Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Dvorak's Eighth with Mozart

Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Dvorak's Eighth with Mozart at Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Classical music at its best sweeps you into something bigger. When Matthias Pintscher leads the Kansas City Symphony through Dvořák's Eighth on January 15, you're stepping into a landscape filled with birdsong, sudden storms and rustic folk dance. This symphony pulses with life.

Its sunny character makes an appealing winter escape. A peaceful summer scene gives way to a thunderstorm; waltzes and folk rhythms bring another kind of movement. You don't need a story explained in advance to enjoy those changes. The pleasure is in letting the music take you from one scene to the next, with a melody to catch your attention along the way.

Blake Pouliot provides a different focus in Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto. Here, a featured violinist shares the program with the orchestra's larger musical landscape. The concerto's Turkish nickname comes from the finale's spirited dance inspired by Turkish military bands, a lively reason to stay curious about where Mozart takes the piece.

Olga Neuwirth's Masaot/Clocks Without Hands adds a contemporary work to the bill. Alongside Dvořák and Mozart, it gives the evening a discovery element for listeners who like a familiar composer and a new name in the same concert.

Choose this Helzberg Hall program for its changing scenery, solo-violin appeal and musical variety. Find Kansas City Symphony tickets and put a little of Dvořák's summer into your January plans.