NEW YORK – They made it… all but one.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Friday night concert in Zankel Hall, carved out of the bedrock beneath Carnegie Hall, benefited from an 8:30 p.m. start. Not all the luggage arrived in time, and some of the musicians appeared onstage in their street clothes. At least they had their instruments.

Missing was composer/chansonnier/personality H.K. Gruber, stuck in Chicago for the duration. But the show must go on, and so it did — with music director David Robertson filling in for him. Resident conductor Ward Stare took D-Rob’s place on the podium. Both were outstanding, and both enjoyed triumphs. (But you’ll have to see the full review in the Post-Dispatch for the particulars.)

Robertson’s new role had him making all manner of strange noises, from whistling to monster growls, from falsetto to bass and more. After the concert, which won a standing ovation, Robertson’s wife, pianist Orli Shaham, said she’d had a busy day making sure that Robertson could have a truly free afternoon to learn his new role.

As long as he doesn’t start acting like that around the house, eh? “Oh,” said Shaham, “he does that already.”