he Dallas Symphony Orchestra traces its beginnings back to May 22, 1900, under the direction of German-born conductor Hans Kreissig. Walter J. Fried, also a German native, succeeded Kreissig from 1905 to 1911, and then again from 1918 to 1925. The Orchestra was renamed the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra, performing mostly Beethoven works. Between the years 1911 and 1914, fellow German Carl Venth, founder of the Brooklyn Symphony, took over the podium. The orchestra continues to dazzle audiences today with performances and outreach over 110 years later. Mexican Conductor Eduardo Mata was appointed director of the University of Mexico Philharmonic in 1966. He then held directorships with several other orchestras before becoming the music director of the Dallas Symphony orchestra in 1977, where he not only performed and recorded for several labels, but also campaigned for the construction of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. While in Dallas, he also acted as principal guest conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and the director of the National Opera of Mexico. He also had an active guest conducting schedule, appearing regularly in Cleveland, Philadelphia , Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Frankfurt and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. When Mata retired in June of 1993, he had held the longest tenure as music director in the Orchestra’s history and was named conductor emeritus of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Under Mata, the Orchestra made more than 30 recordings, one of which was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for Best Orchestral Recording. Sadly, Mata was killed in a tragic plane crash on January 4th, 1995. This set is a celebration of his life and work with this orchestra and is a follow up to the recently remastered and released box set of his recordings on Dorian with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, LATIN AMERICA ALIVE - Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra | The Eduardo