By Paul Horsley

“O hushed October morning mild,” Robert Frost wrote, “beguile us in the way you know.” If you want a good sampling of what the Harriman-Jewell Series has presented over the last 51 years, look no further than this month’s offerings. The Series offers half a dozen performances drawing on an amazing range of genres, from the Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia (October 9th) to “Stars of the American Ballet” (October 23rd), from the Chicago Symphony with Riccardo Muti (October 27th) to 13-year-old Mexican pianist Daniela Liebman on the Series’ path-forging Discovery Concerts (October 30th).

“October does tend to be the heaviest month,” said Clark Morris, a 25-year veteran of the Series who became its Executive and Artistic Director after the death of founder Richard Harriman in 2010. “There’s more artistic product offered to us in October than in any other month … so if we’re going to make hay with good artists, we have to take advantage of it.”

Summer festivals are over, school’s in session, and the weather is brisk but not uncomfortably so. In short, October offers ideal conditions for both artists’ travel and audience participation. “It’s the heart of the fall concert season,” Clark said. “People are … ready to dive in.” One of the most intriguing offerings this fall is the debut of the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars Concert Series (October 17th), which features promising singers fostered by the Met and its programs.

Organized by Columbia Artists Management Inc. and the Met’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program (Brian Zeger, Executive Director), this year’s ensemble-recital includes sopranos Janai Brugger and Amanda Woodbury, mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko, baritone David Won and pianist Brent Funderburk.

For lovers of dance the Harriman brings “Stars of American Ballet featuring Fancy Free,” in which dancers from New York City Ballet and other companies will perform works by Balanchine, Wheeldon, Gallardo and Robbins. Founded by NYCB principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht, “Stars” is designed to bring top dancers to cities that might not see many major touring companies. “These are top American stars,” Clark said, “but if you don’t go to New York or San Francisco you may never get to see them.”

And in keeping with its tradition of bringing the world’s great orchestras to Kansas City, the Harriman will host the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the first time in the Series’ 51-year history. “They’ve been on my list for quite a while,” Clark said. “Muti is one of the stars that we want to hear in Helzberg Hall, and he is certainly one of the conductors that I want to be part of the legacy of the Harriman-Jewell Series.”

The CSO program includes Mahler’s First Symphony, which the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern will be performing on its subscription series in the spring of 2016. There are many roads to Mahler, and the Harriman Series welcomes such juxtapositions, Clark said, especially at a time when all of us are getting to know the varying sonic personalities of Helzberg Hall. “The artistic side of me wants to hear the Kansas City Symphony do it all the more, after hearing the Chicago Symphony do it in the same hall. Because I’m curious about the different interpretations, and the unique sound of the CSO as opposed to Kansas City. It piques my artistic interest, and I’m confident that Kansas City’s interpretation is going to stand on its own.”

If one still sees traces of Richard Harriman on the Series, that’s no coincidence, said Clark. “He was such a strongly principled person that it’s impossible not to think of him often, or not to be influenced by the way he lived his life and the way he programmed the Series … and the identity he built for it.”

Ending the month of October is the local debut of Daniela Liebman, who recently became the youngest Mexican artist ever to perform at Carnegie Hall. Bringing new artists for free concerts is an essential part of the Series’ core mission, Clark said. “That was one of Richard Harriman’s principles. He didn’t want this to be for the elite. He wanted everyone in Kansas City to have the opportunity to experience this.” The Discovery program has been so successful that the Series is considering an expansion. “We have wonderful people and foundations in Kansas City who feel this is a really wonderful way to reach into the community, so we’re looking for ways … to do it on a grander scale.”

For more on the Harriman-Jewell Series concerts see hjseries.org or call 816-415-5025.

Photo at top by Ron Berard / Courtesy Metropolitan Opera

Contact Paul Horsley at phorsley@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or Twitter (@phorsleycritic).

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