JoAnn Falletta is celebrating her 20th anniversary as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, so we've gotta give her a shout out with this old gold from the Classroom vault! By the way, did you know that a 2014 survey found that in a list of the 150 top conductors in the world, only five were women? New episode topic?

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Who was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and why does he have two last names? And why would a 19th century Russian composer write a symphonic poem based on a collection of West and South Asian folk tales written in Arabic in the 16th century? What does it all mean?? Most* of these questions and more are all answered within by Buffalo Philharmonic/Virginia Symphony Orchestra conductor, guitarist, music advocate, and all around amazing lady, JoAnn Falletta.

Music in this episode from the Buffalo Philharmonic's recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sheherazade," conducted by JoAnn Falletta.

Audio production by Todd "Twister" Hulslander with high kicks by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.