Some of our favorite composers

Johann Sebastian Bach born March 21, 1685-Eisenach; died July 28, 1750-Leipzig Of the more than 100 members of the Bach family who worked as musicians in Thuringia, a handful became somewhat famous in their own time, a few composed works that are still performed regularly, and one is considered possibly the greatest composer of all time. Johann Sebastian Bach consistently composed music that was at once technically demanding, precise, complex, and beautiful. He wrote a lot of it, too; the catalog of his works (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis or BWV) is sixty volumes long. In his lifetime Bach was famous as a virtuoso organ player, but his compositions were much less well-known. In 1829, almost 80 years after Bach's death, Felix Mendelssohn focused the spotlight of attention on Bach's body of work with a performance of the St. Matthew's Passion. The subsequent popularity of Bach's works resulted in the creation of a society devoted to his music, the Leipzig Bach-Gesellschaft, which in 1850 was one of the first organizations devoted to the study of music history. major works: Brandenburg Concertos; The Well-Tempered Clavier; Mass in b; St. Matthew Passion; Art of the Fugue; Goldberg Variations


Ludwig van Beethoven born Dec. 15 (or 16), 1770-Bonn; died March 26, 1827-Vienna He was famously temperamental, for much of his career he was deaf, but more importantly, he changed the face of music. Beethoven was one of the first composers to break free of the patronage system, instead earning a living by performing and teaching on a freelance basis. Stylistically, he broke free from the mannered and sophisticated Classical style, ushering in the more dramatic and emotional sound of the Romantic era. Beethoven perfected the piano sonata and his symphonies set the standard by which symphonies are measured to this day. major works: Symphony No. 5 3 in Eb (Eroica); Symphony No. 5 in c; Piano Concerto No. 5 in Eb (Emperor); Violin Concerto in D; String Quartet No. 13 in Bb, Op. 130; Piano Sonata No. 14 in c# (Moonlight); Piano Sonata No. 23 in f (Appassionata)


Johannes Brahms born May 7, 1833-Hamburg; died April 3, 1897-Vienna The entry in Robert Schumann's entry for the day he met the young Brahms was simple: "Johannes Brahms: a genius." Brahms went on to become one of the most prominent composers of his time. Compared to most Romantic composers, Brahms had a somewhat neoclassical style, wrote a great deal for small chamber ensembles, and preferred absolute music (without extra-musical meaning) over pieces that described scenes or ideas (program music). Overzealous fans and music critics trying to create excitement fabricated a feud between Brahms and Richard Wagner, who was pretty much his musical opposite, but there is no evidence of actual animosity between the two.


Frederic Chopin born March 1, 1810-near Warsaw; died October 17, 1849-Paris Frederic Chopin had a love affair with the piano. All but a few of his published works require a piano for performance, and the vast majority are for solo piano. At Chopin's hand the etude, music written for the purpose of developing a specific technique, became worthy of concert performance. His music is loved for its graceful, virtuosic melodies, but he also stretched the boundaries of harmony with daring and complex innovations. Thanks to both the innovative technique required to perform Chopin's compositions and their tremendous beauty, concert pianists of his era considered it a point of honor to perform his works. Chopin's etudes, mazurkas, ballades and nocturnes are still at the heart of the pianist's standard repertoire.


Antonin Dvorak born Sept. 8, 1841-Nelahovzeves; died May 1, 1904-Prague Antonin Dvorak was one of the great Czech nationalist composers, blending the distinctive sounds of Czech folk tunes into every musical medium of his day. Even when he lived in America or wrote works for English or Russian commissions, Dvorak felt obligated to voice his support of the Czech opposition to Austro-Hungarian rule by saturating his music with a Czech sound. Dvorak was as loyal to his family and religious faith as he was to his homeland, and he was modest, too. Time and time again, when he was praised for musical triumphs Dvorak's response was, "I am a simple Czech musician."


Alexander Glazunov born Aug. 10, 1865-St. Petersburg; died March 21, 1936-Paris Glazunov followed in the footsteps of the Mighty Five (Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui, Balakirev, and Mussorgsky) as the standard bearer of Russian music. He composed his first symphony when he was sixteen and for fifteen years he traveled Europe conducting his own works. In 1899 he joined the staff of St. Petersburg Conservatory, eventually becoming its director. Glazunov moved to Paris in 1928 for political reasons and for the rest of his life he again worked as a traveling conductor.


