Burle Marx, Walter

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BURLE MARX, WALTER

BURLE MARX, WALTER (1902–1990), conductor, composer, and pianist. Born in São Paulo, Burle Marx started his musical studies with Henrique Oswald and Angelo Franca. At the age of 12, he appeared in two piano concerts with Artur Napoleao. From 1924 he studied in Europe: piano with Kwast (1924–26), orchestration with Reznicek (1926–28), and conducting with Weingartner (1928–29). In 1925–26 he toured Europe as a pianist. On his return to Brazil, he formed the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro (1931) and in 1947 became director of the Rio Municipal Theater. In 1952 he was appointed to teach the piano and composition at the Settlement Music School, Philadelphia. His compositions include four symphonies (1945, 1950, 1956, 1970), Theme, Variations and Fugue (1926), Episodio Fantastico (1939), Variaçòes sobre o hino nacional (1947), and Samba concertante (1961).

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[Israela Stein (2nd ed.)]