Franz Schubert

Born:

Jan. 31,1797, he was the 12th son of Franz Theodor Florian Schubert and Elisabet
Katherina Vietz. His father was a schoolmaster.

Died:

Nov 19, 1828 in Vienna, he was buried at the Wahring cemetery.

Also Known As:

Franz Peter Schubert, master of song (wrote more than 200 songs)

Type of Compositions:

Schubert had a very fruitful career as composer. He composed songs, symphonies,

masses and quartets.

Influence:

His father taught him how to play the violin. He studied counterpoint, keyboard playing
and singing under Michael Holzen. He also studied under the tutorship of Salieri.

Notable Works:

Schubert wrote hundreds of musical pieces, some of his well known work are:
Serenade, Ave Maria, Who is Sylvia?, C Major symphony, Unfinished Symphony, Die
schone Mullerin, Winterreise, Death and the Maiden, Die Forelle and Erlking.

Interesting Fact:

Schubert lived a very colorful life. He used to be a choirboy but in 1812, his voice
cracked thus ending his career in singing. In 1814, he was accepted as a teacher in his
father's school. He taught children in the primary level. Also, during Beethoven's
funeral, Schubert was one of the torch bearers.

Selected "Piano Four Hands" Compositions:

 3 Marches Militaires, Op. 51
 2 Marches Caracteristiques, Op. 121
 Fugue in E Minor, Op. 152
 Overture in F Major, Op. 34
 Sonata in B-flat, Op. 30
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin
Born:

Either February 22, as stated on his certificate of baptism, or March 1,1810 based on
his and his family's statements. His parents were Mikolaj (Nicolas) Chopin who was
originally from France and Tekla Justyna Krzyzanowska.

Birthplace:

Zelazowa Wola in the Mazovia region of Poland.

Died:

October 17, 1849 due to pulmonary tuberculosis. He was buried in Paris.

Also Known As:

Child prodigy, musical genius, genius of the piano, teacher of Polish and French
aristocracy

Type of Compositions:

He wrote among others polonaises, mazurkas, etudes, nocturne, waltzes, songs,

preludes, scherzo and ballades.

Influence:

Wojciech Zywny gave Chpoin his first piano lessons. He will later on surpass the talent
of his teacher. He was also taught by the pianist and Warsaw Conservatory professor
Wilhelm Würfel.

Notable Works:

Among his most famous compositions are: "Polonaises in G minor" and "B flat major
9" which he composed when he was 7 years old, "Sonata in C minor", "Rondo à la
Krakowiak, op. 14", "Variations, op. 2 on a theme from Don Juan by Mozart", "Trio in
G minor, op. 8", "Fantaisie, op. 13", "Concerto in E minor", "Scherzo in B minor",
"Etudes from op. 10" and "Ballade in F major".

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel

Born:
November 14, 1805

Birthplace:

Hamburg, Germany

Died:

May 14, 1847 in Berlin, Germany

Also Known As:

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a talented pianist, composer of lieder and chamber
music, She was the oldest of 4 children and the sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn
Their grandfather was Moses Mendelssohn; a known philosopher. Fanny and Felix
remained close throughout their lives; they would often collaborate and perform
together. They were so close that when Fanny died in 1847 Felix became so depressed
and died 6 months later.

Type of Compositions:

She composed lieders, music for piano, choral and instrumental ensemble music.

Influence:

Her mother; Leah, trained her musically and gave her piano lessons. Fanny also studied
under Marie Bigot in 1816 while in Paris, then with Ludwig Berger in Berlin. In
1818, she began studying composition under Carl Friedrich Zelter. Although
Fanny was a brilliant composer, her father; Abraham, discouraged her to
consider composing as a profession.

Notable Works:

She wrote over 200 lieders including her famous "Swan Song", over 100 piano music
including bagatelles, fugues, preludes and sonatas. She wrote choral music including
her famous cantata "Oratorium nach den Bildern der Bibel" and she also wrote
instrumental music such as those for string and piano

Louis-Hector Berlioz
Born:
December 11, 1803, his parents were Louis Berlioz and Marie-Antoinette-Josephine.
His father was a doctor.

