The Kansas City Symphony shines in performances of music by César Franck, Zoltán Koldály and Jean Sibelius. We'll hear Franck's Symphony in D minor, Koldály's "Concerto for Orchestra," and the powerful Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius. Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies add depth and color to each performance ..read more

This week, we'll hear an astounding array of soloists. Pinchas Zukerman and Noah Geller play Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins," and the husband and wife team of Jamie Loredo and Sharon robinson play André Previn's "Double Concerto for Violin and Orchestra." Superstar violinist Augustin Hadelich takes a solo turn in a concerto written by Thomas Adés, and local piano hero Kenny Broberg performs Sergei Rachmaninoff's challenging and lyrical second piano concerto ..read more

Entertaining guests from out of town or in need of a break from your family? The holiday season is an ideal time to revisit what Kansas City has to offer, including the refined pianism of Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, the unruly rock of Thelma and the Sleaze, the protest songs of Sunny War and the classic rock hits of John Waite ..read more

You may have heard of a "wind quintet," but what does that term really mean? Members of the UMKC Conservatory’s Plaza Winds quintet were recently in our studios to perform and shed some light for us on the art form ..read more

It turns out that Ludwig van Beethoven was having a bit of fun during and following the harried premiere of his third piano concerto. Co-hosts Dan Margolies and Michael Stern recount that story and sing the praises of soloist Emanuel Ax. We'll also hear Felix Mendelssohn's puffin-inspired "Hebrides Overture," Frederick Delius' beautiful and foreboding "Walk to the Paradise Garden" and the inner struggle of Peter Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 4 ..read more

Led by violinist Véronique Mathieu, Navo has been presenting diverse chamber music performances in Kansas City for nine seasons. Brooke Knoll speaks with Mathieu about Navo's current season alongside music by Grażyna Bacewicz, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Ingrid Stölzel and more ..read more

The premiere of Aaron Copland's piano concerto was his mother's proudest moment and — as she said — "made all those music lessons worthwhile!" We'll hear that work, plus Copland's "Three Latin-American Sketches," a "Chacony" by Henry Purcell (as arranged by Benjamin Britten), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's suite from his ballet "Hiawatha" and Stravinsky's timeline altering "Rite of Spring ..read more

Shawnee, Kansas goes to the polls next Tuesday amid culture wars, lawsuits, and a sexting scandal. Plus: A new choral work commissioned by William Jewell College is helping the institution own up to its fraught racial history ..read more

Choral music traditions and the holiday season go hand-in-hand. Whether you're hoping to join in on Handel's 'Messiah' or experience premieres of newly written works, learn more about a sampling of upcoming events from Kansas City's vibrant choral music scene ..read more

This week, co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthday of composer Paul Hindemith. We'll hear his 'Trauermusik' featuring Pinchas Zukerman alongside the Walt Whitman-inspired oratorio 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love.' We'll also hear the combined efforts of three Russian masters in Alexander Borodin's posthumously premiered 'Overture to Prince Igor,' and a haunting 21st century work by David Hertzberg ..read more