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Jaap van Zweden, installed last month as the music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, hasn’t been around much in recent weeks. Last week, he was in Antwerp with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, for which he acts as chief conductor. And this week he’s in Chicago, subbing for conductor Riccardo Chailly as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony. Which is why the Chicago Tribune this morning ran a Q&A with van Zweden, in which he was asked how things were going down in Dallas. –Robert Wilonsky
What have been your initial impressions as music director of the Dallas Symphony? Are the conditions in place for you to achieve the level of musicmaking you hope to achieve?
Absolutely. I have already observed a big difference from the music we made the first time I conducted them and the music we are making now. The difference is in how they react to me. You know, making music is nothing more than developing a relationship [with the musicians] onstage. This relationship has already blossomed so beautifully in Dallas. To be honest, it is [succeeding] well beyond my expectations!