Birthplace:

La Côte-Saint-André, Isére

Died:

March 8, 1869 in Paris

Also Known As:

One of the most original composers of the 19th century, master of orchestration

Type of Compositions:

He wrote operas, symphonies, choral music, overtures, songs and cantatas.

Influence:

His father taught him how to play the flageolet, read music and introduced him to the
flute. He also took voice, flute and sight reading lessons from Imbert (second violin of
the Théâtre de Lyon). Dorant taught him how to play the guitar.

Notable Works:

Some of his most known work are: Symphonie Fantastique, The Trojans, Roméo et
Juliette, Harold in Italy and Ouverture de la Tempête.

Felix Mendelssohn Portrait

Born:

February 3, 1809, his parents were Abraham Mendelssohn and Leah Salomon. His
father was a banker.

Birthplace:

Hamburg, Germany

Died:
November 4, 1847 after suffering from a stroke. He was buried in Berlin.

Also Known As:

Prolific composer of the Romantic period, Mozart of the 19th century, piano and violin
virtuoso, maestro, founder of the Leipzig Conservatory, brother of Fanny Mendelssohn
and grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.

Type of Compositions:

Aside from his compositions for the piano, he also wrote symphonies, operas, vocal
works, choral and organ works.

Influence:

His piano teacher Ludwig Berger and Karl. F. Zelter who taught him about
composition. He also made friends with a German poet named Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe. He was also inspired by the works of William Shakespeare.

Notable Works:

Some of his most notable work are: Octet for Strings in E flat major, Op. 20, A
Midsummer Night's Dream Opus 21, Hebrides Overture, Lord, Have Mercy Upon Us,
Italian Symphony and Wedding March.

Robert Schuma
Born:

June 8,1810, his father was August Schumann who was an author. His mother, Johanna
Christiane Schnabel, gave him his earliest music lessons.

Birthplace:

Zwickau, Germany

Died:

July 29, 1856, one of the factors believed to have caused his death was the mercury
treatments he underwent when he was in an asylum.

Also Known As:

Music journalist and critic, he was editor of Neue Zeitschrift ffor Musik. German
composer who served as the voice of other Romantic composers.

Type of Compositions:

He composed a lot of music which revolved around the theme of "childhood". He wrote
music for the piano, lieders, instrumental music, orchestral music, chamber music and
operas, among others.

Influence:

Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch taught him on the piano and organ. Friedrich Wieck, the
father of his wife, became Schumann's piano teacher when he was 18 years old.
Heinrich Dorn taught him about counterpoint.

Notable Works:

Among his well known work are: Piano Concerto in A minor, Arabesque in C Major
Op. 18, Child Falling Asleep, Traumerei, The Happy Peasant, Papillons, Die
Davidbundlertanze, Abegg Variations, Fantasiestücke, Liederkreis, Frauenliebe und
Leben and Dichterliebe

Franz Liszt Portrait

Born:

October 22,1811

Birthplace:

Raiding in Hungary

Died: July 31,1886 in Bayreuth

Also Known As:

Liszt was a composer of adventurous music, inventor of piano recitals, piano virtuoso,
performer, arranger and conductor. As a composer, he was well-received by the masses
and adored by ladies. He was also a teacher and considered the figurehead of the New
German School. Liszt penned the term "symphonic poem." He was also a priest.

Type of Compositions:
He wrote music for the piano, orchestral music, choral music and opera.

Influence :

Liszt' first piano teacher was his father. Afterward, Czerny took over his piano lessons.
He studied composition and theory with Reicha and Paer. He was also influenced by
the works of Paganini (whose works he adapted to the piano). A group of nobles in
Hungary helped him pay for his studies.

Notable Works:

Among his well known compositions are: "Transcendental Etudes," "Hungarian

Rhapsodies," "Sonata in B minor," "Les Préludes," "Dante Symphony," "Totentanz"
and "Faust Symphony."

Richard Wagner
Born:

May 22, 1813, his parents were Friedrich (died of typhus after Richard was born) and
Johanna (later married Ludwig Meyer).

Birthplace:

Leipzig, Germany

Died:

February 13, 1883 in Venice due to a heart attack

Also Known As:

He was a chorus master at the Würzburg theatre, Dresden court joint Kapellmeister,
composer, opera conductor, writer, librettist, critic and skilled debater, In his own
words; "I am the most German being, I am the German spirit."

