With music director Andrew Litton taking his annual departure - he'll be back in 2004 - the Dallas Symphony Orchestra shifted into the guest mode on Thursday night. The fresh blood breathed new life into the orchestra's series in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Conductor Peter Oundjian and pianist Lukás Vondrácek were the newcomers. The latter is a young Czech - in fact, he's still a teenager - who's clearly a major talent. His maturity showed up as soon as he started Mendelssohn's frisky Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor. This can be played purely as a virtuoso romp, but Mr. Vondrácek made much more out of it. Though the energy was certainly there, he gave a subtle, finely shaded performance that in the very beginning moved smoothly from the choppy opening notes to a more relaxed, lyrical phrase. Thereafter his playing in the quick movements was brisk but never breathless. The songful slow movement was wonderfully done, and the finale again maintained a lively pace but left room for plenty of interesting detail. 

Mendelssohn was not much older than Mr. Vondrácek when he composed it. It's a cheerful work that seems perfect for a display of youthful energy.
.