OPENING NIGHT:
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

What Makes a Masterwork? You Decided.

Richard Lee, conductor
Timothy Chooi, violin

Mozart: Adagio & Fugue, K. 546
Mahler: Blumine from Symphony No. 1
Bruch: Violin Concerto in G minor
Franck: Symphony in D minor

The East Texas Symphony Orchestra opened its season with an evening that invited the audience to consider a timeless question: What makes a masterwork?

Throughout the concert, guests became part of the conversation, voting in real time on whether four works by Mozart, Mahler, Bruch, and Franck deserved a place among the enduring works of the classical canon.

One of the evening’s most memorable moments came just before intermission, when acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi joined the ETSO for Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor. Chooi’s extraordinary artistry brought the concerto vividly to life, earning an enthusiastic response from the audience—and an encore. He returned with a selection from The Red Violin, offering one more captivating performance before intermission.

At the conclusion of the concert, Maestro Richard Lee stepped to the front of the stage with a red envelope in hand and revealed the evening’s final tabulations:

Mozart: 55% Masterwork
Mahler: 76% Masterwork
Bruch: 91% Masterwork
Franck: 80% Masterwork

Bruch received the evening’s most resounding endorsement at 91%—a result that followed Chooi’s exceptional performance of the work.

Four composers. Four works. Four opportunities to listen with fresh ears and consider what transforms great music into a masterwork.

On Opening Night, the audience had the final word: all four made the cut.