Review | Glorious Sound, Gentle Fare-Thee-Well

When an arts organization has the deep legacy and deep history of a CAMA — which just ended its impressive 107th season, an astonishing thing out here on the West Coast — archives contain echoes. One might have guessed that the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was making its debut appearance in Santa Barbara when it performed, and with considerable style, at The Granada Theatre last week. But in fact, they have graced State Street before —  in 1973.

Their return, with a two-part program of Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra and Mahler’s kindly Symphony No. 4, did not disappoint. What did disappoint was a missing party, the world beloved and sometime Santa Ynez–based pianist Helene Grimaud, taken out of commission by illness, and replaced by the bold pianist George Li. Have no fear: Grimaud will actually perform for CAMA in 2026, seizing the recitalist spotlight on December 14 at the Lobero.

This evening proved to be a largely gentle-spirited affair, with bursts of intensity along the way, an affirmative, strum-und-drang-free finale of the current CAMA season, and also the tenure of gracious host Deborah Bertling as head of the CAMA board. 

Dallas may not have the cache of America’s shinier and more internationally reputed symphonic models, but the Granada concert confirmed the ensemble’s power and polish, as shaped and guided by Fabio Luisi (He was last in town leading the Danish National Orchestra in 2017, for the record. Records matter for 107-year-old institutions.)

Luisi has been associated with the Dallas orchestra for many years and has held the command post since 2020. He has an apparent and sure empathetic accord with the orchestra, sounding like a dynamic and expressively fine-tuned, supple machine on this night. The DSO proved solid in accompaniment mode on the Schumann and persuasive in their own spotlight, as Mahler purveyors. 

Li, whose own CAMA track record started with his appearance as soloist on the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 with the Russian National Orchestra in 2019, was more than up for the challenge of the Schumann. He is a sensitive virtuoso, embracing poetry and grace as a rule, punctuated by requisite pianistic fireworks, both qualities embedded in this score, Schumann’s heartfelt ode to his wife Clara. 

Bravura turns keep the pianist busy in the first movement, including a cadenza, with tidier tenderness in the second, that folds directly into the triumphant glow of the third, by turns feathery and blustery. A cheerful major key resolution arrives, as if an emergence from the stormier mood before it, veering into the light.

Generally glowing spirits continued after intermission with Mahler’s Fourth, written on vacation in 1899. Angst never really enters the building on this Mahler symphony, in comparison to other more drama-infused opuses in that special canon. Note the movement titles: (in English), “Deliberately, not rushed,” “with easy motion, without haste,” “serene,” and for the finale, the single vocal passage (beauteously sung by soprano Sofia Fomina), “very leisurely.” The instructions neatly match the sounds and emotions at hand. 

Mahler symphonies afford an orchestra a ripe opportunity to show what it’s made of, as the composer takes advantage of the possibilities of the orchestral palette and varied brushwork available to him. His insider’s vantage as a famed conductor gave him ready access to secret knowledge about a symphony’s inner workings. Throughout Mahler’s Symphony, the DSO was in charge, carefully heeding the details while happily getting lost in the thicker thickets of the piece’s design.

DSO’s Mahler achieved the desired effect for that composer’s unique orchestral impact, creating a lovely place and story to hang out in. It seemed an ideal resting spot for another strong, if short, CAMA season of orchestral majesty.