Only those closest to Brahms knew how important this piece was to him, and how he’d suffered in its creation. In his early twenties, he’d lived as the protégé of Robert and Clara Schumann.

There were lovely moments Friday night in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s performances of the Schumann Piano Concerto (with Hélène Grimaud) and Brahms Fourth Symphony. But, with music director ...

Either way, this thirty-minute-long score doesn’t sound particularly valedictory. Though its middle movements mine some dark territory, the outer pair are wonderfully sunny; the finale digs into the ...