Giovani da Palestrina
(1525-1594)
Italian Renaissance Composer

Palestrina was one of the most famous composers of the time - which translates as - the Pope really liked him. He took music past the Gregorian Chant and created “harmony” in music. He did this by having people sing different lines at the same time. He was very clever. We have Palestrina to thank for barbershop quartets and The Back Street Boys.

Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643)
Italian Renaissance Opera Composer

Monteverdi was one of the first people to invent music dramas...what we call “opera”. In the Renaissance there was a huge movement to tell and re-tell (ad nauseam) the great stories of ancient Greece in theatre settings (amphitheaters). Monteverdi set these Greek plays to music and thus began the long winding road to the musical!

Antonio Vivaldi
(1678-1741)
Italian Baroque Composer

Vivaldi was an extraordinarily prolific composer who was also an ordained priest. He wrote some of the most challenging string and wind concertos in the repertoire. His best-known work Four Seasons has been considered the first programmatic work ever written. Vivaldi was a Baroque composer and his melodies are extremely “hum-able”. His faster movements are energetic and light, his slow pieces are transparent and appear simple, however in order for them to sound simple, they require a virtuosic level of control from the performer.

George Frideric Handel
(1685-1759)
German Baroque Composer

Handel was extremely fortunate to enjoy immense popularity during his lifetime. He is the quintessential Baroque composer, who by the age of 17 was already a well-known and respected force in German classical music. He traveled extensively (mostly Italy and England) which was quite rare at that time. His Messiah, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks are his most popular works.

Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
German Baroque Composer

Johann Sebastian was not truly respected for his theoretical genius or magnificent musical output until well after his death. He was extremely prolific (he had 20 children!) and devoted a majority of his life to the composition of sacred works (including nearly 300 cantatas and 2 masses), however his Brandenburg Concertos and The Well Tempered Clavier are among his best-loved and most widely performed works. His style of counterpoint literally defined the course of harmonic progressions in Western music.

Joseph Haydn
(1732-1809)
German Classical Composer

Haydn was a mentor to all who knew and studied with him. He even earned the name “Papa Haydn”. (Who’s your daddy?) His music is delicate and precise. Many claim that Mozart learned is skill of a finely crafted melody from his teacher, Haydn. (Why couldn’t Mozart find his teacher? ‘Cause he was Haydn). In his lifetime, Haydn wrote 104 symphonies - for which he had some catchy names like The Farwell Symphony, and The Surprise Symphony. These symphonies significantly pushed forward the genre. Haydn also wrote many innovative string quartets.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
German Classical Composer

For many, Mozart is the Elvis of classical music - his legend nearly overshadows his very short life. Simply put, he was a genius who wrote extraordinarily beautiful music for all genres. He died tragically and is buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. For the full story, rent the movie Amadeus. Even the most resistant to classical music will be touched and inspirited by his brilliance.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
German Classical Composer

Beethoven’s works were tremendously important because they bridged the Classical Period to the Romantic Period. He wrote for almost every genre of music at the time, including the piano sonata, string quartet, and symphony. By focusing on dynamics, color and emotion he defined the key elements of the new Romantic Style. He expanded the symphonic form and enriched orchestration by introducing new textures and the concept of programmatic music (music that tells a story). Miraculously he did this while going deaf.
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Gioacchino Rossini
(1792-1868)
Italian Classical Composer

Rossini’s music just makes you plain happy! His music is witty, energetic and fun. Rossini wrote a heck of a lot of operas. There are 40 to his credit, all of which were written before his 40th birthday since. It was well known that Rossini liked to wait until the night before an opera premiere to write the opera’s overture. The Barber of Seville and William Tell Overture are his most performed works.

Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)

Schubert’s is a tragic story of a “starving artist”. By his early twenties, he had composed almost 500 works that did not receive notice until nearly 50 years after his death. He wrote chamber music, symphonies and hundreds of songs. His life as a composer was one of poverty where he relied on the generosity of his friends and peers. At 31 he died of a venereal disease and was buried near his hero, Beethoven. His vast contribution to musical repertoire included The Trout Quintet and his Symphony No. 8 (titled the Unfinished Symphony).

Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)
French Romantic Period Composer

If you like huge, over the top, loud music, you’ll love Berlioz. (Try to Symphony Fantastique, it’s a wild ride) He was a man of extravagance and turmoil. For example, – in the 1850’s, he and four other conductors led a musical extravaganza that consisted of 1,200 orchestra and chorus musicians performing his music. Like so many other composers, he felt that he had never been successful and spent his last years in bad health and overcome by depression.

Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
German Romantic Period Composer

Mendelssohn was an optimistic man and it showed in his music. He grew up in a very wealthy Jewish family, and had a stellar work ethic. Since most musical careers were closed to Jews in Germany during that time, his family converted to Christianity. He was a piano virtuoso and was composing symphonies and operas at a very young age. Schumann called him the “Mozart of the 19th century”.

Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
“The Piano Man”. French Romantic Period Composer

Chopin composed nearly 200 piano works that, to this day, stretch the technique and musical sophistication of pianists. He earned a good living teaching student’s of Paris’ elite. On the personal side, Chopin had a long-term romantic affair with the writer George Sand. He struggled for many years with tuberculosis, finally succumbing to the condition in 1849.

Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
Hungarian Romantic Period Pianist and Composer

Franz Liszt stands out for his creation of the Symphonic Tone poem. Unlike the Symphony, these large-scale pieces form were huge single-movement programmatic works that greatly influence Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Debussy and Schoenberg. Much of Liszt’s piano music is extremely difficult and demanding even for the most exceptional pianists. He is well known for his Hungarian Rhapsodies (influenced by the music of Hungarian gypsies) and his Piano Concert No. 1 in E-flat.

Richard Wagner
(1813-1883)

Wagner, the genius of Romantic German opera, took opera to new heights and lengths in his masterpiece, Der Ring des Nibelungen which is often referred to as Wagner’s Ring Cycle. This four-opera work takes nearly 16 hours to perform. (It’s worth notating that Wagner’s story line for the Ring Cycle is about a ring that has magical powers that gets lost and found and lost again. Can anyone say Lord of the Rings?) Wagner’s writing pushed singers to the brink, he expanded the orchestra and gave the subject matter greater depth than had been seen previously. Wagner took tonality (as it had always been understood) to its limit. It is worth noting that Wagner was the favorite composer of the Nazis.

Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901)
Called “The Greatest Italian Opera Composer”

Italian Romantic Period Composer Verdi is best known for the operas Rigoletto, Il trovatore , La traviata, Aida, Otello and Falstaff. He brought true drama to his opera and his character development was both vocally exciting and emotionally engaging. Verdi's orchestrations and choruses were as important to the drama as the singers in the staring roles. His operas are still a main staple of the repertoire with works that have a timeless elegance.

Anton Bruckner
(1824-1896)
Organist and Austrian Romantic period

Composer Bruckner originally was drawn toward church music...until he heard Wagner. Wagner’s music so influenced him that he became almost obsessed with everything “Wagner”. (...kind of creepy!) His symphonies made him famous. They are long, grand and heavy like dark chocolate with references to sacred works. Brass players love Bruckner because he keeps them very busy!

Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
German Romantic Period Composer

Brahms stood alone as a classicist while the rush of new styles of Wagner and Liszt seduced audiences and musicians. Mocked for clinging to the past, Brahms never gave into modernism. His music is always gorgeous, and his spinning phrases float and melt into each other. His symphonies are intensely romantic and majestic. Among his most heard works are all four of his symphonies and his Academic Festival Orchestra.

Modest Mussorgsky
(1839-1881)
Russian Romantic Period Composer

Mussorgsky was born into a family of aristocrats. He was well educated and became an officer in an elite army regiment. Unfortunately, political unrest brought financial ruin and he was forced to get a day job with the government. He composed at night...eventually he left his job, fell into poverty and became an alcoholic. (Therefore he had all the makings of a great composer.) Strangely, his most popular works, Pictures at an Exhibition and The Dance of the Persian Slaves were re-written by more astute composers such as Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(1840- 1893)
Russian Romantic Composer

Tchaikovsky left behind 7 symphonies (Symphonies Nos. 1-6 and the “Manfred” Symphony), 8 operas, 3 ballets and chamber music. He lived a life in conflict as a gay man trying to conform to marriage - a move that would lead him to attempt suicide and take her to an insane asylum. Ultimately, Tchaikovsky died under suspicious circumstances. His music encompasses many styles. It is nationalistic (1812 Overture), deeply romantic (symphonies 4-6 and the Overture to Romeo and Juliet) and playful (The Nutcracker Suite).

Antonín Dvorák
(1841-1904)
Czech Romantic Composer

Dvorák brilliantly weaved the folk song of his homeland into his music. His melodies are sweet and uncomplicated. (New World Symphony), yet he could get quite bombastic when he chose. He enjoyed almost immediate success with his music. He ventured to New York City and taught there for a while, but his heart called him home. Referring to himself as “just and ordinary Czech musician”, Dvorák like so many other great composers, died a poor man.

