Over the summer, Dallas Symphony Orchestra Maestro Jaap van Zweden spent some time with a camera crew talking through one of the pieces from each of the concerts he'll conduct this year with the symphony. "The Maestro's Choice" videos are well-produced and informative clips that provide audiences with Van Zweden's enthusiastic take on some of the music they'll hear each weekend.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's 2013/2014 season gets under way tonight with a program featuring romantic 19th-century music by Berlioz and Tchaikovsky. This weekend's program -- both in length and in style -- is a great one for classical music novices: exciting, beautiful and very accessible.
But heading into any classical concert can be daunting. A little background information on the pieces you're going to hear never hurts -- especially when it is explained by someone who knows the music at its deepest levels in a charming Dutch accent.
You can check out more of the videos on the orchestra's YouTube channel.