George Frideric Handel born Feb. 23, 1685-Halle; died April 14, 1759-London The German-born Handel found his fame as the director of London's Royal Academy of Music. He was first known for his Italian operas, later as a composer of English language oratorios. He was also a prolific composer of instrumental compositions in all the forms of the Baroque era. major works: Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus, Rinaldo, Xerxes, Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks


Franz Joseph Haydn born March 31, 1732-Rohrau, Lower Austria; died May 31, 1809-Vienna Franz Joseph Haydn spent thirty years writing music to satisfy another man's whims. As the Kappelmeister at the court of Prince Esterhazy, his duties were to provide music for any and all occasions as the Prince desired, including works in every conceivable musical form. With a house orchestra at his disposal, Haydn wrote a great deal of symphonic music for the Prince, and in doing so, codified the symphony and the style of the Classical Era. After his term with the Esterhazy family, he enjoyed international fame and produced new music for performance tour, including two very famous trips to England, which resulted in the London Symphonies. major works: London Symphonies (Nos. 93-104); Emperor Quartet, Op. 76, No. 3; Lark Quartet, Op. 65, no. 5; The Creation; The Seasons
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born Jan. 27, 1756-Salzburg; died Dec. 5, 1791-Vienna Few Hollywood stage mothers manage their children's careers as spectacularly as Leopold Mozart did his son's. As a child, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an international sensation, giving virtuosic keyboard and violin performances at courts across Europe. Rather than settle into a career as the court composer for a single noble house, he traveled from court to court for much of his adult life as well, often chafing under the control his patrons. He may have been a difficult employee, but he was a musical genius. He wrote works in all of the forms and for all of the instruments that were popular in his day, and to each subset he contributed pieces that are still considered some of the finest ever composed. major works: Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Symphony No. 41 in C (Jupiter), Symphony No. 40 in g, Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik


Franz Schubert born Jan. 31, 1797-Vienna; died Nov. 19, 1828-Vienna Vienna saw a flowering of musical thought in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but only one of the great Viennese composers of that time was a native of Vienna: Franz Schubert. He truly lived the life of a Bohemian artist; he was very poor, rarely healthy, and outside of his circle of friends, virtually unknown to the musical world of his day. After his death, influential music critics such as Robert Schumann discovered and sang the praises of his flawless melodies and colorful harmonies, and fame followed. Schubert left behind hundreds of songs, nine symphonies, and numerous works for chamber ensembles and solo instruments. major works: Die Schoene Muellerin; Die Winterreise; Symphony No. 8 in b (Unfinished); Symphony No. 9 in C (The Great); String Quartet in d (Death and the Maiden); Quintet in A (Trout); Piano Trio in Bb


Robert Schumann born June 8, 1810-Zwickau, Saxony; died July 29, 1856-Endenich, near Bonn In many ways, Robert Schumann was the quintessential Romanticist: his music was lyric and expressive, his musical philosophy was idealistic and elitist, and he was affluent enough to extol the supposed virtues of a poor, Bohemian lifestyle from a comfortable distance. Schumann was not only a prolific composer but also a conductor, teacher, music critic and editor of the "Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift fur Musik," a music journal. He married the love of his life, accomplished concert pianist Clara Schumann, and he furthered the careers of composers such as Chopin and Brahms. As accomplished as he was, Schumann was not a happy man; he was plagued by depression and psychosis throughout his life and lived out the last two years of his life in a lunatic asylum.
Antonio Vivaldi born March 4, 1678-Venice; died July 28, 1741-Vienna Pio Ospedale della Pieta, a Catholic orphanage for Venetian girls, was a popular charity amongst local nobles, and its religious services were important social occasions for the Pieta's benefactors. In the early 18th century, those services were full of music composed by the auburn-haired man known as "The Red Priest," Antonio Vivaldi. From the confines of his church appointment, Vivaldi made a name for himself as an inventive and prolific composer, and his "L'estro armonico," a collection of 12 concertos, was one of the most influential musical works of its day. major works: L'estro armonico (Harmonic Whim); Il cimento dell' armonia e dell' invention (The struggle between harmony and invention); The Four Seasons.
  By Nina Cardona - Nashville Public Radio