piano

At the cross section of classical piano, environmental activism, arts education and the remote South Pacific island of Rapa Nui — also known as Easter Island — you’ll find the award-winning pianist and humanitarian Mahani Teave. Christy L'Esperance talks with Teave about her work and coming to Kansas City to perform. We'll hear her play traditional melodies from Rapa Nui as well as solo piano works by Bach, Liszt, Scriabin and Rachmaninoff.

Brooke Knoll speaks with pianists Jessica Koebbe, Kowoon Lee and Karen Savage about their work with the Puerto Rico Center for Collaborative Piano, as well as fostering a musical and cultural exchange between Puerto Rico and Kansas City. We'll hear performances from all three guests, including works by Gabriela Ortiz, Miguel del Aguila, Valeria Coleman and more.

This weekend, Opus 76 will join the Kansas City Symphony and Kansas City Ballet for a performance that challenges preconceived notions about the artform — and involves a fair number of cacti.

This week on the Kansas City Local Feature, we get to know Classical KC's new Community Engagement Specialist and On-Air Host, Christy L'Esperance. We'll learn about her background as a pianist, her large family, and enjoy her quirky sense of humor. Christy has curated a varied program of music that includes works by Maurice Ravel, Anna Clyne, Henry Purcell and Sergei Prokofiev.

Nicholas Dold, founder of Kansas City Young Chamber Musicians, is adding "chamber music kid" to the typical "band kid" and "orchestra kid" identities. Classical KC's Christy L'Esperance spoke with teenaged members of a chamber trio about music, emotions, and small group collaboration.

Renowned pianist Anne-Marie McDermott plays over 100 concerts a year, has over 50 concerti in her repertoire and takes on mammoth recording projects. However, her personal and musical life has not been without struggles, including the death of a parent when Anne-Marie was a teenager. Classical KC's Christy L'Esperance speaks with the pianist about finding her way and finding her voice.

Classical KC presents a recent Harriman-Jewell Series Discovery Concert performance at the Folly Theater from pianist, composer and chess champion Harmony Zhu. We'll hear works by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Kapustin and Debussy followed by a post-concert audience question and answer session led by Harriman-Jewell Series director Clark Morris.

This week, the Kansas City Symphony on Classical KC continues to celebrate the January birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by showcasing his "Concerto for Piano No. 23" in a performance from Orion Weiss under the direction of the late Bramwell Tovey. You'll also hear Mozart's "Concerto No. 1 for Flute" featuring the Kansas City Symphony's principal flutist, Michael Gordon. The program will close with a recent performance of Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 1," which marked the orchestra's full scale return to Helzberg Hall following pandemic restrictions.

Meet two Kansas City artists who usually reside behind the scenes or behind their instruments, but have talents to do it all.

Pianist and composer Chad Lawson releases a double album recorded at Abbey Road, joined on some tracks by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Esther Yoo and cellist/composer Peter Gregson.

Vogt died "surrounded by his family after a battle with cancer," according to a statement from his representatives.

Our June celebration continues as co-hosts Michael Stern and Dan Margolies highlight the birthdays of Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg. We'll hear one of Schumann's earliest orchestral works, Overture, Scherzo and Finale, and Grieg's enduringly popular Piano Concerto. Topping things off, we'll listen to a June 2018 performance of Hector Berlioz's rousing Symphonie Fantastique.