Type of Compositions:

He is famous for his operas, he also wrote orchestral music, piano music, choral music
and music for string quartet. His operas demand vocal strength and endurance from
vocalists.

Influence:
He received early exposure to music from his stepfather, Ludwig. His passion for music
grew deeper when, as a boy, he met Weber who was then conductor at the Royal
Theatre in Dresden. He studied music with the Thomaskantor, C.T. Weinlig. After
finishing his studies, Wagner began writing operas.

Notable Works:

Among his famous operas are: "Die Feen" (The Fairies), "Das Liebesverbot" (Love's
Interdict), "Rienzi," "Der fliegende Holländer" (The Flying Dutchman), "Tannhäuser,"
"Lohengrin," "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (a cycle of 4 operas), "Tristan und Isolde,"
"Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and "Parsifal."

Giuseppe Verdi
Born:

Either October 9 or 10, 1813, his parents were Carlo Verdi and Luigia Uttini. His father
was an innkeeper.

Birthplace:

Roncole (La Roncola) in Italy

Died:

January 27, 1901 in Milan due to a heart attack.

Also Known As:

Highly-expressive Italian composer of the 19th century, composer of operas, director,

librettist, senator, highly-revered musician, rich but charitable artist and in his own
words "a peasant from Roncole."

Type of Compositions:

He is famous for the themes of freedom, heroism, love and liberty which is evident in
his works. He wrote mostly Italian grand operas, also marches, symphonies, church
music and secular music.

Influence:
Verdi began playing the keyboard at age 3 and at age 7 began playing the spinet that his
father bought him. When he was 10 years old, the organist of a church in Busseto
taught him how to play the organ. With the help of Antonio Barezzi, Verdi was able to
study privately in Milan. He also studied with Ferdinando Provesi, director of the local
Philharmonic Society. and with composer Vincenzo Lavigna.

Clara Wieck Schumann

Born:

September 13, 1819, her parents were Friedrich Wieck, a music teacher and Marianne
Tromlitz Wieck, a soprano.

Birthplace:

Leipzig

Died:

May 20, 1896 in Frankfurt

Also Known As:

Clara Josephine Wieck, wife of Robert Schumann, foremost female composer of the
19th century, piano virtuoso, interpreter of Schumann and Brahm's music

Type of Compositions:

She mostly wrote pieces for the piano including songs, partsongs, cadenzas and
concertos. She also wrote lieders and chamber music.

Influence:

She began piano lessons with her father on October 27, 1824.

Notable Works:

She wrote, among others, 3 partsongs, 29 songs, 20 compositions for solo piano, 4
compositiona for piano and orchestra, she also wrote cadenzas for Mozart and
Beethoven's piano concertos
Bedrich Smetana
Born:
March 2, 1824

Birthplace:

Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire which is now Litomyšl, Czech Republic

Died:

May 12, 1884 in Prague

Also Known As:

Bohemian nationalist composer, he founded the Czech national school of music

Type of Compositions:

Smetana was a composer of operas and symphonic poems.

Influence:

His father was an amateur violinist and was the one who introduced Bedrich to music.
He would later on study the piano under a professional teacher.

Johannes Brahms
Born:

May 7, 1833 - Hamburg

Died:

April 3, 1897 - Vienna

Brahms Quick Facts:

During his teenage years, Brahms had long fair hair, stunning blue eyes, slender body,
and a high voice; he could easily be mistaken for a girl.

Brahms was given an honorable grave site next to Beethoven and Schubert; two
composers he greatly admired.
Brahms never married, but loved many women; so much to the point, that he had to
deny one woman piano lessons, because he was greatly attracted to her.

Georges Bizet
Born:

Oct. 25, 1838

Birthplace:

Paris, France

Died:

June 3, 1875 in Bougival near Paris

Also Known As:

Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet, French composer who influenced the verismo school

of opera

Type of Compositions:

Bizet wrote operas, orchestral works, incidental music, compositions for piano and
songs.

Influence:

He came from a musically-inclined family. His father taught singing and his mother
was a pianist. He later on studied with Charles Gounod and Fromental Halévy.

