Zubin Mehta. Photo: TKHunt

The venues will range from the Winspear to the Meyerson to the City Performance Hall, but the big addition of the AT&T PAC‘s new series comes with major touring orchestras coming to town, notably the Israel Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta. The first of the annual series begins in July with the Filarmonica Joven from Colombia and concludes next April with the Dallas Opera Orchestra in concert.

The full release:

INAUGURAL 2015/2016 SEASON

Filarmónica Joven de Colombia – July 9, 2015
Itzhak Perlman/Emanuel Ax – September 20, 2015
Evgeny Kissin – December 11, 2015
The Dallas Opera Orchestra in Concert – April 24, 2016

Plus a non-subscription special event
Benefiting the Rabin Medical Center in Israel
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Zubin Mehta– November 17, 2015

Dallas –The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center is proud to introduce a new vision for classical music in North Texas: The Classical Criterion.

This new subscription concert series, to be offered annually, will present a combination of international touring orchestras and significant recitalists in Dallas. In particular, the focus on presenting touring orchestras fills a void in the city’s current arts and entertainment scene.

“Under The Classical Criterion banner, we will present some of the finest performers in the world that everyone should have the privilege of enjoying,” said Doug Curtis, president and CEO of the Center. “It’s a chance for the Center to add a new layer to the already rich cultural landscape in Dallas.”

Taking advantage of the impressive selection of performance spaces in the Dallas Arts District, The Classical Criterion will take place in venues ranging from the Winspear Opera House, to the Meyerson Symphony Center, to Dallas City Performance Hall. The performers and their repertoire will dictate the most appropriate space for each concert to take place.

Four-show subscription packages are available now with seating in the Center Circle Orchestra Section available exclusively to Center Circle Members. Information is available by calling Membership Services at 214-978-2888.

Subscribers to the four-show series receive benefits including discounted ticket price, right to renew their same seats for future seasons and a discounted parking option.

Subscribers may also purchase tickets to the non-subscription special presentation of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta. This performance, at the Meyerson Symphony Center on November 17, is presented in partnership with Texas Friends of Rabin Medical Center with proceeds from the evening benefiting Rabin Medical Center. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra tickets range from $150-$35.

Four-show subscription packages range from $80.00 – $410.00, and may be purchased online at www.attpac.org/classical, by telephone at 214-880-0202 or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Information Center at 2353 Flora Street (Monday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 a.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.).

Note: Photos and logos for media use are available at: www.attpac.org/media
Please use the provided photo credits when publishing photos.

THE CLASSICAL CRITERION – 2015/2016 SEASON

Filarmónica Joven de Colombia
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor
7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Meyerson Symphony Center

Presented in partnership with Kaplan

Launched in 2010, Filarmónica Joven de Colombia (Colombian Youth Philharmonic) has become an icon in Colombia and the region. FJC has performed eighty-three concerts in sixteen cities throughout its home country, has been showcased for the last two years as the academic program centerpiece of the Cartagena Music Festival, has led international tours that included presentations in venues ranging from Sala Sao Paulo to the New World Center in Miami, and has been the subject of several episodes of NPR’s From The Top.
FJC is a private social project led by Fundación Bolívar Davivienda in its interest to promote culture and support the construction of artistic life projects for more than 250,000 talented musicians. FJC presents a unique social initiative in Colombia and strives to be a prominent symbol of national musical culture abroad. The orchestra has grown significantly due to its high artistic aspirations and the multiple alliances established with international institutions such as Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre des Champs Élysées and Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía.

Itzhak Perlman/Emanuel Ax
Two Legends, Together on One Stage
7:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 20, 2105
Winspear Opera House

Presented in partnership with The Dallas Jewish Community Foundation

Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax first captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition; he went on to win the Young Concert Artists Michaels Award (1975), and the Avery Fisher Prize (1979). A GRAMMY® winning artist exclusive to Sony Classical since 1987, his most recent release is a recital disc exploring “variations” by composers including Haydn, Schumann, and Copland. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates from Yale and Columbia Universities.
Evgeny Kissin
In Recital
7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Winspear Opera House
Evgeny Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have earned him the veneration and admiration deserved only by one of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation and, arguably, generations past. He is in demand the world over, and has appeared with many of the world’s great conductors and all the great orchestras of the world.

In this unique evening intended to preserve the rich heritage of European Jewry — which The Washington Post called “breathtaking” — Kissin will perform works by seldom-heard Jewish composers (including Milner, Veprik & Krein) and recite selections of Yiddish poetry.
“I’m not sure anyone else has the virtuosity to step this far outside the box with such honesty and dignity and power.” – The Washington Post

The Dallas Opera Orchestra in Concert
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Winspear Opera House
The afternoon will feature a rare opportunity to experience The Dallas Opera Orchestra on stage as they perform Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor: “Babi Yar,” op. 113 by Dmitri Shostakovich
A ravine outside the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, a chasm that no amount of tears can ever heal, became one of the most notorious “killing fields” on the eastern front of World War II: Babi Yar. It was here that a series of brutal massacres was carried out, that took the lives of an estimated 70 to 150 thousand people—most of them Jews.
Two decades after this infamous slaughter, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich turned his attention to the “loathsome” problem of anti-Semitism, inspired by Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s searing 1961 poem, “Babi Yar.” The controversial project, which skewered many aspects of Soviet life in addition to the horrors committed during the Nazi occupation, overcame every obstacle to premiere in Moscow in December 1962. Described as “a symphonic cantata” and “orchestral song cycle,” this highly original work is a symphony in both structure and in scope, and today is regarded as one of the composer’s most deeply personal works of art.
The afternoon will begin with a performance of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, composed for the 1806 Viennese revival of his only opera, Fidelio, another work forged in the fires of suffering and oppression, yet, ultimately triumphant.

Plus a Non-Subscription Special Presentation

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta, conductor
8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Meyerson Symphony Center

Presented in partnership with the Texas Friends of Rabin Medical
Center, benefitting Rabin Medical Center in Israel
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is one of Israel’s oldest and most influential cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1936, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has dedicated itself to presenting the world’s greatest music to audiences in Israel and around the world. Founded by Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra represents the fulfillment of his dream “to unite the desire of the country for an orchestra with the desire of the Jewish musicians for a country.” Huberman spent countless hours persuading first-chair musicians of Eastern European and German orchestras, who had lost their jobs as a result of Naziism, to emigrate to Palestine. In doing so, Huberman created an “orchestra of soloists” which, under the esteemed leadership of Zubin Mehta, continues to absorb new immigrants and serve as a gathering point for musicians from all over the world.

Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra since 1969, Maestro Zubin Mehta ranks among the most internationally acclaimed orchestral and operatic conductors of our age Mehta’s unprecedented affection and dedication to the IPO, the State of Israel and its people has endured, and indeed flourished, throughout his brilliant career.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center and Texas Friends of the Rabin Medical Center will host a special fundraising reception at the Winspear Opera House prior to the concert. Giving levels range from $1,000 per couple up to $50,000 underwriting packages and include access to the best orchestra seating for the performance, a special preshow reception, parking and special VIP experiences.  For more information, please call Membership Services at 214-978-2888.