KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 7, 2026) — The Kansas City Symphony will embark on its second international concert tour under the leadership of acclaimed Music Director Matthias Pintscher later this year. Following its inaugural European tour in 2024, also led by Pintscher, the Kansas City Symphony will return in August to Amsterdam’s storied Concertgebouw, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and one of the most prominent music festivals in Europe, Musikfest Berlin, at the Berliner Philharmonie. Prior to its European travels, the Symphony will play its first tour performance at home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Under Pintscher’s continued musical direction, the orchestra will once again represent the vibrant performing arts of Kansas City on the global stage. During the year of United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kansas City Symphony will represent the heartland of America abroad as one of the fastest-growing symphonic orchestras in the country. Celebrating both American and European musical traditions, the orchestra will present works from a mix of iconic American and European composers, including Aaron Copland, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Olga Neuwirth. The tour will feature Grammy® Award-winning American violinist Gil Shaham in Amsterdam and Hamburg and the Juno-nominated Canadian violinist Blake Pouliot in Berlin and Kansas City.

“This return to three of the world’s top stages marks a continuation of the Kansas City Symphony’s remarkable artistic ascent,” said Danny Beckley, Kansas City Symphony President and CEO. “Under Matthias Pintscher’s artistic leadership, the orchestra has entered a period of extraordinary creative ambition, deepening our repertoire, shaping our artistic identity and bringing European audiences performances that carry an authentic American energy. We are eager to share this chapter of our growth with audiences across Europe.”

The upcoming international tour reflects the orchestra’s reputation as a world-class ensemble founded in the heart of the U.S. Midwest.

A Sendoff in Kansas City
Prior to its travels overseas, the Symphony will perform an advance concert at its home in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, featuring the repertoire that will be performed on the road. Supporters of the Symphony can cheer on the orchestra and enjoy a sneak preview of the performances before they’re played in the top halls of Europe. The concert will take place on Friday, August 21, and general tickets will go on sale May 15.

Kansas City Show Program:

  • Olga Neuwirth: Dreydl

  • Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring

  • Gershwin (arr. William David Brohn): “Love Is Here to Stay” — featuring Jun Iwasaki, violin

  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto — featuring Blake Pouliot, violin

A European Reunion
The Symphony’s performances in Germany are made even more significant by Pintscher’s own roots in Germany, having been mentored by leading musical figures like Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez and Péter Eötvös.

“Returning to Europe with the Kansas City Symphony is both deeply meaningful and artistically exhilarating,” Pintscher shared. “These performances reflect the orchestra’s remarkable growth, expressive range and adventurous spirit. I am especially excited to share a program that brings together American and European legacies in some of the world’s most inspiring concert halls.”

European Concert Schedule:

Thursday, August 27 — Amsterdam Concert at the Concertgebouw

  • Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring

  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

  • Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3

Saturday, August 29 — Hamburg Concert at the Elbphilharmonie

  • Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring

  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

  • Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3

Sunday, August 30 — Berlin Concert at the Berliner Philharmonie

  • Olga Neuwirth: Tombeau I

  • Olga Neuwirth: Dreydl

  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

  • Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3

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About The Kansas City Symphony
In only its 44th season, the Kansas City Symphony has become one of America’s most vibrant major orchestras and has gained international recognition. At its orchestral home of Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Symphony serves the Kansas City metropolitan region of more than 2.2 million people.

The Symphony’s 80 full-time musicians present a diverse and dynamic range of orchestral and chamber music performances each season under the artistic leadership of music director Matthias Pintscher, an internationally acclaimed conductor and composer who regularly conducts the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies.

In addition to concerts in Helzberg Hall, Symphony musicians perform throughout the region on an innovative portable stage, the Mobile Music Box. The Symphony also serves as the orchestra for the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, adding to the rich cultural experiences that these organizations offer to the community.

For more information, visit www.kcsymphony.org.

About Matthias Pintscher
Matthias Pintscher is the music director of the Kansas City Symphony. He launched his tenure with a highly successful tour with the orchestra to Europe just before opening the 2024/25 season in Kansas City, with concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.

Pintscher was formerly the music director of Ensemble Intercontemporain for a decade. He is currently in his seventh season as artistic partner of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and has held several titled positions, including nine seasons as BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s artist-in-association, principal conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, music director for the 2020 Ojai Festival and season creative chair with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Pintscher’s compositions are championed by some of today’s finest performing artists, orchestras and conductors, and has been performed by the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris, among many others.

Pintscher is published by Boosey and Hawkes and Bärenreiter. Recordings of his works can be found on Kairos, EMI, Teldec, Wergo, Winter & Winter and Alpha Classics.