Classical KING celebrates Italian music and the arrival of autumn, welcomes two rising artists to Northwest Focus Live, and broadcasts the Seattle Symphony live from Benaroya Hall.

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Music Feature: The Italian Festival

Monday, September 21 – Friday, September 25

No passport needed, we’re heading to Italy through music! Classical KING celebrates Italian composers throughout the week, highlighting generations of music from Italy’s rich classical tradition. It all leads up to Seattle Center’s Italian Festival, where music, food, arts, history, and community come together in a celebration of Italian and Italian American heritage.

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Music Feature: First Day of Autumn

Tuesday, September 22

A new season begins! Classical KING welcomes autumn with music inspired by the changing colors, cooler days, and landscapes of fall. Tune in throughout the day for a soundtrack to the season as we celebrate the first day of autumn together.

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Northwest Focus Live

Colin Crake & Sunmin Kim

Friday, September 25 | 7pm

Host: Sean MacLean

Northwest Focus Live welcomes 2026 Frances Walton Competition solo winners Colin Crake and Sunmin Kim for an evening spotlighting two rising artists. Crake brings a wide-ranging saxophone repertoire shaped by transcriptions, contemporary music, and new commissions, while Kim appears as both pianist and composer, showcasing two distinct voices in the next generation of classical music.

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Broadcast Concert

Seattle Symphony: Xian & James Ehnes

Sunday, September 27 | 2pm | Live from Benaroya Hall

Host: Sean MacLean

Intermission Feature: Dave Beck interviews Xian Zhang

Classical KING broadcasts the Seattle Symphony live from Benaroya Hall as Music Director Xian Zhang leads Bruch and Berlioz. Violinist James Ehnes joins the orchestra for Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, followed by Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. During intermission, Dave Beck talks with Xian Zhang about Benaroya Hall renovations, the Symphony’s new album, and the ideas shaping the season ahead.

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Celebrate the First Notes of the Season with Classical KING and Live Music Project

Discover the concerts beginning across the Northwest, and find your next live music experience through the Live Music Project calendar. 

There is a special kind of anticipation at the beginning of the concert season. Across the Northwest, musicians are gathering; rehearsals are beginning, and choirs, orchestras, chamber ensembles, opera companies, and other performing arts organizations are preparing to share months of extraordinary music. 

This September, Classical KING and Live Music Project are celebrating First Notes of the Season, an invitation to discover the performances beginning in communities throughout our region. By bringing concert information together in one accessible calendar, the campaign gives listeners another way to explore local music and find a performance that speaks to them.  

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Classical KING & Seattle Opera’s Open House

Saturday, September 26 | 1–4pm | Seattle Opera Center

Come behind the scenes at Classical KING during Seattle Opera’s free Open House! Tour the studios, meet hosts and staff, and bring your radio questions for a look at how the station works. Then explore Seattle Opera’s Costume Shop and Props Departments, enjoy performances, crafts, costume try-ons, a sing-along, and more throughout the afternoon

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The Score with Edmund Stone

It’s the Next Stop: The Twilight Zone 

Saturday, September 26 | 4pm

This Saturday on The Score tune in for music from contemporary films that are “in the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition…” It’s The Next Stop: The Twilight Zone. Mind-bending films including Memento, Interstellar, Perfume, 2001, and of course, The Twilight Zone. 

It’s a Small World 

Sunday, September 27 | 4pm

Coming up next Sunday on The Score, Edmund Stone brings you It’s A Small World, no, not that ear worm! It’s an episode of music and movies about miniaturized worlds and people. From the size-morphing Ant Man and The Wasp to Downsizing, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and more, it’s a show all about tiny people, from films with great big music.

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Explore More on ClassicalKING.org

Looking for details about what you hear online, on our app, or on 98.1 FM?

Visit our playlist for comprehensive information on every piece and performer.

Stay inspired and enjoy another week of incredible music on Classical KING!