November 20, 21 & 22(m), 2025
Meyerson Symphony Center
Dallas, TX – USA
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Shira Samuels-Shragg, conductor; Gregory Raden, clarinet.
Jonathan CZINER: Clarinet Concerto (premiere)
Moni Jasmine GUO: the sound of where I came from (premiere)
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART: Symphony No. 40
Gregory Sullivan Isaacs | 25 NOV 2025
The main problem with being the assistant conductor comes when the music director is called away for an emergency. That is made all the worse when the program includes two world premieres, along with two very familiar works. It presents double trouble.
Any new piece always presents conductorial troubles, especially these days, when there are usually constant meter shifts, structural matters that need careful consideration, and interpretive concerns that bring the work to life. Further, familiar works require any conductor to bring something fresh to something that is well known. Adding to the situation, music director Fabio Luisi has a unique approach to conducting, so anyone different on the podium faces ingrained music habits to negotiate.
This was the fate of assistant conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg on Friday evening’s Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert.
She was at her best in the two new works.
One of them was Jonathan Cziner’s Clarinet Concerto, written for the orchestra’s superlative principal clarinetist Gregory Raden. This concerto was a super virtuosic showpiece for the instrument. However, with Raden’s magnificent performance, some in the audience mayn’t have realised just what a huge accomplishment he delivered.
Raden was technically perfect, with dead-on intonation, easy facility (rather than showy), and an incredible way of making the disparate sounds the instrument’s registers even out.
From the opening serenity of the first movement, “Meditation”, through a stunning clarinet cadenza, into the final movement, “Rikudim” with its spirited klezmer riffs, Cziner’s concerto is overflowing with ideas. Samuels-Shragg was right with Raden, moving from challenge to challenge in a noticeably close collaboration.
An aside: It is wonderful to see two new pieces getting major performances. But I must add that Jonathan Cziner, who holds a wall full of impressive degrees, is also the music director of Dallas’s own new music group, “Voices of Change.” This distinguished ensemble, made up of top Dallas-based musicians, is woefully neglected amongst the local musical clamour. I heartily suggest that you check them out at voicesofchange.org.
The other new work on the program was much more modest in concept and execution. Composer Moni Jasmine Guo’s “the sound of where I came from” is based on conversations she enjoyed with her Chinese grandmother. The back and forth between them was easy to follow, especially with a wash of sound between them. At the end, the piece vaporised like fond memories frequently do. This was a lovely, different kind of orchestral showpiece, delivering its message with serenity while keeping your interest throughout.
Understandably, with two new, complex pieces on the program, the other two standard works didn’t fare quite as well under Samuels-Shragg’s last-minute tutelage. Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 sounded ragged, especially in the beginning, and had some intonation and ensemble troubles. Mozart’s much-loved Symphony No. 40 felt rushed in spots and lacked a personal musical touch. However, Samuels-Shragg proved her worth throughout the evening, and we look forward to hearing her conduct again without the incredible pressure presented by a last-minute call. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Dallas Symphony Orchestra: dallassymphony.org
- Shira Samuels-Shragg: shirasamuels-shragg.com
- Gregory Raden: dallassymphony.org/people/gregory-raden
- Jonathan Cziner: jonathancziner.com
- Moni Jasmine Guo: jasminemoniguo.wixsite.com/composer
Read more by Gregory Sullivan Isaacs.
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