Frank Byrne
Host, From the ArchivesFrank Byrne has spent his life in music administration, first as the senior administrator of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in Washington, DC, and later as Executive Director of the Kansas City Symphony. In addition to his administrative work, Byrne was also a professional tuba player and student of legendary Chicago Symphony tubist Arnold Jacobs. He has lived the music business on stage and in the office, and has retained his passion for great music and the people who make it.
His passion is fueled by intense curiosity and a desire to understand what makes some performances extraordinary. As a picture is worth a thousand words, some special recordings convey qualities that go beyond words, with their own power and compelling message. Finding and sharing those special performances remains a lifelong hobby and obsession. He also believes that Classical KC provides a wonderful opportunity to share great music with an entirely new audience and hopes to help make that a reality.
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What music would you like to have if marooned on a desert island? Host Frank Byrne shares some of his favorites – music by Richard Strauss and Josef Strauss, Mascagni, Chopin, and Bolcom. Get your sunscreen and dream of warmer weather as you listen to these musical masterpieces. -
The violin has a musical and spiritual connection with Russian music and this show features works by Sergei Taneyev and Peter Tchaikovsky that may be new to you. They’re melodious, soulful and steeped in the Russian spirit. -
Who doesn’t like a good scare once in a while, especially on Halloween? We’ll hear diverse selections from the small screen to the big screen plus some other-worldly sounds from composers such as Béla Bartók, György Ligeti, John Williams and more. -
Dmitri Shostakovich was a great Russian composer and is remembered today for his powerful symphonies. But there is one musical genre in which he composed more than any other: film music. We’ll hear selections from his marvelous score for the 1955 film “The Gadfly.” -
Mendelssohn’s score to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of the miracles in classical music. Begun as a youthful expression of enthusiasm for the play, he later expanded it while keeping the same enthusiasm and innocence. -
The acclaimed French cellist Paul Torelier was a dynamic musician and personality. Get to know this artist and listen to his recordings of a sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven and a concerto by William Walton. -
Five is an odd number in math, but not at all odd in music. We have two splendid quintets – one for strings by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by the Griller Quartet, and one for brass by Victor Ewald performed by the Empire Brass. -
The "Hammerklavier" sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven is widely considered to be the most difficult of the thirty-two piano sonatas that he composed. It is difficult technically, athletically, and emotionally. We’ll hear an exceptional live performance of this landmark musical work. -
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote the score for the 1948 film “Scott of the Antarctic” – a dramatization of the ill-fated expedition led by Capt. Robert Falcon Scott to be the first humans to the South Pole. Vaughan Williams’ inspiration was such that he expanded the film score into a five-movement symphony that is both compelling and moving. -
Some composers have the gift to paint with sound, to create musical pictures in our minds. We’ll hear cinematic music by Ferde Grofé and Ottorino Respighi in spectacular recordings that more than demonstrate music’s power to communicate.
