The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is smack dab in the middle of a smoking-hot February. They programmed a Black History Month bonanza – the classic Lift Every Voice collaboration with IN UNISON Chorus (February 27) is sandwiched between symphonic tributes to Tina Turner (February 15) and John Coltrane (February 28). That comes after Steven Banks soloing on the SLSO premiere of Billy Childs’ Saxophone Concerto, which was jazz fusion for orchestra, and Michael Casimir (one of the symphony’s two Black violists) co-curating a Live for the Sheldon program for all time.
On top of all of that, this weekend the orchestra performed live to Milos Forman’s Mozart biopic Amadeus twice and next weekend will perform Mozart’s Magic Flute three times. If SLSO does not break a monthly attendance record in February 2026, St. Louis will have let them down.
That is exactly why orchestras program popular fare such as live performances with movie screenings and should do so. It grows new audiences.
The Friday night screening of Amadeus with live orchestra at Powell Hall felt like a classic night to be in St. Louis, like a sold-out night in the old Busch Stadium, where as far as the eye can see you see people all lit up to be exactly where they were. I almost expected to see shuttling beer and hot dogs one way down the rows then cash for the vendor shuttled back the other way.
Hot dogs were not on offer, but SLSO did have a popcorn special for movie night. I reflected how, unlike major-league sports franchises, the symphony does not price-gouge on concessions. I got a can of local ale and a bag of local potato chips for $10, about as cheaply as you can get these amenities anywhere.
As far as Amadeus scored live by SLSO in Powell Hall, about all I can say is the experience was exactly as sublime as I expected it would be as I settled into my seat with my Incarnation ale, Billy Goat chips and 2,000 of my neighbors. Given that the soundtrack is by Wolfgang Mozart, we heard cinema’s greatest soundtrack performed by an orchestra (led by music director Stéphane Denève) playing as if effortlessly running a Mozart clinic.
A large assemblage of the band was joined by the St. Louis Symphony Chorus under the direction of Erin Freeman. I do not have an ear for big choral singing, so it was a great gift for me to hear the chorus in snippets, illustrating the movie’s narrative. I enjoyed this very much, whereas I will not sit through an entire choral concert. The same can be said of the film’s snippets of opera, though I enjoyed the orchestra’s performance of these episodes so much I find myself contemplating going to see the Magic Flute.
That is exactly why orchestras program popular fare such as live performances with movie screenings and should do so. It grows new audiences. It was thrilling to look around an absolutely packed house at Powell Hall, with so many unfamiliar faces all lit up by this timeless music performed with a grace that passes for effortlessness.
SLSO performance live with Amadeus at Powell Hall had a kind of Rocky Horror Picture Showpower – I bet the whole crowd from Friday night would line up and see it again and again.
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