Searching for joy and peace below the 'starry canopy' with Beethoven's 9th

By Dan Margolies,

Published July 6, 2022 at 9:10 AM CDT

Music Director Michael Stern aknowledges the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus, Charles Bruffy and soloists after a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Helzberg Hall, June 2016 — Music Director Michael Stern acknowledges the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus, Charles Bruffy and soloists after a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Helzberg Hall, June 2016.

Celebrate two years of Classical KC with a Kansas City Symphony performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies will explore the hopeful and enduring message of the work. We'll also hear Anthony McGill as soloist in Richard Danielpour's Concerto for Clarinet dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an irreverent mash-up of Beethoven melodies by Louis Andriessen.

An agreement with the Kansas City Symphony allows us to share audio for this program up to four weeks after the program's original air date. You can listen to currently available episodes here.

Hosts

Michael Stern
Dan Margolies

Program

Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra - "From the Mountaintop"
by Richard Danielpour
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Live performance, March 2015

The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven for orchestra and ice cream vendor's bell
by Louis Andriessen

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 - "Choral"
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Celena Shafer, soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo soprano
Dashon Burton, bass baritone
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy — director
Live performance, June 2016