Reviews

Coming off a three-week high with Jaap van Zweden, you'd expect there to be some letdown this week with a new hand wielding the baton for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Well, not much. The young Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko, sharing the stage with the exceptional young violinist Karen Gomyo, captained an interesting and vivid program in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on Thursday night.

The concert got off to a rollicking start with one of Stravinsky's less-familiar scores, the Scherzo à la Russe. Laurie Shulman's notes said that this is recycled music from an abandoned film score about wartime Russia. It must have been considerably reworked – or at least it was for a lighter scene – because there's nothing bellicose about this perky music.

Mr. Petrenko led a performance that was full of energy and a sense of fun. Stravinsky's abrupt ending was only one of his witty points.

Ms. Gomyo, who is a Canadian though mostly trained in the United States, joined Mr. Petrenko and the orchestra for Sibelius' great Violin Concerto. She gave a vivid performance that was full of interesting detail as well as a sense of drama.

Mr. Petrenko and the DSO, which was in excellent form, added to the impact of what was an exceptional performance. Some moments were downright spine-tingling.

The final work on the program was Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben . I've never been able to warm up much to this work, and Mr. Petrenko's interpretation didn't make a believer of me, but still it was enough to earn respect.

The orchestra's sound overall was solid – the lower strings again made one appreciate the Meyerson's bass sound. There were also some fine solos, especially concertmaster Emanuel Borok's extensive violin passages, as well as Gregory Hustis' contributions on the horn.

The performance achieved some glorious moments even for an objective listener.

The program will be repeated at 7:30 p.m. today and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. 214-692-0203. www.dallassymphony.org.

Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto is one of the repertory's most beloved and challenging works. Here are three choices on CD

•Anne-Sophie Mutter with André Previn conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle on Deutsche Grammophon

•Pekka Kuusisto with Leif Segerstam conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on Ondine

•Joshua Bell with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Sony