DSO's new assistant conductor, Katharina Wincor, debuts in a concert celebrating the Meyerson Symphony Center's 30th

Five years ago, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra made a big to-do for the 25th anniversary of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. This year, with a new music director, Fabio Luisi, arriving, plus new principal guest and assistant conductors, and a raft of new programming initiatives, the hall is getting less attention.

But let us not neglect once again to praise the late architect I.M. Pei and acoustical consultant Russell Johnson and their colleagues, and a raft of civic leaders, who gave us a building of visual elegance and sonic opulence.

The anniversary was celebrated Wednesday night with a one-off concert led by new assistant conductor Katharina Wincor. It was a classical-lite program, just an hour long, at bargain ticket prices. Just fine for a school night, it was quite enjoyable.

The program included a new 20-minute work commissioned for the occasion by the DSO's Norma and Don Stone New Music Fund. Inner City Rhapsody was by Quinn Mason, a North Dallas High School alum in his early 20s now studying at Southern Methodist University.

Surprisingly, perhaps, only the middle and final sections whip up the energy, even chaos, we immediately associate with inner cities; perhaps Aaron Copland's Quiet City was an inspiration. Much of the piece explores gentle lapping effects from strings and weavings of winds and horn. Liquescent, even sensuous, textures evoke Debussy and Ravel; noisily climactic passages suggest more dissonant Respighi.

Young composers always find their voices by sorting through their influences. What's impressive about Inner City Rhapsody is Mason's command of complex orchestral textures.

As with writers, composers often can use editors, and at least on first hearing I thought this could be made a better piece — maybe 15 minutes long — with some judicious tightening. And the last section seemed less inspired than what came before. But Mason is a most impressive talent, and I look forward to hearing more from him.

An older but still young American composer, Jessie Montgomery, was represented by Starburst, a  flashy four-minute showpiece for string orchestra. There was more flash and flair in two movements from Alberto Ginastera's Estancia Suite: "Wheat Dance" and "Malambo — Final Dance."

With a reduced string ensemble, co-concertmaster Nathan Olson supplied sweet lyricism as well as dazzling virtuosity in the "Summer" movement of Astor Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.  He doubled as conductor to get the proceedings underway.

Framing the program were two rousing standards, the Overture to Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus and the Prelude to Act III of Wagner's Lohengrin.

In its first symphonic concert after a summer break, the orchestra wasn't as polished as it will be once the season gets going. Although Wincor gave clear and authoritative direction, wind and brass chords weren't always quite together, and she could have kept brasses under better control. Especially with unfamiliar pieces on the program, the absence of program notes was inexcusable.

Looking ahead: FWSO opener

Yekwon Sunwoo, gold medalist of the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, joins the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the season-opening program. He'll play the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto, on a program also including the world premiere of Remix by Till MacIvor Meyn, professor of music theory and composition at Texas Christian University, and the Brahms Fourth Symphony.

Music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts three performances at Bass Performance Hall, Fourth and Commerce in Fort Worth: at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 and 14 and 2 p.m. Sept. 15. $22 to $97. 817-665-6000, fwsymphony.org.

Formerly staff classical music critic of The Dallas Morning News, Scott Cantrell continues to cover the beat as a freelance writer. Classical music coverage at The News is supported in part by a grant from the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. The News makes all editorial decisions.