Dallas Symphony steals audience's hearts during Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture

This Valentine's Day weekend was a romantic time for Dallas/Fort-Worth concertgoers, as that weekend, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra painted yet another beautiful melody for the audience. Culminating in the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, the symphony also played rarely heard pieces including Smetana's Overture to The Bartered Bride, Martinu's Symphony No. 4, and Jerod Tate's Ghost of the White Deer Bassoon Concerto.

Overall, the Ghost of the White Deer bassoon concerto was noisy and pesky. There were many added noises that contributed to a sustained ambience, but it did little to carry on a consistent melody. The piece was difficult, overall, for audience members to follow. The piece did, however, had its scintillating moments, which allowed Principal Bassoonist Ted Soluri's sound to soar magnificently and tactfully.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra had the faculty to recreate the timeless essence of Tchaikovsky, and it clearly showed that night. First, the clarinets and bassoons started the piece off in a solemn, melancoly taste, initially devoid of lust and desire. Next came in flutists David Buck and Karol Kircendoll Welch, whose innocent, delicate tones introduced a subtle yearning. David Buck nailed his impenetrable and impossibly soft high A flats. Gradually, the orchestra blossomed into an insatiable florescence of love and craving, followed by the epic, militaristic march led by the trumpets.

The Dallas Symphony's rendition of the Tchaikovsky Fantasia Overture was a powerful mixture of young romanticism and hopelessly idealistic endings. It was moving enough to wrest the audience's heartstrings, a testament to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's dreamy contemplation of a quixotic utopia.