Music Director Michael Stern joins Michael Gordon and concertmaster Jun Iwasaki to talk about his upcoming final season with the Kansas City Symphony. We also talk about his recently announced successor, Matthias Pintscher, and how he feels proud to hand over the keys to the hot-rod orchestra he’s helped to build for the last twenty years.

In this episode we talk with Vietnam veteran, voice artist, actor, musician, and longtime host for the Kansas City Symphony’s Memorial Day Celebration at the Station, Jim Birdsall. From his humble beginnings in North Dakota, to the jungles of Vietnam, to the quiet peacefulness of his home recording studio in Kansas City where he records his voice for the likes of CNBC, and NFL Films, Jim is a man who uses his voice like a musical instrument to draw listeners into any story he tells. Today, he’s using that iconic voice to tell his own fascinating story.

This week's episode of Beethoven Walks into a Bar features a chat (yes, chat) with Magic Circle Mimes Doug MacIntyre and Maggie Peterson. Doug and Maggie have been introducing audiences to the arts of mime and symphonic music for over four decades. We chat about their journeys to becoming mimes and what inspires their unique and educational programs. See them in person with the Kansas City Symphony Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2pm in their performance of The Listener.

Episode 605 Playlist

On this week's episode of Beethoven Walks into a Bar, we welcome our first guest conductor of the season, Venezuelan Domingo Hindoyan who will conduct the orchestra and Kansas City Symphony Chorus in a program of Mendelssohn, Brahms and Berlioz. We’ll learn all about his upbringing in Venezuela’s El Sistema music schools, his short time as a conductor spy, and how his mother made her way from Aleppo to South America. We also make stomach's grumble with a chat about arepa, chimichurri, ceviche, empanadas, chupe, dulce de leche and other South American cuisines.. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, Mike and Stephanie get lost in the Bavarian Alps with two members of the KC Symphony brass section, associate principal trumpet Steven Franklin and bass trombonist Jahleel Smith. As the orchestra prepares to perform An Alipine Symphony, we marvel at Strauss' harmonious orchestration and the feat of actually fitting 106 musicians on stage in Helzberg Hall. Speaking of all these musicians, we wax poetic about the bass trumpet, discuss Wager tuba technique and learn what the heck a heckelphone is. All that and the kitchen sink, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 603 Playlist

After years of searching, the Kansas City Symphony has a new concertmaster! After running through a veritable gauntlet of auditions, trials and recitals, Jun Iwasaki has landed the coveted role of concertmaster and now calls KC home. We chat about the audition process, the responsibilities of a concertmaster, and help Jun get to know his new KCS colleagues with a fun new game. Get to know Jun Iwasaki this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Welcome to SEASON SIX of Beethoven Walks into a Bar! This week, we meet the Kansas City Symphony’s new Associate Conductor Gonzalo Farias. Learn about Gonzalo’s journey from Chile to KC, the audition process of a conductor, and his love of vintage wine. We also chat about the Symphony’s upcoming season, opening weekend with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and pay special tribute to a friend mentor we sadly lost this summer. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 601 Playlist

Probing Questions with Larry Rachleff, Beethoven Walks into a Bar: Season 3, Episode 4

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, New Zealander Gemma New reflects on her week with the Kansas City Symphony conducting Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, a new violin concerto by Chris Rogerson and Saint-Saëns' epic "Organ" Symphony. We chat about her journey from playing violin to conducting orchestras all over the world, including a stint here in Missouri as the resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony. She also shares her passion for experimenting with concert formats and experiences. Enjoy that and more this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 508 Playlist

https://sounz.org.nz

This week on your favorite podcast, we throw out the playbook, tackle important topics and try not to utter any offensive lines when we're joined by Kansas City's favorite head coach, Andy Reid! Fresh off attending two KC Symphony performances, Coach Reid joins the show to talk about his concert experiences, our incredible Kansas City community and two of its favorite "teams," the Chiefs and the Symphony. Hear about players' superstitions and pre-game/concert rituals along with what Coach Reid would ask the legendary Vince Lombardi. Plus...we play a riveting game of Reed or Reid. All this and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar!

Episode 507 Playlist

In addition to conducting around the world, maestro Paolo Bortolameolli has somehow found the time to create an insightful video series, author a book and join us for a chat on Beethoven Walks into a Bar. We have a great time discussing growing up in Chile, exploring new music, reaching new audiences, and of course, Chilean wine. Paolo joins the Kansas City Symphony for a weekend of music in Helzberg Hall April 21-23, 2022.