Musical Work:

Undoubtedly, Bizet's greatest work is his opera Carmen which was based on a story by
French author Prosper Mérimée. All in all he published 8 operas, including Pêcheurs
de perles, 12 piano duets, 37 published songs and some orchestral and incidental music.
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Born:

May 7, 1840, his parents were Ilya Tchaikovsky and Alexandra Assier. He was the
second child of a brood of six.

Birthplace:

Votkinsk, Russia

Died:

November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg due to cholera.

Also Known As:

Chaikovsky, Chaikovskii, or Tschaikowsky, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, the greatest

Russian composer of his time

Type of Compositions:

He wrote ballets, operas, symphonies, concertos, suites, overtures, string quartet and
sextet, cantatas, choral works, songs and pieces for the piano.

Influence:

Tchaikovsky showed interest in music early in his life. He used to play on a small
keyboard, called an orchestrina, in his home. Later on he began piano lessons with a
local tutor, then during his teenage years was taught by Rudolph Kündinger, a
professional teacher. He was also influenced by a singing teacher named Luigi Piccioli,
an Italian. He was also a student at the Russian Musical Society and St. Petersburg
Conservatory. Among his teachers there are Nikolay Zaremba and Anton Rubinstein.

Notable Works:

Among his most famous work are his musical scores for ballet - Swan Lake, The
Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty, his fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet, Piano
Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor, Opus 23, and Symphony No. 6 in B Minor.

Antonin Dvorak
Born:

September 8, 1841 - Nelahozeves, nr Kralupy

Died:

May 1, 1904 – Prague

Dvorak Quick Facts:

Johannes Brahms once wrote a letter praising and exulting Dvorak’s music; they later
became great friends.

After moving to America in 1892, Dvorak spent his summer vacation in the small town
of Spillville, Iowa in 1893, because of it’s mainly Czech population.

Dvorak’s greatest musical success was achieved by the world premier of his New
World Symphony in Carnegie Hall on December 3, 1893.

Ruggero Leoncavallo
Born:

March 8, 1857/58

Birthplace:

Naples

Died:

Aug. 9, 1919 at Montecatini Terme, near Florence

Also Known As:

Neapolitan opera composer

Type of Compositions:

Leoncavallo composed mainly operas but he also wrote piano, vocal and orchestral
works.

Influence:
He studied at the Naples Conservatory.

Musical Work:

Among his notable works are: Chatterton, I Medici, Pagliacci which was composed
using the verismo (realistic) style and La Bohème

Richard Strauss
Born:

June 11, 1864

Birthplace:

Munich, Germany

Died:

September 8, 1949 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Also Known As:

German Romantic composer and conductor, considered as Richard Wagner's heir,

Type of Compositions:

He wrote operas, symphonic poems, instrumental and vocal music.

Influence:

Strauss learned to play the piano when he was 4 and the violin when he was 8 years old.
His father, Franz Strauss, was the principal French-horn player for the Munich Court
Orchestra. Through his father, Strauss met and eventually became friends with Hans
von Bülow who offered him the position of assistant conductor at Meiningen. He
became chief conductor at Berlin's Royal Opera in 1898. Strauss' early works was
influenced by Wagner's operas and Liszt's symphonic poems. He was also influenced
by Alexander Ritter to shift away from the classical form.

Notable Works:
Among his famous works are: his symphonic poems "Don Juan," "Macbeth," "Don
Quixote," "Tod und Verklarung," "Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche," "Also sprach
Zarathustra" and "Ein Heldenleben"; his operas "Der Rosenkavalier," Ariadne auf
Naxos," "Capriccio,'"Salome" and "Elektra"; the latter he created with Austrian
dramatist and poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

Claude DeBussy
Born:

Aug. 22, 1862

Birthplace:

Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

Died:

March 25, 1918 in Paris due to colon cancer.

Also Known As:

His full name was Achille-claude Debussy, he was an influential French composer of
the 19th century. DeBussy formulated the 21-note scale and he changed how
instruments were used for orchestration.

Type of Compositions:

He wrote songs, instrumental, piano, vocal and choral works.

