Missouri Classical Music News and Notes

The St. Louis Symphony is back in the headlines and not with glowing ones like last season's, announcing its cool new music director, David Robertson.

This time it's on strike, or “locked out,” as the players are calling it. At issue is their new contract, and the conflict comes at a time when the organization, which almost went out of business four years ago, was again beginning to raise big sums of money. . . .

The Kansas City Symphony, which settled its negotiations last year by agreeing to a salary freeze for the first year of its contract, is still playing.

In fact, this week it will step forth with music director-designate Michael Stern for a program at the Lyric Theatre and at Johnson County's Yardley Hall.