“Bring an esoteric 30-year-old German ensemble that specializes in extremely complex, sometimes inscrutable, music to perform on the West Coast for the first time. Program the concert with works of a dead white guy with an Italian name. And what do you get? … That’s right, a bowl full of seniors who swayed and danced in their seats. Who whooped and hollered and whistled. Who appeared to have a working knowledge of controlled substances.”