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Up To Date

A Walk Through Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, And Hemingway's Year In Kansas City

Luke X. Martin
/
KCUR 89.3
Frank Byrne, executive director of the Kansas City Symphony, says when Shostakovich's 5th Symphony was released, a Moscow newpaper quoted the composer as saying "the symphony was a Soviet artist's creative response to justified criticism."

The executive director of the Kansas City Symphony is a busy man, but Frank Byrne has carved out some time for Up To Date. Today, he leads us through a Shostakovich symphony he's been listening to a lot lately. Then, we learn about the reporting, the writing, and the living Ernest Hemingway did in Kansas City during his 18th year of life. Longtime Kansas City Star editor Steve Paul says it was a pivotal year in Hemingway's self-invention.

Steve Paul will discuss his book 'Hemingway at Eighteen' at Raven Bookstore in Lawrence at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 19. For more information, go to RavenBookStore.com.

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As culture editor, I help you embrace what makes Kansas City fun and vibrant, whether it’s a championship sports franchise or a little-known wonder. I work with reporters to ensure KCUR stories on art, culture, and race fully reflect our diverse home so readers and listeners can take full advantage of what the metro has to offer. Email me at luke@kcur.org.