There is an old expression; “Music soothes the savage beast". What that expression really means is that music has the unique ability to alter one’s mood, to calm the heart, stir the emotions, lift the spirit, change the mind and move one to action! Very little can compare with the impact that music has on mankind as a whole. This web page is dedicated to the 5 greatest composers (yes, and don't argue!) of the 4 main periods.
In 1685-1750 Johann Sebastian Bach became one of the most famous musicians the world has ever known. This man was an organist, violinist, and player of both the harpsichord and clavichord. He composed music, taught it and directed choirs in Leipzig; wrote over 300 cantatas and numerous accomplishments for the organ, harpsichord, clavichord and for small orchestras!
George Frideric Handel (1685-l759) was a composer, as Bach, but was most well known for composing Italian operas and English oratorios.
Their style of composing was an era unto itself, and thereafter came the classical music. Bach’s sons and others composed sonatas.
Joseph Haydn (l732-1809) was often called the father of the symphony and string quartet.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) who was considered to be the greatest musical genius of all time by many was a classical writer as well as Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) who wrote Classical and Romanticism. Mozart was known throughout Europe as an infant prodigy and died very young, leaving behind numerous compositions for symphony, sonatas, string quartets, concertos, Masses, and operas.
Ludwig van Beethoven started writing music that sounded like that of Haydn and Mozart (classical in style) but lived through times of revolution and war, thus reflected more emotion or romanticism.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was another musical genius. He wrote symphonies, chamber music, piano sonatas and short romantic pieces. He actually wrote more than 600 romantic songs.
Karl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) is named the Father of German Opera, and was the first to write them in German romantic as opposed to Italian style.
Robert Schumann (l8l0-l856) wrote
romantic piano with descriptive titles.
Frederic Chopin (l8l0-l849) was of Polish origin and wrote outstanding piano music.
Franz Liszt (l8ll-l886) from Hungry wrote orchestral works---shorter symphonies with descriptive titles; and known to be one of he greatest pianists in the entire world. He and Hector Berlioz (l803-l869) a Frenchman, aided the development of music with at title (program music) which was inspired by a story, legend, event, picture or scene. It was the opposite of the sonata, suite, fugue or symphony. Berlioz is sometimes called the Father of modern orchestra.
Richard Wagner (l8l3-l883) was the greatest German opera composer music reflected the great drama it enhanced.
Johannes Brahms (l833-l897) His music reflected that of Beethoven, but was called a neoclassicist that disapproved of romanticism. He was one of the greatest writers of the l800’s.
In the late l800’s, Brukner, Mahler, Wolf, Strauss, and Sibelius were great composers of various styles and Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Edward Elgar and Frederick Delius wrote important music.
Claude Debussy, a Frenchman tried to put into musical feeling what the poets and painters were expressing and it was called impressionism.
Arnold Schonberg developed a severe style based on the twelve tones of the chromatic scale. Russian born Stravinsky, Khatchaturian, Prokofieff and Shostakovich have received musical recognition.
Has reviewing the list of composers above "boggled" your mind? Never mind, just click on the one of the 4 periods to read a more condensed version...