Influence:

DeBussy showed his musical ability on the piano at a young age. He had a wealthy
patroness named Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck. Also, Madame Mauté de Fleurville,
a friend of Frederic Chopin, encouraged DeBussy to continue his studies. He entered
the Paris Conservatory at age 10 where he studied studied composition and piano. In
1884, his cantata "L'enfant prodigue" won him the prestigious Prix de Rome. DeBussy
was also influenced by the works of Symbolist writers and the music of Richad
Wagner.
Notable Works:

Some of his known works are: "Clair de lune," "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune," "La
Mer," "Pelléas et Mélisande," "Nocturnes," "Images," Jeux," he also wrote a piano suite
for his daughter (nicknamed ChouChou) called "Children's Corner."

Amy Beach
Born:

September 5, 1867

Birthplace:

Henniker, New Hampshire

Died:

December 27, 1944 in New York City

Also Known As:

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, piano virtuoso, first major American
female composer and one of the leading composers of the New England School.

Type of Compositions:

Beach was famous for her songs but she also wrote orchestral, chamber and choral
music, both sacred and secular. She wrote pieces for the piano and keyboard as well as
songs for voice. Amy Beach also wrote an opera called "Cabildo".

Influence:

Her mother, Clara Imogene Marcy Cheney, started teaching her how to play the piano
at age six. Also, she studied under fine teachers like Ernest Perabo, Carl Baermann, and
Junius W. Hill but Beach was primarily self-taught. Amy Beach had perfect pitch and
showed great musical talent even as a child. At the young age of four, she can read
four-part hymns and could compose music in her head and later on translate it on the
piano.

Notable Works:

Some of her celebrated compositions are: "Gaelic Symphony," "Cabildo," "Mass in E-

flat," "The Song of Welcome," "The Chambered Nautilus," "Eilende Wolken," "The
Hermit Thrush at Morn," "The Hermit Thrush at Eve," "Dreaming," "Ah, Love, But a
Day" and "The Year's at the Spring" (the laat two are set to the poems of Browning)

Beethoven, Ludwig van

Born: Bonn, 16 December 1770

Died: Vienna, 26 March 1827

Without doubt, one of the true greats. Just awesome, man. Beethoven didn’t write as
much as Mozart or Schubert, but what he produced is all worth listening to. (The
stereotype has it that he sweated over every note in a way that Mozart didn’t. This
makes light of Mozart unduly however; letters of his describe how he found the
composition of works such as his later quartets very hard.)

Apart from the triple concerto mentioned above, a wonderful violin concerto, and a
Choral Fantasy for piano, orchestra and choir, I believe that Beethoven didn’t write any
other concerti for orchestral instruments. Though this seems a shame, I suspect it was
probably because he had little experience of other instruments. (Beethoven was
primarily a pianist, having earned his living for a while in Vienna from performing, but
did also play the viola). My own theory is that perhaps this came about because
concerti for instruments for other instruments seemed unduly “light”.

Of course, one of the most famous things about Beethoven as a person was his
deafness. I find it hard to imagine being able to compose music as wonderful as the
Choral symphony whilst being unable to hear the music except in one’s head. There is
an impressive, but rather sad, story about how Beethoven was encouraged to help
conduct at a rehearsal for the Choral symphony. Even as the rehearsal finished,
Beethoven was still conducting to the orchestra, and he had to be made aware that the
musicians had finished playing.

Brahms, Johannes
Born: Hamburg, 7 May 1833
Died: Vienna, 3 April 1897
A prominent Romantic composer, (in)famous in his day for looking back to earlier
musical styles (such as those of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) rather than following the
trend towards the styles of Wagner and Liszt. This is not a criticism in my eyes, but
then I am a Brahms fan. I definitely approve of the fact that Cambridge University gave
Brahms an honorary degree.

It has long been an accepted myth that Brahms’s childhood was spent in what was a
fairly seedy part of Hamburg, and that at the age of twelve, he was playing the piano in
a bar, consorting with the good folk of that area, and generally getting what was
probably a fairly untypical education for a composer. However, I believe that this myth
has now been thoroughly debunked, and that while Brahms had a relatively poor
upbringing he wasn’t quite the piano player in the brothel that legend would like him to
have been.

Brahms was good friends with Robert Schumann and his wife Clara. Clara survived her
husband by many years, and she and Brahms were very close. I believe most authorities
consider this to have been a solely Platonic relationship. In any case, Brahms was
apparently a pretty difficult character to get on with. He never married, but managed
lots of tiffs with his friends (the Schumanns and the violinist Joachim for whom, and
with whose help, he wrote the violin concerto).

