Englishmen, William Schwenck Gilbert (1836 - 1911), a lyricist, and Arthur Sullivan (1842 - 1900), a composer, worked together to create fourteen operas. These operas turned the Italian opera upside - writing them in English, more relatable, and not so grand or serious. The two most famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas are The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance.
Read MoreJohannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), a German composer, who became part of one of the 3 B's (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms). He is best known for his Hungarian Dances, symphonies, and his most famous, Lullaby. Brahms was a charming man who loved food especially chicken with paprika, herring, eggnog, and coffee and friends like Johann Strauss and Clara Schumann.
Read MoreJohann Strauss Jr. (1825 - 1899) was an Austrian composer known as the Waltz King. Waltz fever had hit Europe, waltz being the first dance in which partners embrace each other and was known as a light hearted happy style of music. Strauss Jr.'s most famous works are the operetta Die Fledermaus and the Blue Danube Waltz.
Read MoreGioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He wrote over 40 operas by the age of 40 where upon he retired from public life for about 10 years. He was known for his comedic chops (both in his compositions and at the piano as a mimic). His most famous works are the Barber of Seville and the William Tell Overture.
Read MoreLudwig Von Beethoven (1770 - 1827), a German Classical/Romantic Era Composer during the Napoleonic era. He is well known for pieces like his 5th Symphony, 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy), and Fur Elise. Beethoven was most certainly a character - ill tempered at times, never did his laundry, loved macaroni and cheese, deaf, and a musical genius.
Read MoreWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), an Austrian composer of the Classical Era. He was a popular composer during his lifetime and his genius is still recognized worldwide today with over 600 pieces of music composed. In fact, if you played Mozart's music back to back, it would take 202 hours total!
Read MoreJoseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, 1745-1799, was a composer, musician, athlete, and military man in during the classical period. Born in Guadaloupe, he lived in France, he was music teacher to Marie Antonette before joining to fight in the French Revolution. Bologne was said to be one of the greatest swordsman along with a great swimmer, marksman, and rider. He was a violin virtuoso and composed concertos, symphonies, and operas.
Read MoreFranz Joseph Haydn, 1732 - 1809, was an Austrian composer of the Baroque Era. He is called the Father of the Symphony. Some of his most famous symphonies include the Farewell Symphony and the Surprise Symphony. Haydn was a cheerful, humorous man who loved God and cared for fellow musicians, including Mozart, who called him Papa Haydn.
Read MoreJohann Sebastian Bach, 1685 - 1750, was a German composer of the Baroque era. His genius is on display in a wide variety of music - sadness in the St. Matthew Passion, happiness of Brandenburg Concerto, calmness of Chorale Preludes, inventiveness of the Art of the Fugue (which could be played upside down and backwards). Bach was happily married two times, had lots of friends and was an excellent teacher and loved food and coffee. But he didn't always get along with everyone, he could fight with employers, once to the point he was put in jail (house arrest) because his boss didn't want to let Bach go work somewhere else.
Read MoreHenry Purcell, 1659 - 1695, was a British composer of the Baroque time period. He is one of the greatest English composers of all time. He wrote music for the courts and eventually wrote for theater as well. His last work was the funeral music for Queen Mary, he died a few weeks later and his last composition was played at his own funeral.
Read MoreFrancesca Caccini (1587 - 1645) was an Italian female composer and music teacher. She came from a strong msuical family, worked for the highly influential Medici family, and even composed a song for the artist/poet Michaelangelo the Younger (the grand nephew of the famous Michealangelo). She was the first woman to have written and published an Opera, La Liberazione di Ruggiero.
Read MoreClaude Guodimel (1514 - 1572), a French composer who arranged four part harmonies for all 150 of the psalms. The arrangements were simple and popular enough that people would often sing the psalms at home rather than just in church.
Read MoreGuido d'Arezzo (991 - 1033) was a Benedictine monk who created the still used system for written music. Prior to Guido, music was passed on through hearing and memorizing. After Guido's system of written notes on lines and spaces, music was able to spread around the world and beyond the present.
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