“Few musical experiences are as gratifying as a truly distinguished performance debut,” writes Scott Cantrell in Monday’s (11/17) Dallas Morning News. “That pleasure was supplied Sunday afternoon by Andrés Franco, conducting the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at Bass Performance Hall. Trained in his native Colombia and at Texas Christian University, Franco is no stranger to the FWSO. He was the orchestra’s associate, then resident, conductor from 2009 to 2014, and he continues as artistic director of the summertime Concerts in the Park series. The weekend’s concerts, though, represented Franco’s debut in the main-season symphonic series, and in a program that would expose the slightest uncertainty or imprecision. In the manner of many a younger conductor—Franco is 37—he flailed and bounced more than necessary in Sunday’s final performance. But by whatever means he got performances incisive, expressive and, indeed, eloquent. If I were running the FWSO, I would have handed him a contract for his next main-season gig as soon as he walked off the stage.” Works on the program were Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony, and the Barber Violin Concerto. “All told, the three pieces displayed the FWSO as a superbly disciplined ensemble.”
Posted November 18, 2014
