Beethoven walks into a bar...

We meet yet another fabulous Kansas City Symphony colleague this week, associate Principal Cellist Susie Yang. We chat about her work both on and off the stage, her time in the New World Symphony and the dreaded audition scene. We also lighten things up with another exciting game of Bar Talk - will Jason or Stephanie EVER win this game? Find out this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 307 Spotify Playlist

Bach Dance Project Videos

The year 2020 was challenging for the entire world.We were not only facing the largest pandemic in a century, but here in America we were also continuing the fight toward true equality.And this is certainly true in the musical world as it is in so many fields.For too long, many incredibly gifted composers have not had their powerful voices heard and represented enough in the vast canon of orchestral literature.In this week’s episode Mike, Stephanie, and Jason share with you our list of 10 composers of color whose music you should know.We hope that you will find their work as compelling, beautiful, and rich as we do.This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Celebrating Composers of Color – YouTube Playlist

Celebrating Composers of Color – Spotify Playlist

·Michael Abels

·Terence Blanchard

·Valerie Coleman

·Gabriela Lena Frank

·Hannah Kendall

·Daniel Kidane

·Jessie Montgomery

·Florence Price

·Errollyn Wallen

·Shelley Washington

You may remember way back in Episode Two we talked about American composer Adam Schoenberg, but hadn’t yet figured out how to incorporate guests into the podcast. This week we finally get the opportunity to chat with Adam in person about his current orchestral, film and tv projects, recording with the Kansas City Symphony and aged tequila, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 305 Playlist

Adam Schoenberg One Acquainted with the Night

Adam Schoenberg Symphony No. 2 "Migration"

Anna Meredith Nautilus Official Video

Yves Dahramaj performs Dido's Lament "I Can't Breathe"

We chat this week with one of Stephanie and Mike's most influential teachers at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, Maestro Larry Rachleff. Larry has conducted all over the world including right here with the Kansas City Symphony, but many musicians know him best as the conductor of the student orchestras at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He has touched the lives of an untold number of aspiring young musicians. We chat with Larry and learn more about how he has truly shaped the culture of music, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 304 Playlist

Debussy La Mer - Recommended by Michael Gordon

J.S. Bach B Minor Mass - "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Recommended by Jason Seber

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 - Recommended by Larry Rachleff

Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet - Recommended by Stephanie Brimhall

In order to be highly successful, a professional symphony orchestra needs excellent leadership in many areas, artistically and administratively. One of those key leadership positions you might not have thought about is the head of the Musicians Committee. We sit down this week with the current head of the MC of the KC Symphony, Acting Associate Principal 2nd Kristi Velicer. Kristi tells all about this vital committee and what happens behind the scenes to ensure that our musicians are set up for success. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 303 Playlist

This week we meet the boss of the brass, the Kansas City Symphony's principal trumpet Julian Kaplan. Hear about his recent solo appearance with the Symphony, his huge trumpet collection and his dreams of becoming a NASCAR driver, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 302 Playlist

Season Three of Beethoven Walks into a Bar is here! This week, we chat with Symphony Executive Director Danny Beckley about the state of the Symphony, our new streaming platform MySymphonySeat.org, and plans for the future. Also, what the heck is a Horsefeather? Learn all this and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 301 Playlist

Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No. 2

It's here -- the end of 2020! While this may have been a year of challenges, it has also been a year of reinvention for the Kansas City Symphony. And as luck may have it, part of that includes this very podcast! In this week's season finale, we revisit some of our favorite moments of 2020. The podcast returns in January 2021 for season three!

This holiday season, KCS elves David Sullivan and Fabrice Curtis have been hard at work creating a virtual musical advent calendar filled with your favorite holiday carols. In this episode, we learn how they selected the featured carols, created arrangements for various instrumentations and even edited the audio and video content. Plus, hear who wins an incredibly competitive game of "Name that Christmas Carol," this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Name that Christmas Carol

25 Days of KCS

This week we are visiting with one of the most versatile young composers in America, Nico Muhly. Inspired particularly by minimalism, as well as music of the Renaissance, he has written operas, film scores, chamber music, and even ringtones! Most recently, Nico worked as a collaborative partner on Throughline, a San Francisco Symphony commission written specifically for a digital medium and filmed in locations around the world. We learn about this piece and much more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 212 Playlist

Throughline: San Francisco Symphony-From Hall to Home

http://nicomuhly.com/news/2015/thoughts-on-being-well/

Gait by Nico Muhly