Episode 506 Playlist

Ponle Pausa

This week we chat off the podium with German-born conductor Christian Reif. Christian joins the Kansas City Symphony April 1-3, 2022 conducting works by Joan Tower, W.A. Mozart and Stravinsky. We chat about his upcoming trip to KC, the illustrious world of summer music festivals, and an unfortunate slip-of-the-tongue incident in Miami BEACH. Plus, our Top 5 ballet scores. All that and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 505 Playlist

Tiny Desk Concert - Julia Bullock and Christian Reif

Brown Baby - Julia Bullock and Christian Reif

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar we have a delightful chat with British conductor-turned-Floridian Michael Francis. Michael's upcoming program with the Kansas City Symphony includes music by Purcell, Mozart and Elgar. Speaking of Mozart, Michael currently leads the Mainly Mozart Festival, which obviously begs the question, "Why not Totally Tchaikovsky or Blatantly Beethoven?" All will be revealed, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 504 Playlist

As Memorial Day approaches and the KC Symphony prepares for another Celebration at the Station, Beethoven Walks into a Bar revisits our conversation with Tim Donley of the band The Resilient. Tim, Mike, Stephanie, and our pal Jason Seber chat about making music in quarantine, the therapeutic power of art and dirty martinis. Hear Tim and The Resilient live at Celebration at the Station on Sunday, May 28. Visit kcsymphony.org for more information.

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

sevenlastwords.org

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

YouTube Playlist

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

Free Canadian Opera Company Subscription

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

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, Mike and Stephanie are joined by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke who is town to sing Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd with the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus. We talk about Sasha's work with former podcast guests Caroline Shaw, Gabe Kahane, Nico Muhly and Joel Thompson on her Grammy award winning album "How do I Find you?" and discuss exploring "new music" vs. "new to you" music. Sasha also shares how finding a good coffee shop can make her feel at home no matter where she is in the world. We also reveal our Top 5 works for solo voice and orchestra. Listen now for all of this and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 705 Playlist

ALBUM: Sasha Cooke: "How Do I Find You?"

In this week’s season finale, we take a deep dive into the question on all of our guests’ minds… “What would you ask Beethoven?” We revisit some of the most intriguing questions asked by our guests over the course of the first three seasons and take a closer look at them.  Plus, Jason, Mike and Stephanie each reveal their question for Beethoven. Join us this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar!

Episode 317 Playlist

Cat Music Sample Video

PDQ Bach - Beethoven's 5th Symphony

In this week's episode, we commemorate Memorial Day by honoring our troops and veterans as we shine a light on our country's premiere military bands. We chat with Gunnery Sergeant Joseph DeLuccio of the United States Marine Band, an oboist in "The President's Own" for the past 16 years. What is it like performing in one of the most prestigious ensembles in the country, in a band that plays gigs like presidential inaugurations and major White House events? Joe shares about getting star-struck, traveling the country and serving as a musical ambassador for the United States.  All this and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 316 Playlist

This week's guest puts Mike, Stephanie and Jason to shame with his real-life radio voice. Classical KC director Stephen Steigman talks about launching a classical music station in the year 2020, the importance of highlighting local arts organizations, and making the seamless transition from trombone player to radio broadcaster. Plus, be sure to check out 91.9 Classical KC for Kansas City Symphony performances and all of your other classical music needs.

Kansas City Symphony on Classical KC

Classical KC - From the Archives with Frank Byrne

This week is all about hobbies...whether its knitting, gardening, barbecuing or golfing, our hobbies are what have kept us sane throughout the past year. In this episode of Beethoven Walks into a Bar, we meet the ultimate hobbyist Larry Figg. When he's not playing cello in the Kansas City Symphony, you can find Larry flying radio controlled airplanes, making videos, stargazing, and...juggling! We talk with Larry about all of these hobbies and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar!

Anthony Gatto at the Monte Carlo 30th Festival Performance

Anthony Gatto is Better than you can Imagine!

