jr. tribute as this Emmy Award-winning superstar performs with the full Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Other Pops season highlights include superstars Wayne Newton, Smokey Robinson and Michael McDonald; the favorite Valentine's and Christmas Pops concerts; The Magical Music of Walt Disney with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performing music from Disney's most beloved movies, including big screen projections with original artwork; the renowned big band orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with soloist Debby Boone performing in the style of Rosemary Clooney; and Idols in Concert featuring American Idol finalists Diana DeGarmo, Constantine Maroulis and Kimberly Caldwell live with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The Pops season ends with a musical adventure and a family phenomenon with The Music of John Williams and The Five Browns. The Music of John Williams, an epic adventure featuring music from big-screen favorites, will include the unforgettable scores from Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and many more. The Five Browns bring their own unique sound to classical and jazz piano as the family of five virtuosos performs on one stage simultaneously.
TEXAS INSTUMENTS CLASSICAL SERIES CONDUCTORS
The 2008-2009 season features 11 renowned guest conductors performing with the DSO. The list of guest conductors includes Music Director Emeritus Andrew Litton, returning after conducting works by Bernstein and Adams last season; Gilbert Varga, who last led the first week of the 2007 Beethoven Festival; Arild Remmereit, comes back after his sensational subscription series debut in 2007-2008 conducting works by Hanson and Schumann; Louis Langree, who most recently conducted works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Ravel with the DSO in 2007; Carlos Kalmar, returning after conducting works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven with the DSO in 2007; Pinchas Zukerman, who led part of our successful Mozart Festival in 2006; Asher Fisch, revisiting after conducting works by Haydn, J. Strauss, Jr. and Schoenberg in 2005; Jeffrey Kahane, returning after conducting works by Prokofiev, Mozart and Kodaly in 1996; and Leonard Slatkin, who last conducted works by Korngold, Mozart and Beethoven in 1994.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra continues its tradition of identifying and presenting exciting conducting talents with the debut of Vasily Petrenko, principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
TEXAS INSTUMENTS CLASSICAL SERIES GUEST ARTISTS
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra maintains a tradition of presenting Dallas audiences a combination of emerging talent and established virtuosi in the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall. Making their debuts with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra this subscription season are saxophonist Branford Marsalis, cellist Amanda Forsyth, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and pianists Natasha Paremski and Yuja Wang.
Returning to perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra are violinists Karen Gomyo, Midori and Cho-Liang Lin; cellist Alisa Weilerstein; and pianists Emanuel Ax and Horacio Gutierrez.
And for three weekends in a row in the spring, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents returning conductors who also double as instrumental soloists. Pinchas Zukerman on violin March 3-5, 2008 with Brahms' Double Concerto; Jeffrey Kahane on piano March 26-29 with Beethoven, after performing the Ravel Piano Concerto with Jaap van Zweden to rave reviews in 2006; and Asher Fisch performs Bach's Clavier Concerto in D minor on piano April 2-5. -- www.dallassymphony.com
