Bulgarian conductor Delyana Lazarova returns to Orchestra Hall — after last joining the Minnesota Orchestra in the summer of 2024 — to lead a riveting interpretation of Antonin Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony. Along with works by Caroline Shaw and Joseph Haydn, the concert highlighted inventive works from three centuries.

Principal guest conductor for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Utah Symphony, Lazarova brings a fiery presence and taut precision that recalls conductor laureate Osmo Vanska. With forceful, clean movements, she leads the orchestra with bold articulation.

To begin the concert, the orchestra performs “Entr’acte,” written by Shaw in 2011. It’s an exploration of liminality, where shifting states create disorientation. Named after the interval between acts of a play or opera and inspired by a moment of tonal change in a Haydn quartet, the work has a dream-like quality, with musicians at times barely touching the strings to create a hallowed sound. Swirling notes, pizzicato, muted phrases and swelling passages produce a thrilling experience.

For Thursday morning’s performance, the orchestra pushed through a disruption when an audience member appeared to experience a mental health crisis. With admirable concentration, principal cellist Tony Ross stayed the course through his solo, locking eyes with Lazarova as the orchestra continued despite shouting near the stage.

The performance was briefly paused until the person was escorted out. Audience reactions varied, with one person calling for police from the balcony. The smattering of applause from a few patrons as the person exited provided a disturbing end to the incident.

Soon the moment was forgotten as the orchestra moved on to Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major. Soloists Yi Zhao, Erik Wheeler, Kate Wegener and J. Christopher Marshall performed admirably in a piece that sits somewhere between a symphony and a concerto, allowing the musicians to shift fluidly between ensemble playing and spotlight moments. The work begins with a triumphant clip, followed by an Andante where the four soloists engage in light back-and-forth before the piece concludes with high-spirited virtuosity.

After intermission, the orchestra performs Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World.” Written during his 1893 stay in New York, the work reflects the composer’s interpretation of African-American spirituals and what he believed to be Native American musical traditions. It’s telling that an early “American” classical work was penned by a visiting European, and that Dvorak’s ideas about indigeneity were shaped more by literature — notably Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha” — than by direct experience. Even so, his imagining of America has become one of the country’s most iconic symphonic statements.

The first movement moves from a soft, lyrical opening into flashes of energy, pushed forward by timpani and far-off horn calls. Lazarova guides these shifts with a sure hand, letting the brass and winds surge while keeping the strings warm and grounded. The Largo’s famous English horn melody rises with quiet ache, joined gently by the bassoon in a duet that feels both intimate and expansive.

The Scherzo is bright and agile, its restless drive balanced by a lighter, dance-like middle section, with touches of triangle and the cellos tapping their bows adding color. The final movement opens with a dark, weighty theme before charging ahead, the orchestra gathering momentum through plucked strings, sweeping lines, and bold brass, all building to a full-throttle finish.

In the end, Lazarova led a program that balanced poise, imagination, and sheer musical vitality, leaving the audience with a fresh sense of discovery.

Dvorak New World Symphony

When: Friday, Dec. 5, at  8 p.m.

Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.

Tickets: $69-$159

Accessibility: See minnesotaorchestra.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility

Capsule: Guest conductor Delyana Lazarova brings a dynamic vitality to her engagement with the Minnesota Orchestra in an evening that includes Shaw, Haydn and Dvorak.

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