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Park University graduate student Victor Diaz was named one of 11 senior semifinalists in this month's Sphinx Competition, hosted annually in Detroit. The top award is $50,000, but Diaz has another prize in mind: Inspiring more Hispanic kids to discover classical music.
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Opera sensation Joyce DiDonato joined Classical KC to share reflections on the past year and her excitement on returning home to Kansas City to perform with Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. We'll hear Joyce sing works by Charles Ives, Gustav Mahler, Jake Heggie and more.
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'Flying Dutchman,' a Scottish Fantasy, an 'Incredible Flutist' and Dvořák's uplifting Symphony No. 8Join co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies for a program of fun and dramatic orchestral works. We'll hear Richard Wagner's Overture to "The Flying Dutchman," Max Bruch's "Scottish Fantasy" featuring violinist Stefan Jackiw, Walter Piston's Suite from "The Incredible Flutist" and Antonín Dvořák's sunny Symphony No. 8.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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."
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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.
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With his eclectic repertoire and world travels, pianist Thomas Rosenkranz is charting a unique path as a performer and an educator. Christy L'Esperance talks with Thomas about his early days, his current work and what's next — including a two year journey into the music of Olivier Messiaen.
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This week, hear the Kansas City Symphony perform Giuseppe Verdi's expanded string quartet known as the Symphony in E minor and Percy Grainger's anthropological 'Lincolnshire Posy' featuring the Symphony brass section. We'll also hear the third symphony by American iconoclast Charles Ives, and Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2, which inspired John Williams' score for "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial."
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With her Cecilia Series, soprano Victoria Botero has worked to feature female musicians and writers who used their art as a means of communication in the face of patriarchal obstacles. Brooke Knoll speaks with Botero about her upbringing as the daughter of Colombian immigrants and her current work. We'll also hear music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Carlos Guastavino, Susan Kander and more.
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This weekend, two teams based in Olathe, Kansas will play in the Granny Basketball national championships. Organizers want to foster camaraderie, sportsmanship and a “gentle game” for women over age 50. Plus: the elite violinist whose world-renowned musical family called Kansas City home.