Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American
orchestra
. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center
in the Arts District of downtown
Dallas
, Texas
, United States
.
The orchestra traces its origins to a concert given by a group of forty musicians in 1900 with conductor
Hans Kreissig
. It continued to perform and grow in numbers and stature, so that in 1945 it was in a position to appoint Antal Doráti
as music director. Under Doráti, the orchestra became fully professional. Several times during the history of the orchestra it has suspended operations, including periods during the First and Second World Wars from 1914 to 1918 and from 1942 to 1945, and more recently in 1974 due to fiscal restraints. Subsequent music directors have included Georg Solti
and Eduardo Mata
. Andrew Litton
was music director from 1992 to 2006. In 2007, Jaap van Zweden
was named the DSO's 15th music director, to begin full-time with the 2008-2009 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. In October 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of van Zweden's contract through the 2015-2016 season.
The 2005 recording of the four Rachmaninoff piano concerti and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Stephen Hough
during live performances has been compared to the recordings by the composer himself. The orchestra was awarded the Gramophone Awards 2005 Editor's Choice; CD of the Week and Record of the Year 2004 from The Sunday Times; and Classical Brit Award 2005 Critics' Choice.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center
Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas . Ranked one of the world's greatest orchestra halls, it was designed by architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson's Artec Consultants, Inc...
in the Arts District of downtown
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The orchestra traces its origins to a concert given by a group of forty musicians in 1900 with conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Hans Kreissig
Hans Kreissig
Hans Kreissig was a German-born American pianist, music teacher, and conductor. He is noted for establishing the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1900 and for serving as its first music director.- Career :...
. It continued to perform and grow in numbers and stature, so that in 1945 it was in a position to appoint Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
as music director. Under Doráti, the orchestra became fully professional. Several times during the history of the orchestra it has suspended operations, including periods during the First and Second World Wars from 1914 to 1918 and from 1942 to 1945, and more recently in 1974 due to fiscal restraints. Subsequent music directors have included Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
and Eduardo Mata
Eduardo Mata
Eduardo Mata was a Mexican conductor and composer.Mata was born in Mexico City. He studied guitar privately for three years before enrolling in the National Conservatory of Music. From 1960 to 1963 he studied composition under Carlos Chávez, Héctor Quintanar and Julián Orbón. In 1964 he received a...
. Andrew Litton
Andrew Litton
Andrew Litton is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School, and holds both undergraduate and Masters degrees in music from Juilliard....
was music director from 1992 to 2006. In 2007, Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden is a Dutch conductor and violinist.-Biography:Van Zweden's father, a pianist, encouraged him to begin violin studies at age five, and he studied music in Amsterdam...
was named the DSO's 15th music director, to begin full-time with the 2008-2009 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. In October 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of van Zweden's contract through the 2015-2016 season.
The 2005 recording of the four Rachmaninoff piano concerti and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough
Stephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
during live performances has been compared to the recordings by the composer himself. The orchestra was awarded the Gramophone Awards 2005 Editor's Choice; CD of the Week and Record of the Year 2004 from The Sunday Times; and Classical Brit Award 2005 Critics' Choice.
Music directors
- Hans KreissigHans KreissigHans Kreissig was a German-born American pianist, music teacher, and conductor. He is noted for establishing the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1900 and for serving as its first music director.- Career :...
(1900–1901) - Walter FriedWalter FriedWalter J. Fried was an American violinist and conductor. He served as both music director and as concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra between 1911 and 1925 and was also one of Dallas's leading violin teachers during that period.-Early life and musical education:Fried was born in San...
(1911) - Carl VenthCarl VenthCarl Venth was a German-American composer, violinist, conductor, music educator, and scholar. He was a leading classical music figure in Texas in the first half of the twentieth century and was one of the early music directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.-Early life and education:Venth was...
(1911–1914) - Walter FriedWalter FriedWalter J. Fried was an American violinist and conductor. He served as both music director and as concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra between 1911 and 1925 and was also one of Dallas's leading violin teachers during that period.-Early life and musical education:Fried was born in San...
(1918–1924) - Paul van KatwijkPaul van KatwijkPaul van Katwijk was a Dutch-American pianist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He was an important figure in the classical music culture of Dallas, Texas, for much of the 20th century...
(1925–1936)
- Jacques SingerJacques SingerJacques Singer was an American conductor. His father was the symphony conductor Mark Eli , his mother Rachela “Rose” .-Education:...
(1937–1942) - Antal DorátiAntal DorátiAntal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
(1945–1949) - Walter HendlWalter HendlWalter Hendl was an American conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:Hendl was born in West New York, New Jersey, and later went on to study with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. From 1939 to 1941 he taught at Sarah Lawrence College in New York City...
