“Leaders of both the Dallas and Fort Worth symphony orchestras have determined to present fall seasons, with reduced ensembles of musicians and restricted audiences,” writes Scott Cantrell in Sunday’s (9/20) Dallas Morning News. “The DSO opened its season Sept. 10 in a chamber-orchestra formation of 36 players, with an audience of 79 in the 2,000-seat Meyerson Symphony Center. The FWSO opened Friday night with 39 musicians and an audience of 289 in the 2,800-seat Will Rogers Auditorium. Only two weeks before the FWSO opening, the orchestra management was notified that Bass Performance Hall … would remain closed through the end of the year…. Opening the season Friday night was [guest conductor] Patrick Summers…. The FWSO’s reduced ensemble was plausible for the concert-opening Rossini Barber of Seville Overture, and with fewer acoustical obstacles it could have worked for the Mendelssohn Italian Symphony…. Even after six months of not playing together, the orchestra showed impressive discipline. Horns displayed polish and suavity in their moments to shine in the Mendelssohn third movement. Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear served up plenty of flair in the Saint-Saëns [Second Piano Concerto]…. Some rearrangement of seating onstage [at Will Rogers] can perhaps help the aural effects.”
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