Highlights
- The Phoenix Symphony performs 'Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar' on May 29 and 30 as its 2025-26 season finale.
- Composer Steve Hackman pairs Stravinsky's 'Petrouchka' with four tracks from Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer-winning album 'DAMN.'
- Furious Styles Crew opens each night at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby before the 7:30 p.m. concert; tickets are expected to sell out.
- Hackman has previously staged similar genre-blending productions pairing classical music with Tupac Shakur, Beyoncé, and Radiohead.
The Phoenix Symphony closes its 2025-26 season with a two-night production pairing Igor Stravinsky with Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Kendrick Lamar, a combination that composer and conductor Steve Hackman has built into a scene-by-scene narrative synthesis.
The concert, titled "Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar," runs May 29 and May 30 at 7:30 p.m., with a preshow by Furious Styles Crew in the lobby beginning at 6:30 p.m. each night. Hackman's composition weaves Stravinsky's ballet "Petrouchka" with four tracks from Lamar's album "DAMN.": "HUMBLE.," "DNA.," "LOVE.," and "FEAR." The structural conceit maps Stravinsky's puppet Petrouchka coming to life against Lamar's alter ego Kung Fu Kenny moving through an emotional arc.
Five virtuoso soloists perform alongside the full orchestra. Hackman has previously staged similar productions pairing classical works with Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Radiohead, Beyoncé, and Drake, according to the KTAR report.
Peter Kjome, president and CEO of the Phoenix Symphony, called the production the right moment for lapsed or first-time symphony-goers to return, describing it as experiencing the orchestra "in a completely new way."
Tickets are available online; organizers say they are expected to sell out.
Sources
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- ktar.com retrieved 19/05/2026 03:52
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 19/05/2026 03:52. Every claim traces to a source.
