Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Brahms' German Requiem

Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Brahms' German Requiem at Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

A live orchestra can shake you and shelter you in the same breath. That's the rare gift waiting when the Kansas City Symphony performs Brahms' A German Requiem November 21, 2026, at Helzberg Hall.

Brahms chose his texts carefully, pulling from the German Bible to speak directly to those left behind. Instead of a traditional Latin mass, he built a requiem for the living—words of consolation wrapped in cascading choral warmth. Soprano Sophia Burgos, bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, and the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, directed by Betsy Burleigh, bring distinct solo and choral voices to Brahms' music.

Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw brings a different purpose to the program: remembrance of Holocaust victims and an expression of faith and defiance. Narrator Joshua Malina is among the performers, giving this work a spoken voice alongside the Symphony's music. Placed on the same program as Brahms' consolation for the living, Schoenberg's work asks you to hold remembrance and hope in view without confusing one with the other.

Olga Neuwirth's Tombeau I is the program's third work. Matthias Pintscher conducts all three, offering a concert with more than one musical perspective on this serious subject; the contrast between Schoenberg and Brahms alone makes for a compelling reason to attend.

At Helzberg Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, the full program brings together chorus, orchestra, soloists and narrator. With Pintscher directing, hear Brahms' consolation and Schoenberg's defiance; book tickets for November 21.