Texas Classical Review

Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra turned back a page of the DSO’s history Thursday night, revisiting the program of Russian favorites led by Igor Stravinsky during his turn as guest conductor of the DSO in 1946.

From the opening bars of Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, Luisi’s motions embodied the vibrant mood of the music, conveying the spirited energy as the DSO responded to his every gesture. The tempo was especially brisk, infusing the brief overture with a rollicking momentum that persisted throughout the evening as Luisi propelled the orchestra forward.

The Symphony No. 2 of Tchaikovsky (or “Little Russian”symphony) followed, initiated by impassioned statements of the principal theme by David Heyde’s horn and Ted Soluri’s bassoon  Luisi abruptly ushered in the agitated strings, setting up the opposition between their feverish passages and the resolute principal theme that played out over the course of the movement.

The second movement provided a distinct change of mood, alternating a soft yet cheerful march from the winds with a more lyrical theme from the strings. The scherzo retained the soft dynamics of the second movement while resuming the brisk pace of the first as Luisi drove the scherzo steadily to its final cadence.

A grand, majestic melody sounded by the brass and strings signaled the arrival of the finale. This melody, a popular Ukrainian folk song of the day, hung in the space momentarily before Luisi unleashed a flurry of activity from the DSO as they embarked on a series of variations of the song over a rapid-fire, carnivalesque rhythm from bass drum and cymbals.  Luisi reigned in the bustle briefly, allowing the strings to sound a smooth, sweeping counter melody before restarting the escalating commotion.  A sudden strike from the tam-tam brought a dramatic pause, after which the DSO pressed forward with the even faster coda, concluding the symphony with a brilliant flourish. 

Coming after intermission, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite was the apex of the evening’s program.  Adapted by Stravinsky from his 1910 ballet,  the series of excerpts making up the suite were largely continuous save for the concluding movements: the Infernal Dance, the Berceuse and the Finale.  The remaining numbers, which depict the appearances and dances of the Firebird and the prince, made up an unbroken musical tableau marked by scurrying rhythms, effervescent harmonies, and dazzling, vibrant orchestral colors that captured the mystery, magic and fantasy at the center of the original folk tale. 

Under Luisi’s direction, the DSO marshaled its resources to bring the enchanted atmosphere to life with luminous wind combinations, delicate string tremolos and iridescent harp glissandi. The reverie was interrupted by the wild Infernal Dance of the villain Kashchei and his minions; brass and percussion belted out fierce incantations set to violent rhythms as Luisi maintained a steady pulse before accelerating the dance to an abrupt and exhausted finish. 

Ted Soluri’s rich yet delicate bassoon took up the Firebird’s Berceuse as she told her story to the prince and expressed hope in the wake of Kashchei’s defeat, backed by gentle strings and soft interjections from the winds.

That hope arrived with the Finale, signaled by Daniel Hawkins’s clear, exultant horn sounding the principal theme and bidding the rest of the orchestra to join in. Luisi carefully guided the full ensemble in its inexorable crescendo, pausing briefly before cuing the Finale’s climactic fanfare. Buoyed by timpani and bass drum, the brass were joined by the entire ensemble as they sounded the triumphal principal theme, allowing it to ring out within the Meyerson Symphony Center with all the resplendent grandeur of a carillon or pealing bells before resolving on the final cadence.

The program will be repeated 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. dallassymphony.org