Tickets are on sale now for Dallas Symphony Orchestra performances of "Benedetti Plays Tchaikovsky," Jan. 10-13 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Performances feature Scottish star violinist Nicola Benedetti playing the beloved Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and conductor Pablo González leading the DSO in favorite works by Dvořák and Brahms.
“This weekend’s concerts feature a festive first half and, after intermission, a journey of struggle to victory,” writes DSO program annotator Laurie Shulman. “Dvořák’s Carnival Overture features high spirits and dazzling orchestration. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a perennial audience pleaser that is sure to have you on the edge of your seat. Brahms’s First Symphony was dubbed ‘Beethoven’s Tenth’ because the hymn-like theme in its finale resembles the ‘Ode to Joy’ that concludes Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The connection to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is also strong: a serious, dark first movement gradually proceeding toward the triumph of the ending.”
Historical connections between the composers help unify this concert.
“Only two years separate Brahms’s First Symphony and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,” Shulman writes, “and there is only a 16-year span between the Brahms and the Dvořák Carnival Overture. Further connections unite these late romantic masterpieces. Brahms was a mentor to Dvořák. They became friends and admired each other’s music. Brahms and Tchaikovsky met a couple of times and shared mutual respect.”
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is a nationally acclaimed group of master musicians under the direction of Jaap van Zweden in the heart of Dallas' Arts District. Find out more about the DSO at dallassymphony.org.