Symphony Readies van Zweden Sendoff
If Jaap van Zweden’s final season as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra reminds audiences of his first, it won’t be by accident.
“I wanted to have some pieces come back from the first season, so it’s a beginning and a closure at the same time,” van Zweden said in remarks published on mydso.com.
He is leaving to become music director of the New York Philharmonic for the 2018-19 season.
While he will remain with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as conductor laureate through the 2020–21 season, 2017–18 will serve as a farewell celebration of his 10 years as music director and spotlight “the strength, flexibility, and sheer artistic excellence of the ensemble and its leader.”
“This next season celebrates the real accomplishments of this organization and showcases Jaap, the chorus, the orchestra, and the strong artistry that has been developed over the last decade,” said Jonathan Martin, who after five years as DSO president is leaving for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Enjoy pieces by Mahler, Bruckner, and Beethoven, as well as performances of Duruflé’s Requiem, Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, and Schumann’s Third Symphony in a season showcasing the range of styles conductor and orchestra have explored for a decade and composers and works for which the DSO and van Zweden have become known.
For example, concerts on Sept. 14 and 17 will feature a composition commissioned by the DSO that premiered in 2008, Steven Stucky’s “Elegy” from August, 4, 1964. They also include Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, which was performed at van Zweden’s first concert as music director.
The sendoff concerts on May 24 through 26, 2018, will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, a Dallas favorite, according to mydso.com.
“The orchestra and I have been on an incredible journey,” he said.
For tickets and schedule visit mydso.com or call 214-849-4376.
