Philharmonic audience lets loose a cheer, unrestrained by tradition

• William Nesmith
• Evansville Courier & Press
• Posted October 1, 2011 at 10:51 p.m.

EVANSVILLE - There is an old tradition - and you'll notice I didn't say a "fine" one - at classical concerts of the audience holding its applause until the end of mulit-movement works, such as symphonies and concertos.

Usually, at a concert of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra it is a fairly safe bet that there will be at least one or two folks who, being unfamiliar with this hoary practice, will applaud - actually show their appreciation and enjoyment - between movements. (And blessings on them.)

But last night, the entire audience erupted in spontaneous and prolonged applause for pianist Kevin Cole and the EPO at the end of the first movement of George Gershwin's "Concerto in F" and rightly so.

The opening concert of the EPO's season featured the Candide Overture by Leonard Bernstein, Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("From the New World"), and the Gershwin concerto, all either by an American composer or with distinct links to America.

Kevin Cole, the evening's soloist, has been described as the leading Gershwin pianist in America. Certainly he is a fine pianist, tossing off the Gershwin like a simple exercise. At the end of a spectacular first movement, the audience, as I said, departed form standard concert procedure for prolonged applause.

If Edward Hopper's painting, "Night Hawks", had music, it would be the second movement, music that catches perfectly the feel of being lonely. Tim Zifer's trumpet solos in this movement were perfect, all unspoken loneliness and heartbreak.

Mr. Cole got a well-deserved standing ovation, and graced us with an encore, a solo of "Fascinating Rhythm."

The second half of the concert consisted of the Dvorak symphony, conducted from memory by Music Director Alfred Savia. This was a solid performance of a concert warhorse that has no mysteries for listeners. No more immediately accessible and melodic piece exists in the standard repertoire, and although there were a couple of ragged attacks by the horns, it was a fine way to end the evening.

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