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Open Rehearsals

MIDDLE SCHOOL - COLLEGE

Select Kansas City Symphony dress rehearsals are open to middle school, high school, and college music students. This program offers a unique look inside the rehearsal of a professional symphony orchestra and may include a brief Q&A with the guest artist, conductor and/or Symphony musicians. Open dress rehearsals take place on Friday mornings at 10am unless otherwise noted. Please contact Stephanie Brimhall at sbrimhall@kcsymphony.org or (816) 218-2639 with questions or for more information.

Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64108

$2/person (students and chaperones)

To reserve by phone, please call (816) 218-2609.

TCHAIKOVSKY'S FOURTH

Friday, September 30 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Stefan Jackiw, violin

PATRICK HARLIN Rapture
KORNGOLD Violin Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

Thrills, chills and passion abound in the Kansas City Symphony opening weekend concerts featuring Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony — a blazing depiction of humanity’s struggle with fate. Kicking off the program is American composer Patrick Harlin’s Rapture, a work inspired by a history-making expedition into Earth’s deepest cave. Captivating violinist Stefan Jackiw also returns as soloist in a lush, romantic concerto, based on melodies from some of Korngold’s greatest film scores.

STERN CONDUCTS MOZART'S REQUIEM

Wednesday, October 19 at 7 PM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Paul Jacobs, organ
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy, chorus director
Joélle Harvey, soprano
Aleksandra Romano, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Stenson, tenor
Wei Wu, bass

GUILMANT Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra
W.A. MOZART Requiem

Mozart’s final composition — the Requiem — is a work of surpassing eloquence, beauty and power. Bask in its grace as Michael Stern leads the Kansas City Symphony, Chorus and soloists through this transformative masterpiece. Organ Symphony No. 1 by 19th-century French composer Alexandre Guilmant is the ideal showcase for renowned American virtuoso Paul Jacobs and the majestic Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ.

A VIVID AUTUMN: BEETHOVEN and BRAHMS

Friday, November 18 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Daniil Trifonov, piano

BEETHOVEN Overture to Don Giovanni
DANIIL TRIFONOV Piano Concerto in E-Flat Minor
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

Like a vibrant display of fall color, this Kansas City Symphony program combines intense soundscapes with timeless appeal. Beethoven’s Egmont Overture is a stirring portrayal of one Dutch nobleman’s heroic life and death. Brahms’ radiant Second Symphony overflows with memorable melodies and familiar lullabies, culminating in one of the grandest, most uninhibited and thrilling finales the German composer ever wrote. In the tradition of such legendary pianist-composers as Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, Daniil Trifonov’s Piano Concerto reveals both his staggering technical talent and lyrical gifts.

**GELLER PLAYS BARTÓK plus DVOŘÁK'S FIFTH**

Friday, January 13 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Cristian Macelaru, Guest conductor
Noah Geller, violin

KODALY Concerto for Orchestra
Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2
Dvořák Symphony No. 5

Two great Classical-era repertoire champions, conductor Bernard Labadie and pianist Robert Levin, join forces for a truly impressive concert. The program features two rousing overtures from Mozart operas — Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito. Set in C minor, Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto foreshadows his great Fifth Symphony and showcases the soloist’s virtuosity and expressiveness. Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 is part of a series of 12 that he wrote for his two London visits. One Londoner deemed it “one of the grandest compositions we ever heard.”

**CHOPIN, BRAHMS, and Wagner**

Friday, January 20 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Asher Fisch, guest conductor
George Li, piano

CHOPIN Piano Concerto for Orchestra
BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Hayden
WAGNER Suite from Die Meistersinger

Back by popular demand! Concertmaster Noah Geller returns to center stage for Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto — a work of austere beauty, emotional depth and spirit. Lyricism flows freely in the first three movements of Czech composer Dvořák’s Fifth Symphony. By contrast, the bring-down-the-house finale teems with energy and fire. Bartók’s friend and compatriot, Zoltán Kodály, composed his Concerto for Orchestra for the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This compelling piece melds Baroque structure with Hungarian folk melodies.

**SHUMANN'S "SPRING" and GORDON plays MOZART**

Friday, January 27 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Michael Gordon, flute

MICHAEL GANDOLFI Suite from The Garden of Cosmic Speculation
W.A. MOZART Flute Concerton in G Major
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 5. "Reformation"

Schumann composed his “Spring” Symphony during one of the happiest periods in his life, shortly after marrying his cherished Clara Wieck. With music as enticing and life-affirming as its subject, the “Spring” Symphony remains one of his most treasured compositions. Keeping with a cheery disposition, Kansas City Symphony Principal Flutist Michael Gordon performs Mozart’s delightful G-Major Flute Concerto. American composer Michael Gandolfi’s The Garden of Cosmic Speculation is a magical tribute to the remarkable Scottish garden created by architect and critic, Charles Jencks.

