Dancing

Dancing has been in the news a lot lately. Whether it's dancing with the stars or dancing on the basketball court, not a newscast goes by when that action verb isn't overused. Thursday, we got to witness dancing of another kind as we watched the National Symphony Orchestra dance its way through the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, K 595, with soloist Jonathan Biss at the keyboard and conductor Herbert Blomstedt on the podium. The orchestral playing was light and delightful.

After intermission, the orchestra made a complete change as it doubled its onstage forces to present the three movements of Anton Bruckner's unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The symphony can be described as no less than massive, and, if anything, it most certainly was loud. The octagenarian Blomstedt impressively maintained the intensity and energy of the long performance throughout the symphony.