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
(1844-1908)
Russian Romantic Composer

Rimsky-Korsakov had an eerily similar life to Mussorgsky – wealthy upbringing and a military officer, however he did not throw himself to the bottle. Instead, he educated himself in harmony, counterpoint and orchestration. His music is whimsical and wonderfully exhilarating, yet never trite. Among his most popular music are Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol and the Russina Easter Overture and of course, his delightful work, Flight of the Bumble Bee. He was intensely political and found himself in hot water more than once with the authorities because of his support of students of the revolution. Stravinsky and Prokofiev were among his many students.

Gustav Mahler
(1860-1911)
The Last Great Romantic Composer

Gustav Mahler had a horribly tumultuous life. Many of his siblings died in infancy, others were mentally disturbed and yet another committed suicide. Little consolation was that he became a well-respected composer during his lifetime. He also was a well-known conductor, but his true fame came from his symphonic compositions. His nine symphonies are exceedingly dramatic and evocative. His music led him to New York where he conducted the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera.

Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
French Impressionist Composer

As art had an impressionistic period, so did music and Debussy was its Monet. His music is exotic and sensual with light, cascading phrases that bring to mind the paintings of the adored impressionists. "The primary aim of French music," Claude Debussy wrote in 1904, "is to give pleasure." His greatest works include Prelude to L’Aprés-Midi d’un Faune (Afternoon of a Faun) and La Mer.

Richard Strauss
(1864-1949)
German Romantic Composer

Although he picked up where Liszt’s tone poems left off, Strauss soon abandoned the constraints of the Germanic style and completely let loose. His music can rip through an orchestra with a mad furry. His dramatic symphonic tone poems are operas for orchestra. His most performed tone poems are Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Thus Spake Zarathustra (featured in the opening of the film “2001: A Space Odyssey”) and Don Juan.

Charles Ives
(1874-1954)
American 20th Century Composer

Ives had a very dull day job...he was an insurance salesman who invented the concept of estate planning. He composed very complicated works in secret. He detested classical music of the 19th century and called it “lazy”! Ives’ music is classical heavy metal - clashing, noisy, and hard-edged...yet at times he quotes favorite hymns (a little odd). It took a long time for him to gain recognition. It wasn’t until 1947, when received the Pulitzer Prize for his Third Symphony that his music became a part of the classical standard repertoire.

Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937)
French Impressionist Composer

Maurice Ravel imagined orchestral colors unlike any composer that preceded him. His writing was unmistakably French and, together with Debussy, he helped to define the French style for the early 20th century. He was deeply influenced by the music of Stravinsky and American jazz (in his later works). His ballet, Daphnis et Chloé along with his piano work Gaspard de la Nuit are considered his masterpieces. Ironically, it would be Bolero (an experimental piece for orchestra heard in the movie “10”) that would become his calling card. Thanks Bo Derek.

Igor Stravinsky
(1882-1971)
The Man of Many Styles Russian 20th Century Composer

Stravinsky is undeniably a heavyweight in the music of the 20th century. He incorporated everything into his music...folk songs, classical style melodies, modern dissonant harmonies and driving dance rhythms. If driving pounding rhythm is your thing, try The Rite of Spring. It’s got more kick than a pack of mules. Stravinsky peaked very early in his career (after studying with Rimsky-Korsakov) with two very successful ballet scores, The Firebird in 1910 and Petruschka in 1911.

George Gershwin
(1889-1937)
American 20th Century Composer

Born in Brooklyn, George Gershwin was all about New York. From Broadway to the concert hall, his music was the ultimate in “accessible”. Everyone loves Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess, and An American in Paris. The consummate American composer, he brilliantly combined jazz, blues and classical music. Although he was a great jazz pianist, he made his living writing music for Broadway shows.

Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
American 20th Century Composer

Also a Brooklyn native, Copland is undeniably American. His music is not city-influenced like Gershwin’s, but rather evokes the huge open spaces of America’s heartland. Simply put, Copland sets the countryside to music. His musical portrayal of vast Midwestern skies and open fields is heard in his ballet Appalachian Spring. This Pulitzer Prize winning work is performed often and is probably the best-known piece of American classical music.

A Brief History of the (Classical) World

(Pardon our brevity)

The Boys’ Club

Small bios on big composers

Classical Speak

“Adagio”a guide to classical terms

Classical Starter Kit

Beethoven and beyond... but not too far

Classical 24/7

A movement for every mood

What Are They Doing Up There?

Anatomy of an orchestra

Now That I’m Here...

Concert etiquette for the rest of us

The Recycled Riff

Rock folks aren’t just lifting from each other

We Couldn’t Have Said It Better

Quotable quotes from all walks