Review

Lawrence Loh leads pianist Adam Golka and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Comfort zone
Dallas Symphony Orchestra's 'Casual Classics' off to an enjoyable start
CLASSICAL. MUSIC REVIEW If the Dallas Symphony Orchestra could consistently generate the kind of atmosphere that suffused the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on Saturday night, quite a few of its problems would be solved. The occasion was the first of its "Casual Classics" of the summer. A diverse audience that included just about all ages and types came to hear music of Brahms, Liszt and Beethoven. The mood was festive and the audience attentive. This clearly was not a typical DSO subscription crowd. Not only was there a significant number of teens and twenty- somethings, but there were even small children. And here's the amazing thing: I don't remember hearing a single cough, cell-phone or cry. If they occurred, it was off in a far corner somewhere, and subdued .	Part of the draw may be that the series emphasizes casual dress. Come as you are. The lobby decor is bright and there is pop entertainment beforehand. It also helps that the concerts begin at 7:30 and if Saturday is the pattern - are played straight through without intermission. It makes for a longish nonstop span, but you do get out early. The concert was under the direction of DSO associate conductor Lawrence Loh, with 17-year-old pianist Adam Golka as the featured soloist. Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 6 got the concert off to a lively start. Ensemble was a little loose, but the spirit was there. Mr. Golka, winner of the Dallas Symphony's 2003 Lynn Harrell Competition, played Liszt's First Piano Concerto. He has the chops for the Lisztian bluster, but the most impressive thing about his performance was how sensitive and lyrical much of his playing was. He almost convinced you that this is an artistically significant work. It would be nice to have him back to play Mozart, or Schubert on a solo program.	Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, hardly typical summer fare, rounded out the program. Mr. Loh conducted a taut performance that was hair-raising in places, and the DSO was in good form as a whole and in soloists' passages. Those who didn't come for the pre-concert recital at 6:15 p.m. missed some choice music-making. The DSO's concertmaster, Emanuel Borok, and pianist José Feghali played two Beethoven violin-and-piano sonatas (Nos. 4 and 8). The opening movement of the fourth sonata seemed a little heavy-handed on Mr. Feghali's part, but the balance was better later and both men seemed of like mind in interpretive matters. Mr. Borok's tone was sweetly lyrical, as usual. E-mail ochism@dallasnews.com
This is a copy of the review as posted on the Dallas News web site: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/entertainment/overnight/stories/061304dnovedso.8c6c7.html