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Our birthday celebration of Peter Tchaikovsky and Johannes Brahms continues by featuring three early works from these master composers. We'll hear Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet' Overture-Fantasy and Symphony No. 2, plus the Serenade No. 1 from Brahms. Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies explore how the two great composers' youthful emotions are depicted in their work.

Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthday of Richard Strauss and explore his musical life. We'll hear early works such as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "Don Juan," plus later works like the "Suite from 'Der Rosenkavalier'" and his moving "Four Last Songs."

This week, co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthdays of Robert Schumann and George Walker. We'll hear Walker's "Lyric for Strings:" a moving tribute to his mother, who had been enslaved. Also, we'll hear two symphonies by Schumann and his "Konzertstück in F Major for Four Horns," featuring four members of the Kansas City Symphony horn section.

Join co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies for a birthday celebration of Leonard Bernstein and Claude Debussy. We'll hear Bernstein's enduring Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story," and Symphony No. 2: "The Age of Anxiety" along with Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun" and "En blanc et noir." Plus, we'll hear a fun work from contemporary American composer Jonathan Leshnoff called "Starburst."

This week, co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthday of the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. We'll hear his Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Behzod Abduraimov, his Violin Concerto No. 2 featuring Gil Shaham and his Symphony No. 3 featuring organist Jan Kraybill. Michael and Dan also explore the life and work of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz and we'll hear her delightful Overture.

Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthdays of composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Gustav Holst. We'll hear violinist Mayu Kishima bring warmth to Shostakovich's searing A minor Violin Concerto and Michael Stern conduct's Holst's "Walt Whitman" Overture. Also, guest conductor Teddy Abrams leads the Kansas City Symphony and Symphony Chorus in a recent performance of Holst's celestial audience favorite: "The Planets."

Join co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies as they honor the birthdays of Giuseppe Verdi and Einojuhani Rautavaara. We'll hear Rautavaara's Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra in a world premiere performance featuring violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, Verdi's Overture to La forza del destino and Verdi's Requiem.

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.

While the exact date of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth in December of 1770 is debated by scholars, what is inarguable was his musical genius. We'll hear the Kansas City Symphony perform his "Coriolan" Overture, Violin Concerto featuring Pinchas Zukerman, and his "Eroica" Symphony No. 3.

Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by highlighting four of his masterworks. We'll hear his Overture to "Don Giovanni," his fifth Violin Concerto featuring Stefan Jakiw, his "Sinfonia concertante" featuring former orchestra members Noah Geller and Christine Grossman, and his famed Symphony No. 40.