Brahms’s major works include all four of his symphonies, Ein Deutsches Requiem, the
two piano concerti, the violin concerto and the clarinet quintet. (This latter apparently
so impressed Clara Schumann that she became reconciled with Brahms after them
having drifted apart over some misunderstanding.)

Chopin, Frederic (Fryderyk)

Born: Zelazowa Wola (Poland), 1 March 1810

Died: Paris, 17 October 1849

A composer famed for his ability at the piano, who in turn wrote the vast majority of
his music for that instrument. Many of his pieces are quite short (being Rondos,
Mazurkas and the like) but they are all beautiful. Not being a piano player myself, it is
difficult to appreciate their comparative difficulty, but I am assured that most of
Chopin’s music is very difficult to play.

Though born in Poland, Chopin spent the last half of his life in Paris, arriving there in
1831. In Paris, he came to know the novelist George Sand, and was her lover for a time.

The Vancouver Chopin Society have an interesting web-site with more information on
Chopin and his works

Elgar, Sir Edward William

Born: Worcester (England), 2 June 1857

Died: Worcester, 23 February 1934

Probably the most famous English composer (although Purcell and Vaughan-Williams
are well up there as well). Elgar’s most famous pieces are the Pomp and Circumstance
marches (one of which became the hymn, Land of Hope and Glory), and the Enigma
Variations, a set of variations that depict a circle of his friends in a sympathetic and
very listener-friendly way. While still in New Zealand, I also had access to a recording
of his second symphony, which was a far harder nut to crack. I should probably try and
listen to it again.

Elgar wrote just two complete symphonies, but left enough of his plans for a third when
he died that Payne, a contemporary English composer has recently been able to
reconstruct an approximation of what Elgar intended for his third symphony. In the
short time since this was done, this new work has received quite a favourable reception
(in Britain at least).

Another famous work of Elgar’s is his cello concerto. Jacqueline du Pré made a famous
recording of this, which I can recommend. No doubt said recording features in the
recent film Hillary and Jackie.

Readers interested in Elgar will surely enjoy Anthony Anderson’s account of the 1995
Elgar weekend.

Handel, George Frederic

Born: Halle (Germany), 23 February 1685

Died: London, 14 April 1759

Handel, though born in Germany, probably made most of his name for himself in
London, England where he came to dominate the English music-making “scene”. He
composed a large number of operas (including Xerxes, which I only mention because
I’ve seen and enjoyed it), but these did not tend to do so well, prompting a shift to the
oratorio form.

Pieces of his that are particular favourites of mine are his organ concerti, his Water-
music and Fireworks-music, and the Messiah. The latter is probably his most famous
work. It is a huge choral piece that includes the well-known Hallelujah Chorus. I
recently went to my first performance of this, and I will attempt to include a description
of it in these pages soon.

Haydn, (Franz) Joseph

Born: Rohrau, Austria, 31 March 1732

Died: 31 May 1809

Contemporary and friend of Mozart. He wrote 104 symphonies, arguably creating the
form as we understand it today. The last 12 of these are known as the London
symphonies, being written on the occasion of two visits to London in the 1790s, and are
very good. Haydn is also credited with the development of the string quartet into a form
capable of real feeling and subtlety.

One shouldn’t assume that Haydn’s pioneering rôle in the development of the
symphony and the string quartet means that his pieces have been superseded by
subsequent composers’ works. Indeed, one of the many ways in which his music seems
impressive is the self-assurance with which a relatively limited palette is explored.

Holst, Gustav (Theodore)

Born: Cheltenham (England), 21 September 1874

Died: London, 25 May 1934

Gustav Holst was an English composer of the same era as Elgar, but, like Pachelbel, is
really only famous for one piece, his Planets’ Suite. This is a series of seven
"movements", one for each of the non-Earth planets known in Holst’s day (i.e., all of
the planets but Earth and Pluto). The basic inspiration for the characterisation of the
planets is their astrological nature, not necessarily the Graeco-Roman gods. For
example, Neptune is Neptune, the Mystic, nothing to do with Neptune/Poseidon, god of
the sea.

