Whether the soloist has played it five times or five hundred times, he'll want to do a little extra with it. We must be prepared to follow every nuance. The weekend before the concert, Phillips opens two evening rehearsals to the public. Phillips wears the same white-tie tuxedo and tails he'll don for the real performance. In a blue velvet dress, white tights, and black patent-leather Mary Janes, Wong looks much younger than thirteen.
Any ambivalence disappears, however, when the music begins.
Wong's playing is sophisticated beyond her years, and the orchestra sounds richer and more precise than it did just a few days earlier. Afterwards, bouquets are brought forth for Wong and Sherba. Their work is done. For the orchestra, though, the hardest moments lie ahead. On the morning of the concert, the musicians gather in Veterans Memorial Auditorium for a dress rehearsal.