The start of the Portland Symphony Orchestra concert on the 11th began on a somber note. Carolyn Nishon, the executive director of the orchestra announced that due to the death of Robert Moody’s father, he would not be conducting the concert. The conductor for this concert was Paul Polivnick.

Mr. Polivnick is an experienced conductor as was soon evident. However, it seems that to every rule there is an exception. While his conducting was assured and even exceptional for three of the four pieces on the program, I cannot say that this was the case in the opening composition, the Academic Festival Overture by Johannes Brahms. There was a disconnect between the wonderful rendition by the orchestra taking place at the same time that one watched the erratic, imprecise and at times downright awkward gestures of the conductor. Judging by what followed I would chalk it up to nervousness as I can’t think of any other reason.

The second composition on the program was the Violin Concerto by the eminent American composer, Samuel Barber (1910-1981) with concertmaster Charles Dimmick doing the honors as the soloist. Mr. Dimmick plays with passion, accuracy and distinction every time I have heard him and this time was no exception. Mr. Polovnick conducted with a clear beat and was always on the same page with the soloist. The first two movements of the concerto are lyrical and sunny even if at times bittersweet. The violinist Iso Briselli, on whose behalf the concerto was commissioned, refused to play it because of the catch-me-if-you-can foot race of the last movement. The contrast between the lyrical first two movements and the out-of-breath last movement is such that one wonders if it was composed by the same person who wrote the first two movements. For folk whose acquaintance with Barber begins and ends with his Adagio for Strings will likewise be puzzled by this movement. Mr. Dimmick played each and every note of the piece and was rewarded with a standing ovation and also with a well earned bouquet of flowers delivered by his young daughter.

Following intermission, the orchestra performed a work called Alternative Energy by the contemporary American composer Mason Bates (b. 1977). Lucky is the composer who has a conductor to champion his cause. I am thinking of Copland who had Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony to champion his cause and Shostakovitch (and Prokoffiev) as well. Mr. Bates has Mr. Moody to perform his music. This is another of the full employment practices type of composition, with winds in threes, other extra instruments, and a full battery of percussion instruments. (The latter rarely rested.) The four movements are similar and yet distinctly different, making full use of the variety of textures of the orchestra, repeated fragments, repeated rhythmic motives, and a variety of percussion as well as electronic sounds. Mr. Bates obviously knows his way around the orchestra and there is a kind of visual association that one could associate with the title of each movement and the sounds associated with it.

While I did not care for it, I am not prepared to state that it was a poor composition, far from it.

Perhaps repeated performances will change my mind … perhaps.

The last work performed was the infamous Bolero by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) which he composed for Ida Rubinstein’s dance company in 1928. Those of us of a certain age may recall its use in the movie “Ten.” Ravel stated that this piece was an example of orchestration without music. Nevertheless it has been a concert favorite from the start. It has two complimentary melodies repeated over and over again with an insistent rhythm introduced by a solo snare drum. This rhythm is gradually reinforced by different sections of the orchestra while the tension and repetitions of different instruments add to the tension.

I would confess to anything if I had to listen to more than a dozen back-to-back performances, if I lasted that long. Mr. Polovnick was in his element here and was rewarded by an electric rendition by his orchestra. He acknowledged the various soloists and especially the percussion section, as well he might. The concert will be broadcast of Maine Public Radio tonight.

— Dr. Morton Gold is a composer/conductor, retired educator and an arts reviewer for the Journal Tribune.