Music

The latest children's book from Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton and illustrator Elly McKay is about the power of nature and music. They discussed their creative process in an interview with NPR.

American cellist Katie Tertell is seeking to recover from Japan forgotten manuscripts by Spanish composer Gaspar Cassadó.

In the continuing series of “Surprise Symphonies,” we have marvelous works by 20th century American composers Ned Rorem and William Schuman – both of which are titled Symphony No. 3. Rorem and Schuman helped to define the American sound in classical music and we’ll hear their genius on full display.

Treeline Music Festival in Columbia, Missouri, was supposed to feature popular bands like Japanese Breakfast, MUNA and Salt-N-Pepa. But the festival owners announced they would be calling off the event, citing low ticket sales and "significantly higher than expected expenses."

Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies celebrate the birthdays of composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Gustav Holst. We'll hear violinist Mayu Kishima bring warmth to Shostakovich's searing A minor Violin Concerto and Michael Stern conduct's Holst's "Walt Whitman" Overture. Also, guest conductor Teddy Abrams leads the Kansas City Symphony and Symphony Chorus in a recent performance of Holst's celestial audience favorite: "The Planets."

On one hand it’s one of the most famous pieces of classical music. On the other, when was the last time you heard it in a concert hall? We’ll show some love to this amazing overture that’s really a tone poem with a finale that is second to none.

When silent films ruled the silver screen, pipe organs were used to enhance the drama of an otherwise quite medium. Now a Lee's Summit musician is bringing back that tradition. Plus: There's more federal dollars behind the push to get locally grown food into school cafeterias.

The world lost a great musician and great advocate for music in the passing of André Watts. We’ll hear recordings from different stages of his distinguished career in works long associated with him.

Hear the Kansas City Symphony perform works by Joseph Haydn and Dmitri Shostakovich. Co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies clear up the myth of Haydn's "Miracle" Symphony No. 96 and explore the emotional depth of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 in C minor as arranged for string orchestra. We'll also hear a recent performance of his searing Symphony No. 5 in a performance led by guest conductor Joshua Weilerstein.

Before sound came to the movies, silent films ruled the silver screen and music from a theater pipe organ enhanced the drama. A Lee's Summit musician is reviving that tradition at the Kansas City Music Hall.

The Last Night of the Proms is one of the most joyous events in classical music. There’s a degree of enthusiasm and audience participation that’s hard to top. We’ll hear live recordings from over the years on the same weekend as the 2023 Last Night. Don’t miss it!

Cellist Carter Medina, a Blue Springs South High School student, speaks with Classical KC about his earliest musical inspirations and how playing the cello offers comfort from stressful high school days. Carter's mother Jennifer shares the ways she encouraged Carter's growth, and her heartfelt emotions about Carter's next steps.