Name: CLASSICAL SERIES CONCERT #1
Start: 2024-09-13T20:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-09-13T22:00:00-05:00
Location: Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

UNSUK CHIN subito con forza
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Concerto in B Minor for Cello and Orchestra
IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird (1910, complete ballet)

This is the “must-attend” Classical series concert of the season as Matthias Pintscher begins his tenure as music director of the Kansas City Symphony!

Born in South Korea and now living in Berlin, Unsuk Chin is a superbly creative composer. She was commissioned to write a brief piece celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and subito con forza (“suddenly with force”) was the result. Filtering themes and patterns from some of Beethoven’s best-known music through Chin’s dramatic voice, subito con forza honors Beethoven’s genius from a uniquely 21st-century perspective.

Cello virtuosa and MacArthur genius grant recipient Alisa Weilerstein breathes life into Dvořák’s beloved Cello Concerto. The winning combination of stellar soloist, sensitive accompaniment and a seemingly endless string of gorgeous melodies will make your heart sing.

This is a rare opportunity to hear Igor Stravinsky’s entire ballet, The Firebird. This iridescent music was his breakout work with impresario Serge Diaghilev, painting the old Russian folktale with kaleidoscopic colors and irrepressible energy. Don’t miss a single note of this spectacular concert!