Once again, pianist Howard Shelley sets the season’s standard

Tt seems inevitable that, sometime prior to the beginning of season each year, I’m asked by a veritable flurry of people what concert I would select if I could only attend one at the Phil.

Every year my answer has been the same: Howard Shelley. Howard Shelley. Howard Shelley.

And so it was once again this year.

The evening of Oct. 27, a packed hall at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts was enthralled by Shelley’s electrifying pianistic talents. This time he brought down the house with a breathtaking performance of George Gershwin’s monumental “Concerto in F Major.”

Clear aside from Shelley and the orchestra’s sizzling performance of the Gershwin, there were other reasons to rate the performance as the pinnacle against which all other classical concerts will be judged this season. If you were among the fortunate 1,400 or so raptly attentive people who filled the hall to capacity, I don’t need to tell you just how phenomenal the evening was.

Howard Shelley It was glorious.

Off-the-charts memorable, with superb musicianship and conducting.

In my opinion, Shelley is hands-down the world’s greatest living pianist.

What more could one ask for?

As I studied the musicians assembling on stage, I could not help but recall how they looked — and sounded — the first few concerts my husband and I attended following our relocation to Naples.

Yes, they were good — actually, they were considerably better than we had any right to expect, given how young the orchestra was and how small this community was back then. But compared to their performance since the board handed the baton to Jorge Mester? Now they look and sound like they are from an entirely different planet altogether.

Greatness is in the nuances. And therein is the difference.

The Naples Philharmonic Orchestra has become a great orchestra under the direction of Mester, one of the world’s most dynamic conductors. Their essentially flawless performance Thursday evening clearly demonstrated that.

The opening selection, Brahms’ energetic “Academic Festival Overture,” proved the perfect precursor for the Gershwin. Ranging from prayerful to playful, including strong contributions from the trumpets and brass sections, the composition incorporated several well-known German songs. The audience gave it a standing ovation.

And the evening had just begun.

And now, Howard Shelley

The excitement was palpable as the chairs were repositioned on stage and the Yamaha concert grand wheeled out. Then thunderous applause greeted Shelley as he strode onto the stage, ready to dazzle the audience with his virtuosity.

With this number, Gershwin bridged the gap between classical and the pop/ jazz rhythms of his day. Strident pianistic moments magically interspersed with delicate, liquid runs, flawless glissandi interspersed with wonderfully asynchronous sounds. Snippets of other, more familiar Gershwin songs. The wailing of the alto sax. Syncopation galore. The xylophone and an entire assortment of percussive instruments. Rhythm. Rhythm. Rhythm.

Forty some minutes later, Gershwin was doubtless smiling from on high, as the crowd brought Shelley and Mester back for a continuing standing ovation. Whistles and cheers resounded throughout the hall. Every section of the orchestra was called upon to acknowledge the audience’s appreciation.

I would have been happy to end the program right there, but it was only intermission — time for Shelley to sign CDs in an absolutely packed lobby of fans waiting to purchase them and to have a moment with the master.

The final half of the evening’s program was equally choice, with Rachmaninoff’s final composition, “Symphonic Dances,” which he completed barely weeks before his death.

Again, virtually every member of the orchestra had his or her moment in the sun. And again, the audience responded with yet another standing ovation.

Thinking it was finally over, basking in the memory of all that wonderful music, the audience was reluctantly preparing to leave when Mester returned to the stage and, smiling, had the musicians primed for a fun encore: Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance #l.”

A host of wonderful programs is in stock for concertgoers at the Phil this season. Although we’ll have to wait until next year before Shelley returns to work his magic on piano, I suspect the wait will be worth it: I am pleased to report that in discussing his schedule with the affable Shelley, I learned he will be here in January 2011, this time for several straight performances of Robert Schumann’s monumental “Piano Concerto in A Minor.”

Plan now to purchase tickets for not just one, but at least two of the back-to-back performances next season. You’ll thank me for the recommendation. 

— Peg Goldberg Longstreth was trained a classical musician. She owns Longstreth Goldberg Art Gallery in Naples.