"This high-intensity performance will surely rank as a legend in Dallas musical history."
So writes Dallas Morning News Special Contributor Scott Cantrell following the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's concert performance of Wagner's Die Walkure -- a performance I was fortunate to witness and experience. During the last decade outgoing Music Director Jaap van Zweden has molded the DSO into a first-tier ensemble. And along the way he has delivered numerous legendary performances. While difficult to rank, I cannot imagine a concert topping this one in sheer intensity, musical expression, and emotional impact. The story may be convoluted, but in Wagner the music tells the story. Van Zweden read the story and communicated it in spectacular fashion guiding the singers and super-sized orchestra to the delight of the appreciative audience. Soon he leaves for his new post as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. He ends his Dallas run with performances of Beethoven's Ninth. I eagerly anticipate the open rehearsal I will attend later this week. I suspect that true to form he'll deliver a Ninth to remember!