The Dallas Symphony Orchestra recently unveiled the details of their upcoming concert season, which is Fabio Luisi’s fifth as music director. Luisi will lead the orchestra in ten classical concerts, including semi-staged productions of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle, which will be particularly thrilling, as the DSO will be the first U.S. orchestra in recent history to take on the four operas in their entirety.
“Going into my fifth year of this musical partnership with the incredible musicians at the DSO, we have developed a distinctively ‘Dallas’ sound, of which I am immensely proud,” says Luisi. “We are playing at a high artistic level, and I look forward to building upon that and sharing beautiful music with Dallas audiences in the 2024-25 concert season.”
This season features a vast selection of popular, fan-favorite symphonic works to look forward to, including Beethoven’s symphonies Nos. 3 and 5; Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, New World; Elgar’s Enigma Variations; Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, Jupiter; Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and more. Notably, the DSO’s former music director Jaap van Zweden will return to Dallas for the first time since 2018 to conduct the orchestra for performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
“There is always a new perspective to be found in these well-loved pieces, and it is a joy to share them in the beautiful acoustics of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center,” Luisi says.
Continuing its longstanding tradition of championing contemporary composers, the DSO has commissioned and will present three world premieres this season. First, Fabio Luisi and the orchestra will work with Pulitzer Prize-winning Native American composer Raven Chacon on a new orchestral work to be premiered in February 2025. The 2024-25 season also features world premieres from DSO composer-in-residence Sophia Jani in March and American composer Sean Shepherd in April.
Many of DSO’s own musicians will be center stage next season as featured soloists, including oboist Erin Hannigan, concertmaster Alexander Kerr and harpist Emily Levin. Additionally, the orchestra will perform the world premiere of Sean Shepherd’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon featuring DSO flutist David Buck, Erin Hannigan, clarinetist Gregory Raden and bassoonist Ted Soluri.
“The DSO is home to so many world-class musicians who perform for our audiences each week, and I am delighted that their talents will be showcased in a major way this season,” says Katie McGuinness, DSO’s vice president of artistic operations. “I am particularly thrilled that our principal wind players will be featured in Sean Shepherd’s new concerto and that the DSO will be able to host the world premiere this coming season.”
The silver screen returns to the Meyerson in the DSO’s popular movies-in-concert series next season, with Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, the holiday classic, Elf and The Princess Bride. The orchestra performs each movie score live as audiences enjoy the film projected on the big screen, for a cinematic experience like no other.
The holiday season will be merry and bright as ever at the Dallas Symphony, with the traditional Christmas pops show, along with a brassy Christmas version and their annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The rest of the DSO’s pops series presented by Capital One promises to be equally as exciting, with concerts showcasing the music of The Beatles, Motown, Latin dance favorites and more. Chart-topping piano artist Lara Downes will join the DSO to perform the jazzy work A Lovesome Thing: Billy Strayhorn Suite, which was co-commissioned by the DSO and celebrating jazz pianist-composer Billy Strayhorn and his 30-year collaboration with Duke Ellington. Additionally, newly appointed Principal Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Presents series, Enrico Lopez-Yañez, will return to the podium to conduct Disco Fever, featuring ‘70s and ‘80s hits like “It’s Raining Men” and “Stayin’ Alive” backed by the orchestra.
In a highlight to close out the season, Fabio Luisi will lead the DSO and Dallas Symphony Chorus in performances of Mahler’s transcendent Second Symphony, Resurrection, which holds special significance for Dallas symphony-goers as the first subscription concert performed at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in 1989 under former Music Director Eduardo Mata.
Visit the DSO’s website, dallassymphony.org to explore the entire 2024-25 season and purchase subscriptions now. Single tickets will be available this summer.