KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Feb. 26, 2025 — Today the Kansas City Symphony announced details of the 2025/26 season, its second with Music Director Matthias Pintscher. Pintscher will conduct 8 of the 14 Classical Series programs including opening weekend and two concerts celebrating the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
In addition to the two-program Rachmaninoff Celebration, the Classical Series will feature great symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák, Mahler, Prokofiev and Sibelius. Sonic showpieces include Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra — famously showcased at the beginning of the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The season concludes with dynamic young American pianist Michelle Cann performing a pair of American masterpieces: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Florence Price’s First Piano Concerto. Two Kansas City Symphony musicians — Concertmaster Jun Iwasaki and Principal Trumpet Julian Kaplan — will have solo turns, and the Kansas City Symphony Chorus will be featured in Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“As evidenced by the reviews of our European tour and audience reaction here at home — including several sold-out performances — the musical partnership between Matthias Pintscher and the Kansas City Symphony is off to a promising start,” said the Symphony’s President and CEO Danny Beckley. “Next season will build on the momentum that we have established.”
The Pops Series will include an innovative multimedia tribute to Dolly Parton’s music, featuring Dolly on screen singing and telling the stories of her songs, along with tributes to the music of Journey, Billy Joel, Elton John and the 1990s. Symphony favorite Capathia Jenkins also returns in a brand-new show titled “She’s Got Soul,” with orchestral renditions of the R&B classics of Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Adele and others.
Film + Live Orchestra presentations will feature fan-favorite movies like “Elf,” “It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Tickets for these exciting upcoming concerts, listed in full below, can be purchased with a subscription starting Thursday, February 27. Subscription packages for the new season — including a 7-concert Classical Series option for less than $200 — are on sale now. Call 816.471.0400 between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and check kcsymphony.org for updates and more information.
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY 2025/26 SEASON
All performances take place in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
CLASSICAL SERIES
Copland’s Appalachian Spring
Friday and Saturday, October 10-11, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy, chorus director
AARON COPLAND Appalachian Spring (complete ballet)
MAURICE RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé (complete ballet)
Rachmaninoff Celebration, Part 1
Piano Concerto No. 2
Friday and Saturday, October 31-November 1, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
George Li, piano
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy, chorus director
NICO MUHLY and NICHOLAS BRITELL Preludes (world premieres, piano solo)
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF The Bells
Matthias Conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Friday and Saturday, November 21-22, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Brahms’ Fourth Symphony
Friday and Saturday, January 9-10, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Roderick Cox, guest conductor
Avery Gagliano, piano (Almy Legacy Fund)
SAMUEL BARBER Essay No. 2
CLARA WIECK SCHUMANN Piano Concerto
JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
Pines of Rome and Bruch’s Second Violin Concerto
Friday and Saturday, January 16-17, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Kevin John Edusei, guest conductor
Jun Iwasaki, violin
SAMY MOUSSA Elysium
MAX BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 2
OTTORINO RESPIGHI Fountains of Rome
OTTORINO RESPIGHI Pines of Rome
Beethoven and Beyond
Friday and Saturday, January 30-31, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Tamara Stefanovich, piano
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
LISA STREICH (KC Symphony co-commission, world premiere)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4
Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony
Friday and Saturday, February 6-7, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
MAURICE RAVEL Mother Goose (complete ballet)
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI Violin Concerto No. 2
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto and Strauss
Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Samuel Lee, guest conductor
Santiago Cañón-Valencia, cello
KAIJA SAARIAHO Du cristal (From Crystal)
CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1
RICHARD STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Friday and Saturday, April 10-11, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Julian Kaplan, trumpet
Evan Hughes, baritone
Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Charles Bruffy, chorus director
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Spring
TOSHIO HOSOKAWA Im Nebel, Trumpet Concerto (U.S. premiere)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Farrenc, Schumann and Dvořák
Friday and Saturday, April 17-18, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Louis Langrée, guest conductor
Stefan Jackiw, violin
LOUISE FARRENC Overture No. 1
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto
ROBERT SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4
Grieg’s Piano Concerto
Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Anu Tali, guest conductor
Chaeyoung Park, piano
EDUARD TUBIN Estonian Dance Suite
EDVARD GRIEG Piano Concerto
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Gil Shaham Plays Brahms
Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
VARIOUS Genesis
JOHANNES BRAHMS Violin Concerto
Rachmaninoff Celebration, Part 2
Piano Concerto No. 3
Friday and Saturday, June 5-6, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 7, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Matthias Pintscher, music director and conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
OLGA NEUWIRTH and MATTHIAS PINTSCHER Preludes (world premieres, piano solo)
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Rhapsody in Blue and Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony
Friday and Saturday, June 19-20, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Peter Oundjian, guest conductor
Michelle Cann, piano
JOAN TOWER Suite from Concerto for Orchestra
FLORENCE PRICE Piano Concerto
GEORGE GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
POPS SERIES
Windborne’s The Music of Journey
Friday and Saturday, September 19-20, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 2 p.m.
90s Mixtape
Friday and Saturday, October 24-25, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 2 p.m.
She’s Got Soul
Friday and Saturday, February 13-14, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 8 p.m.
The Music of Billy Joel and Elton John
Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs In Symphony
Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 2 p.m.
FAMILY SERIES
The Orchestra Games
Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Carnival of the Animals
Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Philharmonia Fantastique
Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.
HOLIDAY EVENTS
Elf™ in Concert
Friday, November 28, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, November 30, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Handel’s Messiah
Friday and Saturday, December 5-6, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Leslie Odom, Jr. with the Kansas City Symphony
Friday and Saturday, December 12-13 at 7 p.m.
Christmas Festival
Thursday and Friday, December 18-19, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
It’s a Wonderful Life™ in Concert
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, December 24, 2025 at 11 a.m.
FILM + LIVE ORCHESTRA
Top Gun: Maverick™ in Concert
Friday and Saturday, October 17-18, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ in Concert
Friday through Saturday, January 23-24, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in Concert
Thursday through Saturday, February 19-21, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 2 p.m.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Dorothy Papadakos: The Lodger
Silent Film + Organ
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Chris Thile with the Kansas City Symphony
Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Visit kcsymphony.org for more information.
ABOUT THE KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
In only its 43rd season, the Kansas City Symphony has already become one of America’s most vibrant major orchestras and has gained national and international recognition. With the 2024/25 season, the Symphony welcomes conductor and composer Matthias Pintscher as its new music director. Pintscher regularly conducts many of the world’s best orchestras and opera companies and ranks as one of the world’s foremost composers of orchestral music.
Continually creating live music experiences in Helzberg Hall, located in the prestigious Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Symphony serves Kansas City’s metro population of more than 2.2 million people as well as welcoming visitors from around the globe. The Symphony’s 80 full-time musicians from around the world bring a diverse and dynamic range of musical experiences to our audiences in both orchestral and chamber music formats each season. In addition to concerts in Helzberg Hall, Symphony musicians perform throughout the region on our portable stage, the Mobile Music Box. The Symphony also serves as the orchestra for the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, adding to the rich cultural experiences that these organizations offer to the community.
Top international soloists perform with the Kansas City Symphony every season, including brilliant classical musicians, popular singer/songwriters, rock bands and other creative performers. The Symphony also performs live soundtracks for a variety of fan-favorite films, with the movie projected on a giant screen above the stage.
