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The Kansas City Symphony
Thursdays, 8 - 10 p.m., Sundays, 4 - 6 p.m.

91.9 Classical KC brings you magnificent performances by the Kansas City Symphony, interspersed with insightful commentary and conversation between co-hosts Dan Margolies and Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern. Each week, Maestro Stern selects the episode's musical repertoire and invites a guest from the orchestra to discuss their performance with the KCS and the week’s pieces.

Founded in 1982, the Kansas City Symphony has established itself as a major force in the cultural life of the community. Praised for performances of uncompromising standard, the orchestra is the largest in the region and enjoys a national reputation under the artistic leadership of Music Director Michael Stern.

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  • Violinist Philippe Quint
    John Gress
    While many composers wrote multiple concertos for violin and piano, Samuel Barber wrote just one for each instrument. This week, in honor of the American composer's birthday, we'll hear those two concertos featuring violinist Philippe Quint and pianist Alessio Bax. Also, we'll hear "Scheherazade," the orchestral warhorse by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsokov, who was also born in the month of March.
  • Pianist George Li, conductor Matthias Pintscher and members of the Kansas City Symphony take a bow, March 2023
    Eric T Williams
    This week, co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthday of the great French composer Maurice Ravel with works from throughout his career. The Kansas City Symphony's next Music Director, Matthias Pintscher, will lead the orchestra in two works, plus we'll hear Leon Fleisher in a performance of the "Left Hand Concerto," alongside the crowd-pleasing Bolero and the Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé.
  • The Kansas City Symphony performs Richard Strauss' 'Alpine Symphony,' September 2022
    Eric T Williams
    This week, learn the full story behind Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell" Overture. Plus, we'll hear two towering musical expressions of nature with Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 and Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony. Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies delve into each composer's frame of mind and what it is required of the orchestra to perform each work.
  • Violinist Gil Shaham performs with the Kansas City Symphony in Helzberg Hall, September 2022
    Eric T Williams
    Nearly two-hundred years after a twenty year old Frédéric Chopin composed his first piano concerto, the work still delights. This week, we'll hear rising piano star George Li perform the piece, plus the eminent violinist Gil Shaham performs Alban Berg's melancholy concerto. We'll also hear the Kansas City Symphony in a recent performance of Jean Sibelius' swan-inspired Symphony No. 5.