Organization

Conductor

Michael Stern

Orchestra

Kansas City Symphony

Instrumentalist

Joshua Bell

Violin

Masterworks & Bravo Series

Kansas City

United States

Public

Concert

Oratorio / Orchestral

Flammenschrift

Symphony No. 59 in A major

The Elements

Violin Concerto No. 5, op. 37

Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2

Approved

The ancient elements of earth, water, and fire provide inspiration for this blockbuster concert headlined by violin superstar Joshua Bell. He has commissioned works by renowned composers Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer and Jake Heggie, incorporating these elements thematically. You’ll hear a magical blend of old and new in these ingenious pieces. Also on the program is Henri Vieuxtemps’ virtuosic Fifth Violin Concerto. Vieuxtemps’ beautiful music and Joshua Bell’s phenomenal artistry are a heavenly match — romantic music indeed.

Maestro Stern continues the elemental theme with Flammenschrift (Flame Writing) by French composer Guillaume Connesson. Borrowing the word from Goethe, Connesson’s Flammenschrift is a fiery psychological portrait of Beethoven, filled with allusions to his monumental music as well as nods to Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss.

Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Fire Symphony” probably got its nickname from accompanying Die Feuersbrunst (“The Conflagration”), a play by Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann. Savor the sweet elegance of Haydn’s clever writing and then delight in the last movement’s blazing passages.

Ravel’s sensuous music for the ballet Daphnis and Chloé brought him worldwide fame. He described it as a symphonie chorégraphique and filled the work with shimmering orchestral colors and hypnotic rhythms. Waves of sound cascade all around you in this suite as Daphnis and his lover Chloé are happily reunited, concluding with a frenzied dance.

English

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