In its day, an ongoing legacy 107 years old and counting, CAMA has done a heroic job of ushering renowned orchestras from around the world through Santa Barbara in its “International Series” of concerts. And the organization has also taken care to showcase the “national” part of the equation, in terms of American orchestras deemed worthy of global status. The list includes the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony (last here in January), and annual visits from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, whose standing has risen dramatically in the past 25 years.
On Wednesday, the current CAMA season closes with another American beauty, off to the side of the upper echelon but a well-respected group well worth a listen, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO). The DSO last performed here in 1973, with a program of Mendelssohn, Poulenc, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Fast forward 52 years, and the program is a double-headliner of Schumann’s Piano Concerto — with Santa Ynez’s world-famous pianist Hélène Grimaud as soloist — and the post-intermission feast of Mahler’s relatively sunny Symphony No. 4, featuring soprano soloist Sofia Fomina.
Grimaud, an animal activist with a particular passion for preservation and respect for wolves, along with her prowess in the classical world, is a Santa Barbara favorite. Her past performances in her adopted county have included recitals and concerto work with touring orchestras, including the Santa Barbara Symphony. Among other specialties, she has been noted for her sensitivity to Schumann’s music: Listen to her here , playing the Schumann concerto with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (another orchestra with the acronym DSO).
