The document profiles 10 influential classical composers: Ludwig van Beethoven, widely regarded as the greatest composer, expanded classical traditions and composed some of his most important works while deaf; Johann Sebastian Bach was rediscovered in the 19th century and is now seen as one of the greatest composers; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart excelled in all genres of his time and was a child prodigy; and Johannes Brahms was a Romantic composer influenced by classical traditions. It also discusses Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Frédéric Chopin, Joseph Haydn, and Antonio Vivaldi, highlighting some of their most famous works.

1.  Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
The German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven is widely
regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He expanded the
Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn, one of his teachers, and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and experimented with personal
expression, a characteristic that influencedthe Romantic composers
who succeeded him. His life and career were marked by progressive
deafness, yet the malady did not prevent him from composing some
of his most important works during the last 10 years of his life when
he was nearly unable to hear. Widening the scope
of sonata, symphony, concerto, and quartet, Beethoven’s notable
works include Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, Symphony No.
5 in C Minor, Op. 67, Moonlight Sonata, and Für Elise.
 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist of
the Baroque period. His contemporaries admired him for his talent
as a musician but thought his compositions were old-fashioned. A
rediscovery of his work in the early 19th century led to the so-called
Bach revival, in which he came to be seen as one of the greatest
composers of all time. His most-celebrated compositions
include Brandenburg Concertos, The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV
846–893, Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007–
1012, Orchestral Suites, BWV 1066–1069, and Mass in B Minor,
BWV 232.
 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)
An Austrian composer of the Classical period, WolfgangAmadeus
Mozart is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers of
Western music. He is the only composer to write and excel in all of
the musical genres of his time. Rumored to have had the ability to
play musicat age three and to write music at age five, Mozart began
his career as a child prodigy. Notable compositions include The

2. Marriage of Figaro, Elvira Madigan, and Clarinet Quintet in A
Major, K 581.
 Johannes Brahms (1833–97)
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the
Romantic period, but he was more a disciple of the Classical
tradition. He wrote in many genres, including symphonies, concerti,
chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions,many of
which reveal the influence of folk music. Some of his best-known
works include Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No.
4, and Hungarian Dances.
 Richard Wagner (1813–83)
The German composer and theorist Richard Wagner extended
the opera tradition and revolutionized Western music. His dramatic
compositions are particularly known for the use of leitmotifs,brief
musical motifs for a character, place, or event, which he skillfully
transformed throughout a piece. Among his major works are the
operas The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and
Isolde, Parsifal, and the tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung, which
includes The Valkyrie. One of the most controversial figures in
classical music, his work transcends his character, which was
defined by megalomaniac tendencies and anti-Semitic views.
 Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
The French composer Claude Debussy is often regarded as the
father of modern classical music. Debussy developed new and
complex harmonies and musical structures that evoke comparisons
to the art of his contemporary Impressionist and Symbolist painters
and writers. His major works include Clair de lune, La Mer, Prelude
to the Afternoon of a Faun, and the opera Pelléas et Mélisande.
 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93)

3. Writing music with broad emotional appeal during the Romantic
period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky became one of the most popular
Russian composers of all time. He was schooled in the western
European tradition and assimilated elements from French, Italian,
and German music with a personal and Russian style. Some of his
best-known works were composed for the ballet, including Swan
Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, Op. 71, but they
also include Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op.
23 and Marche Slave, Op. 31.
 Frédéric Chopin (1810–49)
Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist of the
Romantic period. He was one of few composers to devote himself to
a single instrument,and his sensitive approach to the keyboard
allowed him to exploit all the resources of the piano, including
innovations in fingering and pedaling. He is thus primarily known
for writing musicfor the piano, notably Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2 in E-
flat Major, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, B. 49, and Heroic
Polonaise.
 Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
The Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was one of the most
important figures in the development of the Classical style of music
during the 18th century. He helped establish the forms and styles
for the string quartet and symphony. Haydn was a prolific
composer, and some of his most well-known works are Symphony
No. 92 in G Major, Emperor Quartet, and Cello Concerto No. 2 in D
Major. His compositions are often characterized as light, witty, and
elegant.
 Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer and violinist of the
Baroque period. He wrote music for operas, solo instruments,and
small ensembles,but he is often celebrated for his concerti, in which

4. virtuoso solo passages alternate with passages for the
whole orchestra. He wrote about 500 concerti, of which his best-
known work is the group of four violin concerti titled The Four
Seasons. His Mandolin Concerto in C Major, RV 425, Concerto for
Four Violins and Cello in B Minor, Op. 3, No.10 and Concerto for
Two Trumpets in C Major are equally playful and complex.