MOCA, Mozart, Mango Tarts : Culture: The first ‘Philharmonic Style’ concert draws more than 3,000 smart-setters to downtown.

Amadeus, eat your heart out.

Because on Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had to share center stage with kinky art and Kahlua cheesecake. It was the first of three “Philharmonic Style” concerts for the city’s smart set kicked off in almost-as-smart fashion, not counting some snafus.

Typical of the crowd of more than 3,000 was UCLA grad student Marie Schaeffer, 28, who clutched a ‘90s kind of corsage--a single red rose--from date Joseph Ventura. They began the gala evening at the Ed Ruscha exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, then walked over to the Music Center for Mozart, mango tarts and salsa dance music. For the couple, this was a more imaginative way to spend time together than that old L.A. dating stand-by: dinner and a movie.

But for Ventura, it was also wish fulfillment.

“Every time I go to a concert of classical music, I feel like dancing when I walk out. And I’ve never been able to do that. So this is like a dream come true for me,” explained Ventura, a 38-year-old Brentwood researcher who, like almost every other party-goer had heard about the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “P.S.” series through a slick mailer sent to his home.

By evening’s end, Schaeffer’s rose was relegated to the carpet while the couple danced smack in front of the microphones and mariachis of the Rudy Regalado salsa band.

Any regrets about not going to see “Godfather III” at the Cineplex or watch “Dirty Dancing” on CBS instead of a night of culture-vulturing?

“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Ventura, as he executed a complicated dance-floor move in perfect sync with his partner. “It’s wonderful! We love it!”

Indeed, the evening’s demographics were the stuff that network and movie studio presidents can only dream about. At least 20-to-30 years younger than the average age of 60 that Music Center officials say usually attend Philharmonic concerts, the crowd featured more ponytails on men and miniskirts on women--not to mention Armani jackets and Donna Karan catsuits--in one night than the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion had seen in an entire year.

For an overwhelming majority of the yup-and-pup “P.S.” subscribers, the program provided a perfect way to assuage their cultural guilt--the knowledge that Los Angeles has so much to offer in the way of art and classical music yet Angelenos never seem to find the time to partake of it.

The result was that self-satisfied strangers smiled at one another, struck up conversations in some corners and even exchanged business cards. And they nodded sheepishly as they overheard several party-goers confessing to their partners, “So this is where MOCA is located!”

For 19-year-old college student Jennifer Salazar the evening was like a 101 introduction to the arts. “My parents told us about this,” she said, hand-in-hand with her date, 23-year-old Greg Nelson. “This is the first time that we’ve gone to the L.A. symphony.”

But for Linda McNight, 41, it felt more like a refresher course. “I always mean to go to the museum or the Philharmonic, and I rarely do,” she confessed. She was alerted to the evening by her lawyer husband, Rick, 43, who in turn was alerted by their friend, 45-year-old artist Linda Lennon.

“She dragged me, and I dragged my wife,” Rick McNight laughed.

“Clearly the hook tonight was the appetizers and the dessert. The program of Mozart alone would not have drawn us,” said attorney John Cochrane, 35, who with his wife, Joanne, rounded out the McNights’ group of friends.

Unfortunately, “P.S.” organizers erred in underestimating their guests’ resolve to get their money’s worth of entertainment (from $88.50 to $118.50 per seat for three concerts) in these cost-conscious ‘90s. The result was that many revelers were underwhelmed by the food.

Not only were the hors d’ouevres served at MOCA questionable in quality, there wasn’t even adequate quantity. Many party-goers who skipped dinner expecting an orgy of appetizers wound up staring forlornly at empty chafing dishes. In this case, the early birds got the Brie.

Such as it was. “There’s some kind of goo-dip,” one woman confided to her girlfriend as she surveyed what was supposed to be Warm Brie en Croute.

Explaining the foul-up, “Philharmonic Style” spokeswoman Vanessa Butler said MOCA officials “didn’t expect so many people to come” to the museum walk-through even though it was the kick-off event.

“Somehow you feel they just didn’t plan well tonight,” complained Eleanor Davidoff, a 43-year-old who had driven in from Calabasas for the evening and was now waiting in a long line at the Pavilion to grab an unexciting brownie before the Mozart began.

After the concert, a multitude of mimes directed the crowd to the post-concert party featuring the salsa music, no-host bars and long tables laden with so-called Caribbean-style desserts. But the boring sweet cakes--described by one reveler as tasting like vanilla wallpaper--simply didn’t measure up to the palates of an audience used to the creme brulees and tarte tatins of the best restaurants in Los Angeles.

Fortunately for everyone, the music didn’t disappoint. Though the moment of silence observed by the orchestra for the Persian Gulf War dead generated some nervous what-are-they-doing titters, the crowd was even more polite than the average symphony audience. Not only was coughing was kept to a minimum, but no one was gauche enough to applaud in between movements or “Roof, Roof!” for conductor Andre Previn as they might have done for Arsenio.

Another plus was the accessibility of Mozart to even the most ignorant classical music debutante. After all, this was the sort of crowd that no doubt had seen the Oscar-winning movie “Amadeus” (though probably not the play).

After the concert, hundreds surged onto the Founders Level dance floor shoulder-to-shoulder while even more people watched from the balconies above. By midnight, many fully sated party-goers escaped the shuttle buses hired to cart them between MOCA and the Music Center in favor of a brisk walk in the balmy night air. With the stars out and the panhandlers nowhere in sight, the reality of the “P.S.” series (the next concerts are March 30 and April 20) proved an even better advertisement for the romance of downtown L.A. cultural activities than its brochure had pledged.

At least, that was the sentiment of Anthony Moran, a 34-year-old federal government employee from La Crescenta, and his date, 37-year-old Revae Steinam, as they wandered arm-in-arm, just enjoying the rarefied atmosphere as much as they did the rum cakes and wine spritzers on the rocks.

“We’ve always wanted to come to the symphony, but never did before now,” said Moran. “Now that we’re here, we’re having fun.

“And we’re not done yet,” he noted, glancing shyly at his girlfriend. “We’re looking forward to the next one.”