Mahler, Brahms, and a belated Britten birthday in Dallas

Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra continue their European tour, dropping anchor in Hamburg for Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and a John Williams concerto written for the star German violinist. 

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts the Dallas Symphony in a Sibelius tone poem and a Shostakovich symphony, both works of great tragedy.

Two minor key works, performed before a – limited – live audience in Dallas, and streamed online. 

With an artistic director forced to cancel in the middle of a weekend of concerts, duty called on his assistant conductor - and she clearly had done her homework.

Extreme dynamics explored in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé and Boléro presented by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, complemented by Louis Lortie's Mozart. 

The Dallas Symphony, now in its sixth season under Music Director Jaap van Zweden, welcomed his predecessor Andrew Litton back to conduct a weekend of Stravinsky and Saint-Saëns (music from two ballets and a violin concerto, respectively).