Beethoven walks into a bar...

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar we chat off the podium with Maestro Eduardo Strausser who joins us from Berlin in advance of his week here with the orchestra. And who knows, maybe we change things up and do the interview in one or more of the 8 languages he’s fluent in (Spoiler alert – we stick with English). This week's Top 5 features the Top 5 Fifth Symphonies. Who makes the cut? Tchaikovsky? Mahler? Haydn? Mozart? Prokofiev? Tune in this week to find out!

Episode 503 Playlist

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, we chat with rising American composer Joel Thompson. Joel is currently best known for his piece for men’s voices, piano and strings Seven Last words of the Unarmed, and is quickly making a name for himself across the country. We chat about the role the arts play in healing, music serving as a vehicle for social change, and Joel’s upcoming visit to Kansas City as the orchestra performs his newest work To Awaken the Sleeper. Next time on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 502 Playlist

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed

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Welcome to Season Five of Beethoven Walks into a Bar! We kick off the season and 2022 with Maestro Joshua Weilerstein. A podcaster in his own right, Joshua explains how his own show, Sticky Notes, came to be. He also chats about his upcoming visit to KC conducting Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F and William Grant Still's Poem. We also take on another Top 5 challenge exploring the Top 5 Most Influential Classical Music Families (excluding the Sterns and the Weilersteins, of course). All that and more this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 501 Playlist

Beethoven Walks into a Bar celebrates another Holiday season with music from around the world! Experience sounds of the season from Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas. Plus, our new favorite segment is back with a brand new jingle...Top 5 where Jason, Mike and Stephanie discuss their top 5 holiday movies. Be ready for holiday favorites, some surprise entries, and some public shaming. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 407 Playlist

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This week's episode is all about that bass. The Kansas City Symphony boasts one of the very best bass sections of any American orchestra, and we sit down with one of the members of this prestigious section, Mr. Caleb Quillen. Get ready to unlock all the mysteries of the largest, lowest, and noblest instrument of the orchestra, learn about about French bows vs. German bows, and learn all about the bass section’s knack for style and fashion. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 406 Playlist

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, we sit down with another friend of the Symphony, conductor Johannes Debus. We learn all about his dual life and career as an opera and symphonic conductor, and hear about some of the innovative ways in which the Canadian Opera Company is reaching new audiences. We also dispel the myth that Schumann was not a great orchestrator. That and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 405 Playlist

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This week on the podcast, we present the first of several interviews with incoming guest conductors on this season's Classical Series. Maestro Peter Oundjian joins the Kansas City Symphony for an exciting performance featuring works by Florence Price, Richard Strauss and Rimsky-Korsakov.Hear all about his career both as a world class violinist and conductor, how a thoughtful encounter with a conducting icon shaped his future, and find out what he’s been up to since his last visit to KC in early 2020.This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 404 Playlist

This week's episode marks a FIRST for this podcast - The first time a podcast guest returns for a second visit! Who better to start with very own head honcho, music director Michael Stern. We talk about the exciting season ahead, how the creative process of programming has been shaped by events of the past year and a half, AND we’ll have a special edition of Bar Talk that brings together two fundamental elements of the human experience; music and...bread. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 403 Playlist

We chat this week with another fabulous member of the Kansas City Symphony family, associate principal oboe Alison Chung. She is not only talented oboist, she is a prolific cook, baker, eater, and food blogger. Learn all about Alison's journey in music, and how her hungry and adventurous online alter ego, “Lil’ Chung” came to be. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 402 Playlist

Welcome to Season Four of Beethoven Walks into a Bar! This week, we visit with pianist Jeffrey Kahane and his son, composer Gabriel Kahane as we gear up to give the world premiere of Heirloom: Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra. Jeffrey and Gabriel team up against Mike and Jason for a game of "Which pair knows each other better?" Spoiler alert: the father/son duo has a definite advantage. Keep tuning in throughout the season for exciting interviews with guest conductors, composers, artists and our amazing Kansas City Symphony musicians, this season on Beethoven Walks into a Bar!

Episode 401 Playlist