Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Emanuel Ax Plays Mozart

Kansas City Symphony: Matthias Pintscher - Emanuel Ax Plays Mozart at Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Mozart doesn't tiptoe. His Piano Concerto No. 20 brings a stormy atmosphere and a darker kind of drama. Emanuel Ax brings decades of insight to one of the composer's most emotional concertos, a work that strips away the polished wit and replaces it with genuine darkness. When Ax takes the keyboard at Helzberg Hall, the Kansas City Symphony creates space for every phrase to land with the weight it deserves.

Matthias Pintscher conducts a program built on dramatic contrasts. Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus overture brings operetta's effervescent charm to the program. Then the mood shifts into Mozart's stormy introspection, one of only two concertos he wrote in a minor key. Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben portrays an idealized hero and his feats on a sweeping orchestral scale.

Three composers, three visions of storytelling. The lighthearted spirit of operetta makes way for Mozart's shadowy intensity, and then the entire ensemble pours into Strauss' grand ambition. It's an evening that rewards attention, shifting tone and temperament while Pintscher shapes the pacing and momentum.

Classical music becomes vivid when the right artists meet the right repertoire. Hear Ax take on Mozart's darker corners alongside the Kansas City Symphony. Get tickets for the March 6 concert at Helzberg Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, and follow the contrasts from operetta charm to heroic ambition.