‘Beethoven, Mozart, Poulenc’ @ Dallas Chamber Orchestra

Pianist Anton Nel; Moody Performance Hall

—Wayne Lee Gay

Pianist Anton Nel joined the Dallas Chamber Orchestra and conductor Richard McKay Tuesday night for an inspired pairing of two cheerfully profound piano concertos. 

Mozart aimed to be both entertaining and intellectually satisfying in his Piano Concerto No. 23 in F; Nel fulfilled Mozart's genius in that regard with a touch deftly marrying delicacy with solid substance. The Allegretto second movement in particular finds Mozart leaning toward romanticism; the resonant swelling opening phrases from the orchestra were answered with a breathtaking pianissimo from pianist Nel, leading to brilliant interplay between the orchestra and pianist. 

Even while pointing to the future, Mozart turned back toward the past in the third and final movement, where a jolly tune expands into grand imitative counterpoint. Here Nel succeeded brilliantly in a movement that's emotionally and technically demanding. 

French composer Francis Poulenc provided a twentieth-century answer to Mozart with his Piano Concerto of 1950, featuring a muscular dialogue for piano and orchestra in the opening movement, shifts of sunshine and storm in the second, and a luscious race toward a quiet finish in the third. Here, Nel once again demonstrated an impeccable sense of style, neatly supported by conductor McKay and the orchestra.

For this concert, the orchestra featured a full wind section and a string section somewhat smaller than that of a full symphony orchestra—in other words, an ensemble exactly appropriate for the two concertos and for the intimate Moody Performance Hall. And it's an ensemble historically well-sized and similar to what Beethoven would have expected for his Seventh Symphony, the closing work of the concert.  McKay and orchestra produced exactly the right sound for the grand opening chords of the Beethoven work, with McKay finding a delightful lilt in the opening theme. Likewise, he discovered a wonderfully appropriate energy, solid and momentous at the same time. Only the second movement—arguably the heart of this masterpiece—came across as a little lighter in character than this profound work demands.

WHEN: October 14, 2025
WHERE: Moody Performance Hall, Dallas Arts District
WEB: dcsymphony.org