Luisi’s first season will bring an array of repertoire to Dallas Symphony
Fabio Luisi will open his first season as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra September 10. Photo: Barbara Luisi
Fabio Luisi’s first season as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s music director will feature the Italy native conducting works ranging from Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello and Requiem to symphonies by Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner and Aaron Copland.
The orchestra’s 2020-21 season will also bring two world premieres, a return appearance by former music director Jaap van Zweden and an artist-in-residence stint by veteran pianist Emanuel Ax.
Luisi will conduct the orchestra’s annual gala (Sept. 12) as well as programs including Copland’s Symphony No. 3 (Sept. 10 and 13), Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 (Oct. 9-10), Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 (Jan. 28-31), Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 (Feb. 4-7) and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (Feb. 26-28). In a much-less-familiar vein, the Austrian-trained musician will conduct the Symphony No. 4 by the Viennese post-Romantic Franz Schmidt (April 1-3).
Luisi’s performances of Verdi’s Requiem (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) will feature soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Piero Pretti and bass Wenwei Zhang. Otello will receive semi-staged performances (Feb. 20 and 23) with tenor Fabio Sartori in the title role, soprano Alessandra Marianelli as Desdemona and baritone George Gagnidze as Iago.
Angélica Negrón, a native of Puerto Rico now based in Brooklyn, will be the orchestra’s composer-in-residence, and Luisi’s February program includes the premiere of her En otra noche, en otro mundo, a Dallas Symphony commission.
Principal guest conductor Gemma New will lead the world premiere of the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Syrian-American Kareem Roustom (April 29-May 1, with principal second violin Angela Fuller Heyde as soloist.
Van Zweden will return (Dec. 19-20) in an all-Beethoven program featuring the “Eroica” Symphony and Piano Concerto No. 2, the latter as one of Ax’s artist-in-residence appearances. Ax will come back for double duty in a program juxtaposing Mozart’s Concerto No. 17 with John Adams’ Century Rolls (April 15-17).
Among other pianists on the solo roster, Yefim Bronfman will play Brahms’ Concerto No. 1 (Sept. 10 and 13) and Hélène Grimaud will offer Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 (Jan. 14-16). For violin buffs, Hilary Hahn will play Sibelius’ concerto (Nov. 5-8) and Augustin Hadelich will solo in Tchakovsky’s (April 22-25). Cellist Johannes Moser will play Joseph Haydn’s Concerto in C major (Jan. 8-10).
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