(1949–1958) - Paul KletzkiPaul KletzkiPaul Kletzki was a Polish conductor and composer.Born Paweł Klecki in Łódź, Poland, he later adopted the German spelling Paul Kletzki. He joined its Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of fifteen. After serving in the First World War, he studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw before moving...
(1958–1961) - Sir Georg Solti (1961–1962)
- Donald JohanosDonald JohanosDonald George Johanos was a conductor and music director with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He was recognized for his support of contemporary classical music. He performed or conducted on at least 16 recordings. -Early life and career:Johanos was born in Cedar...
(1962–1970) - Anshel BrusilowAnshel BrusilowAnshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre...
(1970–1973) - Max Rudolf (1973–1974)
- Eduardo MataEduardo MataEduardo Mata was a Mexican conductor and composer.Mata was born in Mexico City. He studied guitar privately for three years before enrolling in the National Conservatory of Music. From 1960 to 1963 he studied composition under Carlos Chávez, Héctor Quintanar and Julián Orbón. In 1964 he received a...
(1977–1993) - Andrew LittonAndrew LittonAndrew Litton is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School, and holds both undergraduate and Masters degrees in music from Juilliard....
(1994–2006) - Jaap van ZwedenJaap van ZwedenJaap van Zweden is a Dutch conductor and violinist.-Biography:Van Zweden's father, a pianist, encouraged him to begin violin studies at age five, and he studied music in Amsterdam...
(2008– )
Musicians
Members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with articles in English Wikipedia include:- Emanuel BorokEmanuel BorokEmanuel Borok is an American violinist of Russian descent, born July 15, 1944 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He studied violin in Riga, Latvia with the renowned teacher Voldemar Sturestep and in 1959, he joined the Gnessin Music School in Moscow USSR where he continued his studies with Michael Garlitsky....
, violin, concertmaster 1985–2010 - Walter FriedWalter FriedWalter J. Fried was an American violinist and conductor. He served as both music director and as concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra between 1911 and 1925 and was also one of Dallas's leading violin teachers during that period.-Early life and musical education:Fried was born in San...
, violin, concertmaster 1911–1914 - Richard GiangiulioRichard GiangiulioRichard Cecil Giangiulio , is an American trumpet player. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Giangiulio began trumpet at the age of 10. Educated at the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Conservatoire de Paris, Giangiulio has achieved international acclaim as a soloist and...
, trumpet, principal 1969–2001 - Joseph HawthorneJoseph HawthorneJoseph Campbell Hawthorne was an American conductor, violinist, violist, and military officer. Born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, he was the son of artists Charles Webster Hawthorne and Ethel "Marion" Campbell. After receiving his childhood education at the Brooklyn Friends School, he entered...
, viola, principal 1945–1949 (also associate conductor) - Frank KaderabekFrank KaderabekFrank Kaderabek is the former principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra and former trumpet instructor of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Born in Chicago, he studied with Edward Masacek and Adolph Herseth and moved to New York to study with Harry Glantz and Nathan Prager...
, trumpet, principal 1953–1958 - David KimDavid KimDavid Kim is a violinist born in Carbondale, Illinois and was the only American to win a prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1986, where he got sixth prize. Since 1999, he has been the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra...
, violin, senior associate concertmaster 1997–1999 - William KraftWilliam KraftWilliam Kraft is a composer, conductor, teacher, and percussionist.-Undergrad and Graduate School Years :...
, percussion, 1954–1955 - Andreas MakrisAndreas MakrisAndreas Makris was a Greek-American composer and violinist, born in Salonika, Greece, on March 7, 1930. He was a Composer-in-Residence for many years at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, working with conductors such as Howard Mitchell, Rostropovich, Antal Dorati, and Leonard Slatkin...
, violin, principal second 1958–1959 - Mitchell PetersMitchell PetersMitchell Peters is former principal timpanist and percussionist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He has composed well-known pieces for the marimba such as Yellow After the Rain and Sea Refractions; it is said that these works were composed because Peters felt that there was a lack of...
, percussion, principal c. 1959–1969 - János StarkerJános StarkerJános Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...
, cello, principal 1948–1949 - Carl VenthCarl VenthCarl Venth was a German-American composer, violinist, conductor, music educator, and scholar. He was a leading classical music figure in Texas in the first half of the twentieth century and was one of the early music directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.-Early life and education:Venth was...
, violin, concertmaster 1927–1931 - Harold WrightHarold Wright (clarinetist)Harold Wright was principal clarinetist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1970 to 1993.Wright was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and began his clarinet studies at age twelve. He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as a student of Ralph McLane of the...
, clarinet, principal 1952–mid-1950s?
External links
- Dallas Symphony Official website
- Dallas Symphony DSOKids.com, educational site
- Dallas Symphony Chorus Official website of the Dallas Symphony Chorus
- 2008-2009 Season Brochure
- Dallas Symphony and Chorus reviews and press