Fabio Luisi and Dallas Symphony Release Brahms Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2 (Sep 16), First of Two Albums in Complete Brahms Cycle
Luisi Leads Nine Programs in 2022-23, Including World Premiere of Angélica Negrón’s Arquitecta
(September 2022)—On September 16, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Grammy-winning conductor Fabio Luisi, now in his third season as Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music Director, release Brahms Symphonies No. 1 & 2 on DSO Live, the DSO’s in-house label. Luisi also conducts eight programs in the Texas Instruments Classical Series this season, as well as leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala. Season highlights include the performances next spring of Brahms’s Third and Fourth Symphonies that will be recorded live to complete the cycle; the world premiere of Angélica Negrón’s Arquitecta; a concert of works by Clara Schumann, Julia Perry and Louise Farrenc, as an upbeat to the Women in Classical Music Symposium; Verdi’s monumental Requiem with the Dallas Symphony Chorus and a stellar roster of soloists; Carl Orff’s seldom-performed Catulli Carmina, complementing a performance of Carmina Burana; collaborations with cellist Jan Vogler, pianists Hélène Grimaud and Lise de la Salle; violinist Nicola Benedetti giving the U.S. premiere of James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto No. 2; and much more. Each of Luisi’s 2022-23 performances with the Dallas Symphony will also be available for streaming through the Next Stage Digital Concert Series.
Marking the first album release of Luisi’s tenure with the DSO and the initial recording of a complete cycle of Brahms symphonies, Brahms Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2 was recorded live at Dallas’s Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in September 2021 and February 2022. Following a pared-down inaugural season during the pandemic, the first set of performances opened Luisi’s second season as Music Director, when Texas Classical Review declared that “the program offered a strong return to form and the kind of familiar brilliance not heard in the hall since March of last year.” The February recording took place during a special series of concerts that saw the orchestra able to welcome larger audiences to the space. The new album will be available as both a digital download and a 2-CD set at retailers including Apple Music, Spotify and Idagio.
Luisi was keen to begin his recordings in Dallas with the symphonies of Brahms. He explains:
“I think Brahms is one of the most important composers for a symphony orchestra. Each of the four symphonies is very different from the others. At the start of my tenure as Music Director, these are ideal pieces to begin our collaboration and partnership. I am able to share my ideas of interpretation and craft the kind of sound that I would like from the orchestra. We learn so much from each other by performing the symphonies of Brahms. To record and release the complete cycle is a statement – it is an artistic statement of who we are as an orchestra now and where we are going as an ensemble. The Dallas Symphony has a rich history and a number of music directors with different styles. With Brahms, we are presenting ourselves in a different way than before. This is our Brahms, and this is how we will shape the Romantic repertoire.”
Kim Noltemy, Ross Perot President & CEO of the DSO, adds:
“It is exciting to share our first album from this new era of the Dallas Symphony. The DSO has an incredible recording history going back to the 1940s under Antal Doráti. We look forward to continuing this tradition with the first of a complete Brahms cycle.”
High-resolution photos can be downloaded here.
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Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi
Brahms Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2
Available September 16, 2022 on DSO Live (CD & digital)
CD1
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro 18:41
II. Andante sostenuto 9:35
III. Un poco Allegretto e grazioso 5:00
IV. Adagio – Piu Andante – Allegro 17:51
Recorded Live September 16-19, 2021, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas
CD2
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
I. Allegro non troppo 21:05
II. Adagio non troppo 9:40
III. Allegretto grazioso – Presto ma non assai 5:00
IV. Allegro con spirito 10:04
Recorded Live February 23-25, 2022, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas
Credits:
Dirk Sobotka, recording producer
George Gilliam and Dirk Sobotka, recording engineers
Dirk Sobotka, editor
Mark Donahue, mixing and mastering
Edited, Mixed and Mastered at Soundmirror, Boston
Producers: Kim Noltemy, Katie McGuinness, Denise McGovern
Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, 2022–23 Season
Texas Instruments Classical Series
(All concerts take place at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX.)
Sep 29; Oct 2
R. STRAUSS: Don Quixote (with Jan Vogler, cello)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5
Oct 1
DSO GALA
LEHÁR: The Merry Widow (selections)
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Oct 7, 8, 9
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Hélène Grimaud, piano)
FRANCK: Symphony in D minor
Nov 4, 5, 6
PERRY: Study for Orchestra
C. SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto (with Lise de la Salle, piano)
FARRENC: Symphony No. 3
Nov 10, 12, 13
VERDI: Requiem
Adriana González, soprano
Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano
Piero Pretti, tenor
Wenwei Zhang, bass
Dallas Symphony Chorus
Nov 17, 18, 19
James MACMILLAN: Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Nicola Benedetti, violin; North American premiere)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4
March 16, 17, 18
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3*
May 4, 5, 6, 7
Angélica NEGRÓN: Arquitecta (with Lido Pimienta, vocalist; world premiere)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 (with Francesco Piemontesi, piano)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4*
May 11, 12, 13, 14
ORFF: Catulli Carmina
ORFF: Carmina Burana
Audrey Luna, soprano
Andreas Scholl, countertenor
Herbert Lippert, tenor
Sean Michael Plumb, baritone
Dallas Symphony Chorus
Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas
*The DSO will record these Brahms performances for a future album release.
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© 21C Media Group, September 2022