Kansas City Symphony: Jeannette Sorrell - Classical Celebration: Mozart & Haydn

Kansas City Symphony: Jeannette Sorrell - Classical Celebration: Mozart & Haydn at Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Mozart and Haydn knew how to write for the stage, and the Kansas City Symphony brings that theatrical spirit to Helzberg Hall on January 23, 2027. Guest conductor Jeannette Sorrell leads a program that moves between operatic drama and orchestral celebration—Haydn's overture to L'isola disabitata, his Violin Concerto No. 1, Mozart's ballet music from Idomeneo, and the Haffner Symphony. It's the Classical era at its most vivid.

The overture opens with compact dramatic contrasts, the kind of tension and release Haydn built for the operatic stage. Then Oliver Neubauer steps forward. The winner of the 2023 Young Concert Artists International Auditions performs Haydn's violin concerto, a work that pairs stylish brilliance with Classical elegance. His featured turn gives the program another kind of drama alongside Haydn's operatic overture.

Mozart's Idomeneo ballet music adds color and rhythm, operatic dance brought into the concert hall. Then the Haffner Symphony arrives, fiery and dazzling, the kind of work that fills a room with energy and precision. Its fiery character makes a lively contrast with the ballet music.

With Sorrell conducting, the program moves from an operatic overture and a featured violin concerto to Mozart's ballet music and symphony. There's theatrical character alongside the soloist's spotlight and the Haffner's energy. Haydn's drama and the Haffner's energy share the evening; pick up tickets for this Classical Celebration at the Kauffman Center.