Brava!

You can't attend a performance at the Kennedy Center without seeing the audience rise to its feet at the end to give the artists a standing ovation.

Which drives me nuts!

Standing ovations should be reserved for performances that are in some way life changing -- or at the very least eye-opening -- like, say, Kathleen Battle's performance of chansons and lieder 20 years ago at George Mason or Andras Schiff's performance of Scarlatti sonatas at the same venue 10 years ago. We absolutely should not stand and clap for everybody who manages to wangle a gig at the concert hall.

That said, last night I jumped to my feet and clapped.

And shouted.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's performance of Shostakovich's violin concerto with the NSO at the Kennedy Center was astounding!

Trust me on this one, you don't want to miss it. If you're in the area, beg, borrow or steal a ticket to tomorrow's performance. You can thank me later.