1.   He has composed chamber music, symphonic works and opera, and conducted his music around the globe.

2.   He studied with the composer Franz Schrecker at the Hochschule in Berlin, and began his career in Dortmund, conducting opera and symphonic works.

3.   Leon Kirchner won first prize on Saturday in the annual Friedheim Awards competition for new symphonic works awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

4.   The multiple movements of symphonic works are not always clearly marked, and some sleuthing may be required to determine the composer.

5.   Yes, we learn which symphonic works were composed in certain years, which historic events occurred when and which great books were written.