In its paintings, Washington's National Gallery of Art pays more heed to the old world than to the new: more Titians than Trumbulls hang in its marbled halls. Musically, almost the reverse has been true since a tall, dark-haired young (34) conductor named Richard Bales took over the free gallery concerts six years ago. Bach and Beethoven are heard but so are dozens of aspiring U.S. composers who seldom, if ever, get a hearing in Constitution or Carnegie halls.
Last week, music-lovers drifted leisurely through the dark green marble-pillared rotunda toward the glass-ceilinged East Garden Court for the fifth and final concert...
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