Ned Gardner: An encore to remember

Regarding the May 13 letter “A sour symphony note”: A letter-writer who supports House Bill 2 complained of a North Carolina Symphony soloist expressing from the stage dismay regarding the bill. The writer complained the performer was “a thief for doing it on my dime.”

I attended that concert. Here is my take. The soloist brilliantly fulfilled his contractual obligation to the symphony and the ticket-holders by offering a beautiful rendition of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. That’s where the trouble started.

The audience offered the violinist a prolonged ovation, a traditional means of ticket-holders requesting a free performance of music beyond the performer’s contractual obligation, i.e., an encore.

In this case, the soloist acquiesced to the audience’s request and exquisitely performed a movement of solo Bach (which precipitated another standing ovation), but there was a catch – he offered a dedication of the encore to an issue dear to his artistic heart: LGBT civil rights.

Perhaps the letter-writer should exit concerts immediately upon the sounding of the scheduled program’s last note. That may be where his ticket-holder’s fiduciary control ends, and who knows what might happen next.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Ned Gardner: An encore to remember."