Celebrating August birthdays with Starbursts, Symphonic Dances and a half-man half-goat

By Dan Margolies,

Published August 3, 2023 at 1:34 PM CDT

Artwork by Léon Bakst from the program for the 1912 ballet "Afternoon of the Faun" with music by Claude Debussy and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky.

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."

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

Starburst
by Jonathan Leshnoff
Live performance, October 2010

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
by Claude Debussy
Live performance, January 2015

En blanc et noir
by Claude Debussy arr. by Robin Holloway
Jun Märkl - guest conductor
Live performance, February 2017

Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story'
by Leonard Bernstein
Live performance, March 2018

Symphony No. 2: 'The Age of Anxiety'
by Leonard Bernstein
Ran Dank - piano
Live performance, June 2018