CONCERT REVIEW Philharmonic gives superb renditions

Under the maestro, excitement and drive prevailed.
By JEROME K. STEPHENS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- And so the best shall be last -- in this case, after the intermission. Not that anything heard at the Warren Philharmonic concert at the Packard Music Hall on Sunday was less than the best, but the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F was clearly the centerpiece of the afternoon.
Susan Davenny Wyner conducted her husband, pianist and composer Yehudi Wyner, in this superb performance. It has been said that the chief reason for the popularity of George Gershwin's concert works are the chief reason for their appeal. Really now!
Gershwin did do some bright and melodically flippant Broadway shows, but he also did the more somber show, "Let Them Eat Cake," which was only recently rediscovered, but melody is far from being the main part of this concerto.
Often underrated
From the opening with the timpani and percussion playing the major role in that initial statement of the first movement, to the rousing conclusion of the third, and a lyrical slow movement evocative of the nighttime sounds of the streets and nightclubs of 1920s New York, it is clear that this concerto is a demanding, top-class composition that is all too often underrated by the critics. Maestro Davenny Wyner and pianist Wyner with the orchestra were more than equal to the challenge.
Her conducting was up to her usual high standards, with the orchestra showing itself to be very responsive to her direction. Yehudi Wyner had that deceptive appearance of ease that showed him to be a master of the piano, who was also to all appearances having a grand old time.
This is not by any means intended to slight the rest of the evening's offerings, which consisted of three concert standards. The concert was opened by a very lively performance of the almost too well known "William Tell Overture" by Gioacchino Rossini. Many of my generation remember the fourth part as the theme of the Lone Ranger broadcasts. What is less well remembered is that Liszt's Les Preludes and the second movement of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony were also extensively used.
The second presentation was "A Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Musorgsky, or, to give it its full title, "St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain." This was edited by Rimsky-Korsakov, but was also arranged by Leopold Stokowsky for the Disney film "Fantasia." This composition is performed with great frequency, and, as a consequence, can seem a bit shopworn, but under Maestro Davenny Wyner, there was an excitement and a drive that I have not often heard in recent years.
Final presentation
The same could be said for the final presentation of the first part of the concert, Paul Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." This was patterned after a satirical ballad by Goethe, and was also done as a ballet in 1916 by the Ballets Russes in 1916.
It is its use in the film "Fantasia," with Mickey Mouse as the hapless apprentice, that is best remembered today. That exhilarating version followed the story line closely. It is probably one of the best tone poems ever written, and both conductor and orchestra made it even more convincing.
The Warren Philharmonic is one of the best shows in town, and there is plenty of room at Packard. They deserve to have the house packed.