Classics Live brings you exclusive performances from throughout the KPR listening area. Our microphones travel to the Sunflower Music Festival, the Lied Center, the Ruel Joyce Recital series, the Great Spaces Music and Arts series, as well as performances recorded in Kansas Public Radio's live studio. Performers include the Emerson String Quartet, the Zoco Duo, Ensemble Iberica, and members of the Kansas City Symphony, among others. The series producer is KPR's Cordelia Brown, with recording engineer Chuck Smith. Darrell Brogdon hosts the program. Thursdays at 7 p.m. 

Upcoming Shows

September 18 2025  
Classics Live 226:  Topeka Symphony in April
Kyle Wiley Pickett and the Topeka Symphony focused on film music for their April 2024 concert. You can hear themes from The Mission, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Last of the Mohicans and more in full symphonic classical form.

September 25 2025 
Classics Live 227:  Pianist Janice Carissa.
When Janice Carissa brought her piano recital to the Lied Center Pavilion, concert-goers were gifted with Schumann’s Op 99 piano suite Bunte Blatter or Colorful Leaves (or pages.) A Prelude and Fugue by Bach, Beethoven’s 2nd piano sonata, and more. Listen to the KPR recording of this fantastic recital of Janice Carissa.

October 2 2025 
Classics Live 228:  Topeka Symphony Goes Thai
Topeka Symphony goes THAI and TCHAIkovsky! Inspired by his time in Taiwan, conductor Kyle Wiley Pickett brings us pure Taiwanese music called Sound Echo and Silence. The Tchaikovsky is the Symphony No 4.

October 9 2025 
Classics Live 229:  Destiny in Concert
KPR’s own spirited classical evening show host DESTINY ANN MERMAGEN appeared recently in a Doreen Maronde Professional Recital along with her husband Michael, who teaches cello at UMKC, and the official accompanist and concert pianist of Park University, Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich. With fruitful combinations of violin, cello, and piano by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

October 16 2025 
Classics Live 230:  Soojin Jin, piano + cellist Ed Laut
A rare concert featuring Professor Emeritus of Cello from KU, Ed Laut, who spent 25 years as first cellist with the Cleveland Orchestra. Piano and cello masterpieces by Schumann, Debussy, and Frank Bridge.

October 23 2025 
Classics Live 231:  The St Petersburg Quartet
Featuring local classical violist and cellist Boris Vayner and Sascha Groschang, the St Petersburg String Quartet has enjoyed an illustrious international career. The Doreen Maronde Professional Recital Series was thrilled to host them and KPR was grateful to record it for you. Bach, Shostakovich and Ravel await!

October 30 2025 
Classics Live 232:  Jayne Siemens, soprano.
Classics Live's this week is a wonderful bouquet of vivid love songs from the heart. Kansas City soprano Jayne Siemens tells many stories of passion in this special concert. She’s assisted by John Livingston, piano. Listen for famous opera arias, plus, Spanish love songs and some Jerome Kern and George Gershwin.
 
November 6 2025 
Classics Live 233:  Tom Aber + Brookside Quartet
Tom Aber has mastered the bass and contra alto clarinets. Pair him with the KC Brookside String Quartet and you’ll have a fascinating classical concert including a Phantasy Quintet just for that scoring by York Bowen, a 20th c composer.