One of the themes to Jupiter was subsequently used as the basis for rather a patriotic
hymn (I vow to thee my country), in much the same way as one of Elgar’s Pomp and
Circumstance marches was turned into Land of Hope and Glory.

Mahler, Gustav
Born: Kaliste (Bohemia), 7 July 1860

Died: Vienna, 18 May 1911

Much of Mahler’s early career was dominated by his job as conductor of the Vienna
Opera. He wrote much of his music while on summer holiday. I’ve recently started to
know some of his work. The second and fifth symphonies are brilliant, and the fourth
symphony is also pretty good. The first symphony seems a little light, though the third
movement sounds surprisingly like the theme from the Godfather movies, and thus
rather menacing.
The sixth symphony is also one that I have come to know, and I can also thoroughly
recommend it. The Naxos label have a cheap recording of this with Antoni Wit and the
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, which is very good. The Penguin guide
also recommends this recording. It’s a double CD.

The fourth symphony I listened to first was again on DG, but with Karajan conducting.
I can’t remember the orchestras. This I also liked almost instantly.

Deryk Barker has written a very extensive Mahler page of reviews and information
about the man and his work

Mendelssohn, (Jacob Ludwig) Felix

Born: Hamburg, 3 February 1809

Died: Leipzig, 4 November 1847

Another composer who was famous as something of a child prodigy, Mendelssohn

didn’t manage to achieve the fame of composers such as Mozart or Beethoven. He
wrote five symphonies (the last of which, the Reformation symphony, I particularly
recommend), a famous violin concerto and some famous theme music for A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (the Wedding March from this is often used at real
weddings). Mendelssohn also wrote a number of religious works, including the St. Paul
oratorio.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Born: Salzburg, 27 January 1756

Died: Vienna, 5 December 1791

Along with Haydn, one of the first classical composers. Wrote music of many different
genres. Major works would include his Requiem, the operas Nozze di Figaro and Die
Zauberflöte, the clarinet concerto, the string quartets, the later piano concerti (nos. 20
onwards) and the later symphonies (numbers 36, 38, 39, 40 and 41).

There does seem to be a tendency among some people to label Mozart as nothing more
than the composer of “pretty tunes” or little twiddles. I couldn’t disagree more. In
particular, I think his religious music exhibits a great deal of feeling, and transcends
mere “twiddles”. In my opinion, the problem is probably that people tend to know
things like Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and because this particular piece is eminently
hummable, not particularly “deep”, and played to death in Muzak-like environments,
people assume that all of Mozart’s music is like that.
The best Mozart site on the web is probably The Mozart Project. But you may also find
the online site for the fascinating. This is an online presentation of authoritative editions
of all of Mozart’s music, freely available for personal use. For more information on
Mozart’s home-town, and some biographical details about Mozart, see the Visit
Salzburg site.

Scarlatti, (Giuseppe) Domenico

Born: Naples, 26 October 1685

Died: Madrid, 23 July 1757

A Baroque composer most famous for his harpsichord sonatas. The majority of these
were composed in Spain where Scarlatti had employment with a royal Spanish woman
(a princess who later became queen I believe). His sonatas don’t seem to have the
purity of development that one finds in Bach, but they do conjure up images of
beautiful, elegant dance in a way that Bach does not. I find it very easy to imagine the
rhythms and gracefulness of the music in some Baroque court.

Bach, Handel and Scarlatti were all born in the same year, but though Bach and Handel
knew of each other, it was only Handel and Scarlatti that managed to meet. On the
occasion, it is said that they held an informal competition, and while Handel was held
to be the better organist, Scarlatti was judged the better harpsichordist

Schubert, Franz Peter

Born: Vienna, 31 January 1797

Died: Vienna, 19 November 1828

Famous song composer. :-) But seriously, Schubert also wrote a number of symphonies
(the so-called Great is in fact very good, if not great), piano sonatas, chamber music in
general, including the famous Trout Quintet, operas (26 of them!), masses and much
else. He was probably even more prolific than Mozart.

Schubert died just a year after Beethoven, and it was thought quite tragic that Vienna
should lose two great composers so close upon each other’s heels.

Tomoko Yamamoto has a published a page celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary

of Schubert’s birth. Bart Berman has some notes on Schubert, with particular reference
to some of his piano music.