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

Sometimes music offers comfort that language alone cannot. Brahms wrote A German Requiem not for the departed but for those left behind, choosing Bible passages that speak directly to the living. That compassion fills every measure, making this score one of classical music's most personal statements on loss and consolation.

Matthias Pintscher conducts the Kansas City Symphony in a November 2026 afternoon that pairs Brahms' consolation with Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw. Schoenberg's work memorializes Holocaust victims through an expression of faith and defiance, with narrator Joshua Malina among the performers. The pairing makes space for two distinct responses: remembrance that refuses to look away and Brahms' music centered on comfort for those still living.

Soprano Sophia Burgos and bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams join the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, directed by Betsy Burleigh, to deliver the Brahms with the vocal power the piece demands. The program also includes Neuwirth's Tombeau I, bringing a third work to this orchestral concert.

At Helzberg Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, the chorus and soloists join the Symphony for a work whose German Bible texts address the living. Following those voices alongside the orchestra offers another way into Brahms' response to loss, beyond the title alone.

Brahms' Requiem offers consolation for the living; buy tickets for the Symphony's afternoon performance.