There Stands the Glass

I can’t recall the last time I had so much unadulterated fun at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. Overseen by the unassuming star conductor Marin Alsop, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo did away with the veil of pretension that too often stifles joy at Helzberg Hall on Monday, October 10.

With the artificial construct of high culture eradicated, the Brazilians’ elite renderings of compositions by Heitor Villa-Lobos and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov could be appreciated without the default filter of stodgy formality. From my perch in the least expensive seat ($38.50!) high above the stage, I had a bird’s eye view of how exceptional artists can thrive in the absence of the haughty affectations associated with traditional concert halls.

Only “Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, Op. 86” and José Staneck’s subsequent encore of “The Girl from Ipanema”- ugh, a bane of my existence!- didn’t fully succeed. As is usually the case in the room, the sound of the amplified instrument died before it reached the cheap seats. An invigorating reading of the ear-tickling “Scheherazade” after intermission made up for the lapse.

The 1,600-capacity room was half full. The low turnout heightened the sense of relaxed intimacy. During a post-concert chat, Clark Morris, the Executive and Artistic Director of the Harriman-Jewell Series, cited a concurrent professional football game as the reason for the empty seats. Alsop responded with words to live by: “with music, you always win.”