**ELATION and REFORMATION: SAINT-SAËNS plus MENDELSSOHN**

Friday, February 10 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Jun Markl, guest conductor
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello

WEBERN Passacaglia op.1
DEBUSSY En blanc et noir
SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No. 1
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.5, "Spring"

Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto, a longtime favorite of distinguished soloists, is a taut, unified work, with numerous opportunities for both lyrical expression and bravura fireworks. In the “Reformation” Symphony, Mendelssohn weaves such liturgical music as the “Dresden Amen” and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” into a moving and spiritual orchestral work. Austrian composer Webern’s first published composition, Passacaglia, is a brilliant combination of Baroque structure and Romantic expression. Debussy’s colorful and evocative work for two pianos, En blanc et noir, glistens in this orchestration.

BEETHOVEN'S EIGHTH and PROKOFIEV'S PIANO CONCERTO NO.3

Friday, February 17 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Wei Luo , piano

HINDEMITH Ragtime
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.3
DAVID HERTZBERGFor none shall gaze upon the Father and live
BEETHOVENSymphony No.8"

In his Eighth Symphony, Beethoven brilliantly combines humor with his trademark manipulation of themes and an irrepressible momentum. Hindemith’s Ragtime spotlights the 20th-century German composer’s more playful, jazzy side. Russian composer Prokofiev, a superb pianist, was soloist in the 1921 world premiere of his Third Concerto. Prokofiev described the work as “devilishly difficult,” and without a doubt, it demands an astounding demonstration of skill by the piano soloist.

SCHUBERT'S "UNFINISHED" SYMPHONY with MAHLER

Friday, February 24 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished"
MAHLER Das Lied von Erde (Song of the Earth)

No one is certain why Schubert completed only two movements of what, by tradition, would have been a four-movement symphony. Nevertheless, the surviving movements of the “Unfinished” Symphony stand proudly together and comprise one of the most eloquent orchestral works of all time. Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) is Mahler’s setting for tenor, mezzo-soprano and orchestra of 8th-century Chinese poems, translated into German. The Song of the Earth features some of the most stunning and evocative music ever written by its landmark composer, and its great depth offers listeners an incredibly moving and powerful symphonic experience.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: SIBELIUS' SECOND

Friday, March 24 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin

NIELSEN Overture to Maskarade
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA Fantasia (world premiere)
RAVEL Tzigane
SIBELIUS Symphony No.2

At a time when Finland was under Russian domination, Sibelius’ Second Symphony was viewed as a message of hope. Today, the fiercely dramatic and ultimately triumphant work is one of Sibelius’ most-loved compositions. The sparkling overture to Danish composer Nielsen’s opera, Maskarade, sets the stage for a tale of romance and mistaken identity. American virtuoso Anne Akiko Meyers stars in not one, but two works for violin and orchestra — the world premiere of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’s newest violin concerto and Ravel’s Tzigane, inspired by vibrant Gypsy music.

WAR and REMEMBRANCE with BRITTEN

Thursday May 4 at 7 PM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern, conductor
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy, chorus director

Christine Brewer, soprano
Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor
Stephen Powell, baritone

Britten War Requiem

In Britten’s War Requiem, the English composer combines musical settings of the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with searing, graphic World War I poems by Wilfred Owen. Britten’s condemnation of the horrors of war leaves an impact long after the haunting final notes have sounded. Michael Stern, the Kansas City Symphony, Chorus and a trio of superb international vocal soloists join together for this unforgettable concert experience.

AX plays MOZART and STRAUSS' MERRY PRANKS

Friday, June 2 at 10 AM
Helzberg Hall | Kauffman Center

Michael Stern,conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano

DEBUSSY Jeux
W.A. MOZART Piano Concerto No.19, K. 459
W.A. MOZARTPiano Concerto No. 16, K.451
R. STRAUSSTill Eulenspi egels lustige Streiche

Legendary pianist Emanuel Ax performs two superb Mozart works — the intricate Piano Concerto No. 16 and his 19th piano concerto, which was played at the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1790. Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, a composition recounting the tomfoolery and mischief of a famous German folklore rascal, is an orchestral tour-de-force from start to finish.