Diary of a Musician

This program opens with Josef Rheinberger's Easter Hymn (Osterhymne) and then focuses on Théodore Dubois Les Sept paroles du Christ (The Seven Last Words of Christ).

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E8 - My Easter Favorites

This month, Leon will focus on the Boston Six, beginning with composer John Knowles Paine

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E9 - The Boston Six: John Knowles Paine

Leon continues his focus on the Boston Six with Edward MacDowell, a talented piano virtuoso and one of America's preeminent composers.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E10 - The Boston Six: Edward MacDowell

Leon continues his focus on the Boston Six with Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, an acclaimed pianist and (now) one of the most respected American composers of her era.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E11 - The Boston Six: Amy Beach

Leon continues his focus on the Boston Six with music by Horatio Parker, George Whitefield Chadwick, and Arthur Foote.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E12 - The Boston Six: Chadwick, Foote, and Parker

Sir William Turner Walton wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. Hear his cantata Belshazzar's Feast, the British coronation march Crown Imperial, and more.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E13 - Rediscovering William Walton

Leon will focus on variations, especially the works of two composers both born on May 7: Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E14 - Variations

Ballet has produced some of the most beautiful music ever written. Leon will explore this form, featuring music by Léo Delibes and Manuel de Falla.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E15 - Ballet Music

Patriotic and summer holidays mean band concerts! Leon shares music by Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa, as well as pieces by the lesser-known composers Vincent Persichetti and Alfred Reed.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E16 - Concert Bands (An Entry to Fine Music)

After Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 evoked a mix of "applause and boos" at its premiere, the composer claimed to be "pleased that the Concerto provoked such strong feelings." Leon shares this work and Suite No. 1 from the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E17 - The Colorful Mister Prokofiev!

A prolific musician, teacher, and writer, Judith Lang Zaimont has been a major contributor to 20th-century music. Leon notes that musicians need to keep learning new material: you never know what gem you will find!

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E18 - Judith Lang Zaimont

Leon will share insights into Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Maestro Burke is currently conducting this piece in Paraguay!

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E19 - One Piece, Two Continents

Having just arrived back from conducting in Paraguay, Maestro Burke will share the music he heard while he was visiting there. Hear works by Richard Wagner, Darius Milhaud (pictured), and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E20 - Memories of Paraguay

Maestro Burke will share a look ahead to the Gateway Festival Orchestra concert on July 7, with music by Franz von Suppé, Felix Mendelssohn, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E21 - Sixty Years under the Stars

Maestro Burke will preview the Gateway Festival Orchestra concert with selections by Leonard Bernstein, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Leroy Anderson.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E22 - A Night of Nostalgia

Leon shares a trio of compositions from Ludwig van Beethoven that feature the piano, including the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor (Moonlight), the Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major (Waldstein), and the Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Sonata Pathétique).

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E23 - Beethoven's Pianism

Leon focuses on the music of Frédéric François Chopin, a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E24 - The Many Moods of Chopin

Leon will discuss how Ludwig van Beethoven responded to oncoming deafness, with excerpts from the Symphony No. 3 in E♭ major (Erioca), the opera Fidelio, the Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata), and more.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E25 - Beethoven's New Way

Leon shares music "left over" from previous programs this week. Hear music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Modest Mussorgsky, and Johann Sebastian Bach!

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E26 - More Leftovers!

Leon shares compositions that feature the viola, an instrument often used to play the "inner voices" in string quartets and symphonic writing. Hear music from Georg Philipp Telemann, Paul Hindemith, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and others.

Diary of a Musician with Leon Burke S4:E27 - Showcasing the Viola

Classical music in St Louis, from Classic 107.3 and 96.3 HD2