classical

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.

Experience some of Kansas City's best classical musicians in performance with Classical KC's broadcast of 'Stanislav and Friends 2023' presented by the Park University's International Center for Music. Maria Ioudenitch, Behzod Abduraimov and others take the stage to perform works by Amy Beach, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Modest Mussorgsky and more. Also, Stanislav Ioudenitch performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Andres Franco and the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra.

Join Michael Stern and Dan Margolies for a varied program that celebrates Danish master composer, Carl Nielsen. We'll hear his 'Overture to Maskarade,' 'Seven Pieces from Aladdin' and his Symphony No. 4: 'The Inextinguishable' led by guest conductor Thomas Wilkins. Plus, members of the Kansas City Symphony perform gorgeous smaller scale compositions by Edward Elgar and Richard Strauss.

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.

Michael Stern and Dan Margolies will be your guide through a varied program of music including two choral works by Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," Zoltán Koldály's "Dances of Galanta," and Aaron Copland's "El Salón México."

As our May birthday celebration of Peter Tchaikovsky and Johannes Brahms continues, we'll hear Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra" and Symphony No. 6 paired with Brahms' Symphony No. 2.

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.

This week, we begin a month long birthday celebration of Peter Tchaikovsky. We'll hear the Kansas City Symphony perform Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 5, plus Franz Joseph Haydn's "Overture to 'The Creation.'" Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies will discuss the mindset of each composer as they wrote these works.

Founded in 1958, the Youth Symphony of Kansas City provides a musical outlet for hundreds of area youth through their four orchestral ensembles. Brooke Knoll speaks with conductor Steven Davis and orchestra members Sophia Perez Monroe and Macy Gary about their experience in the group. We'll hear performances from the Youth Symphony, Academy Orchestra and preview their upcoming 65th anniversary season.

This week, Michael Stern and Dan Margolies explore three beloved works—one from the 19th century and two from the 20th century. We'll hear Alberto Ginastera's ebullient "Four Dances from Estancia," Johannes Brahms' beloved violin concerto featuring Midori, and a recent performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 with guest conductor Eduardo Strausser.

Celebrate the 150th birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff with co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies as they highlight three of his most beloved works. We'll hear Rachmaninoff's choral symphony "The Bells" featuring the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, his "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" featuring pianist Joyce Yang, and his "Symphonic Dances."