Review: Dausgaard Conducts, Orchestra Survives

Thomas Dausgaard

My work and travel schedule this week do not permit the type of extended review that I prefer to give.

But it turns out not to be necessary in this case. Before the season started, I would have picked this candidate as perhaps the leader to be the next music director.

Having seen him, he clearly is not.
After the jump a few words concerning why.

Profile: Thomas Dausgaard

Thomas Dausgaard
(photo by Per Morten Abrahamsen)

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, our Houston Symphony will perform with a leading candidate for the position of its next music director: Thomas Dausgaard.

On the program will be Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with Stephen Hough at the piano, and Nielsen Symphony No. 4, subtitled The Inextinguishable.

Follow the links for some exemplar performances.

I'm a huge fan of the Nielsen, and Leonore 3 is always a good way to get going with a bang. Liszt makes about three war horse concerti in a row, but they are war horses for a reason.

So get out there, buy some tickets, and listen for yourself.

Looking at the list of contenders before the season, Thomas Dausgaard is one that I would have rated as highly probable to be able to fill the role of music director. But as I've said before, its a very curious business trying to hire an alchemist.

So after the jump, let's take a look at some of what can be known before the music is heard.

The Contenders -- Now

Last spring I wrote a post on the old blog setting out the list of guest conductors for this season. These men are the presumptive contenders to be the Houston Symphony's new music director.

Since that time, one of their number spurned his engagement with the Houston Symphony for a guest conducting gig in Boston. This in turn caused a shifting in the repetoire to be covered by the remaining guests and by Hans Graf.

So after the jump, a quick look at the updated list of the contenders and their repetoire.