Larry Figg Summertime Juggling Reel

On this week's episode of Beethoven Walks into a Bar, we welcome the captain of the clarinets, Raymond Santos. In addition to talking reeds, auditions, and Beethoven, we explore the equally important topics of cooking lessons, unhealthy sodium intake, and strawberry margaritas. Plus, one of our hosts has finally broken their losing streak on Bar Talk! Find out who is no longer a loser, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 313 Playlist

This week, Mike talks with friend of the symphony, Father Paul Turner. They explore the connections between music, service, and faith. You’ll also learn that you don’t necessarily have to be an elite athlete to letter in high school sports. All this and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 312 Spotify Playlist

This week's episode features a chat between Stephanie and fellow local arts educator Alex Espy. Alex is a great friend of the Symphony having joined the orchestra on stage for a number of educational performances over the past decade. He and Stephanie reminisce about giant toy boxes, cardboard cities, and the insane antics of local KC mascots playing it up in Helzberg Hall. Plus, they discuss the many ways art can become a child's voice, safe place, and so much more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Mesner Puppet Theater

In our first Beethoven Walks into a Bar "Spring Short," Jason sits down with his old boss and good friend Teddy Abrams, Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra. We hear all about Teddy's creative and adaptive programming at the LO this year (with not only the pandemic, but in the aftermath of Breonna Taylor's death in Louisville," where they see orchestras heading in the future, and they catch up on all things whiskey related in the bourbon capital of the world. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Rolling Stone The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Podversation with Yo-Yo Ma and Teddy Abrams

NPR Interview with Teddy Abrams, Jecorey Arthur, and Ari Shapiro

Have you ever wondered why the KC Symphony is the envy of the orchestra world?  What makes us tick?  Well, in addition to world class musicians, an incredible staff, and an extremely supportive community, we are blessed to have a dynamic Board of Directors.  We have the honor of sitting down this week with one of our incredible board members, Gena Williams.  We learn how she fell in love with music, what she and her colleagues on the board are doing behind the scenes to keep this orchestra at the top of its game, and why a night at the Symphony makes the perfect date night.  This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Kansas City Symphony MUSIC TALK Videos

Mobile Music Box

Can you believe it? Beethoven Walks into a Bar is one year old and still going strong 41 episodes later. As we celebrate the birth and growth of the Kansas City Symphony's podcast, we also celebrate the arrival of Spring. Join us this week as we chat about our favorite Spring-inspired music, memorable performances, Spring-themed drinks and Jason's impeccable French. All that and more in this episode of Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 308 Playlist

Teddy Abrams makes his second appearance on Beethoven Walks into a Bar this week, joining Mike and guest hosts Joe LeFevre (tuba) and Jessica Nance (viola). Teddy recently led the orchestra in a program including former podcast guest Caroline Shaw's The Observatory, Holst's The Planets, and Missy Mazzoli's Violin Concerto featuring the dazzling Jenny Koh. Hear how it went, this week on 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

This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar, Mike and Stephanie chat with maestro, educator and all-around inspiring human Thomas Wilkins. The King of acronyms, he is currently artistic advisor for education and community engagement and the Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor of the Boston Symphony (AAECEGYFCCBSO) and a winner of the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society (LBLAAFTEOMS). Thomas is in town conducting the Kansas City Symphony in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Coleridge-Taylor's Suite from Hiawatha, and Neielsen's "Inextinguishable" Symphony March 31-April 2 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Episode 703 Playlist

If you’ve been to a Kansas City Symphony concert in the last couple years, you know that we have been blessed with an influx of some incredible new musicians in the orchestra. One of those artists is our Principal Harp, Katherine Siochi. This week, we sit down with Katherine and learn all about this most magnificent of orchestral instruments, her career, her adorable pup Brooklyn, and her awesome ensemble for our Mobile Music Box series. We also find out which family the harp really belongs to and whose pup would win Best in Show, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 211 Playlist

www.katherinesiochi.com

This week’s guests are two of the funniest and most musical guys we’ve ever met. Gareth and Matt are the comedy percussion duo Buckets N Boards and perform regularly in Branson, MO, on Disney Cruiselines and have even graced the Helzberg Hall stage with the Kansas City Symphony. They're best known for bucket drumming, tap dancing, writing songs for squeaky turtles and playing recorders with their noses. Plus, we play a rousing game of "Name that Percussion Instrument," this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 210 Playlist

When You Wish Upon a Star

This week we're talking with one of our favorite Boston sports fans, former associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, and CURRENT music director of the Knoxville Symphony, Aram Demirjian. Aram talks about fond memories in KC, his new ventures in Knoxville and his path from "backseat conductor" to Music Director. Plus, we have a special New England version of "Bah Talk," this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 209 Playlist

https://www.aramdemirjian.com/

In this week’s episode, we meet the Kansas City Symphony’s very own Jedi, principal percussionist Josh Jones! Josh is the most recent winner of a Kansas City Symphony audition and he talks to us about his audition experience, working with members of the Chicago Symphony as a kid, his upcoming nuptials and life in KC so far. This week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar.

Episode 208 Playlist

www.drummojo.com