Composers of History

What We Will Do

• We will have a brief introduction to many composers.
• You will write down information on your packets.
• At the end, we will have a "fantasy composer draft" where you will "draft" a composer to work on.
• You will then create your own presentation on your composer.

Baroque Era

Johann Sebastian Bach

J.S. Bach Biography

• Born in Eisenach, Germany
• Is now considered "The Father of Baroque Music", though he was not thought of like that when he was alive
• Had 20 kids
• Born into a family of musicians (over 300 years and six generations)

Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi Biography

• Born in Venice, Italy
• Was a prolific violinist
• Nicknamed "Il Prete Roso" (the Red Priest)
• Bach was a great admirer of Vivaldi's talent
• Died poor and sold off his music later in life to make ends meet

George Frideric Handel

G.F. Handel Biography

• Born in Halle, Saxony in Germany
• His father wanted him to be a lawyer.
• Went to Italy to make a name for himself in operas.
• When operas went out of style, he moved to London, UK for oratorios
• Wrote Messiah in London and became London's leading musical citizen

Classical Era

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

W.A. Mozart Biography

• Born in Salzburg, Austria
• Started composing at age 6, and wrote first opera at 11.
• Wrote 47 symphonies
• Fell ill and died while writing his Requiem
• Died young and deeply in debt at age 35

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Beethoven Biography

• Born in Bonn, Germany
• Traveled to Vienna, Austria at 17 to pursue music & even played for Mozart
• At 28, he noticed he was starting to lose his hearing. Kept it a secret. By 45, he was completely deaf.
• He helped usher in the Romantic Era of music.
• Was a disagreeable and grumpy man.

Franz Joseph Haydn

F.J. Haydn Biography

• Wrote 106 symphonies
• Hired to be a professional singer at age 8 at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
• Prince Esterházy hired him to be his court conductor and worked there for 48 years
• Oxford University gave him an honorary degree

Romantic Era

Johannes Brahms

Brahms Biography

• Born in Hamburg, Germany.
• Was noticed by Robert Schumann at age 20. They became close friends
• Only wrote four symphonies, but they were all masterful
• Woke up at 5am each morning to ensure that he made coffee that was strong enough

Frederic Chopin

Chopin Biography

• Is of Polish and French heritage
• Chopin wrote exclusively for piano
• Lived his life struggling with poor health. Died of tuberculosis because of it.
• Died at the young age of 39
• Didn't like performing. The rare occasions that he did, he had all the lights turned off, except for one candle

Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn Biography

• Jewish, but family converted to Lutheran
• Sister Fanny was also a famous composer
• As a children, they would perform at weekly salons
• Elijah, his oratorio performed in London
• Died young at age 38 of what the doctor's called a "nervous stroke" (probably just a stroke)

Robert Schumann

R. Schumann Biography

• Born in Zwickau, Germany
• Inspired to do music by his teacher at age 7.
• Great piano player, but injured his hand and could no longer perform
• Wife Clara was a famous composer
• Was a friend and mentor to Johannes Brahms
• Suffered from mental illness

Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky Biography

• Born in Votkinsk, Russia
• Was a law clerk before starting his music career
• Lived a sad and lonely life
• Best known for his ballets
• One of the first students at the new Russian Musical Society School

Richard Wagner

Wagner Biography

• Born in Leipzig, Germany.
• Struggled in school as a child
• He was encouraged to do music by mother (several sisters became singers too)
• Created music dramas, that combined visual, aural and dramatic elements together into an opera

Hector Berlioz

Berlioz Biography

• He is a French-born Composer
• Went to school to be a physician according to his father's wishes
• His most famous piece was Symphonie Fantastique
• His Requiem had 227 instruments and 290 singers
• Like Bach, has been appreciated more after his death than when living

20th Century Era

Samuel Barber

Barber Biography

• Born is Pennsylvania, USA
• Started music at 6 and composing at 7
• Studied composition, voice and piano at the Curtis Institute of Music
• Won TWO Pulitzer Prizes for Vanessa (1958) and Piano Concerto (1963)
• Also won three Grammy Awards

Bela Bartok

Bartok Biography

• He is a Hungarian-born composer
• Brought Hungarian folk music into the international music world
• Had to flee his home country to the U.S. because he spoke out against the Nazis
• He collected over 6,000 folk songs over his lifetime that he used in his music

Leonard Bernstein

Bernstein Biography

• Born in Lawrence, MA USA
• First American-born and trained composer to receive international success
• Conductor, composer, educator, pianist, lecturer, author
• Made his conducting debut as a last minute substitution for the New York Philharmonic and was instantly a success at 25
• West Side Story is his greatest piece

Aaron Copland

Copland Biography

• Born in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Stopped imitation the European style to ensure that American heritage and styles were showcased
• Bernstein and Copland were lifelong friends and contemporaries
• Copland brought American folk music to the world
• Nickname: The Dean of American Music

Claude Debussy

Debussy Biography

• French-born composer
• Got in trouble in music school because he didn't want to follow the rules of composition
• He fostered in the musical impressionism period (though he didn't like the distinction)
• Daughter was Claude-Emma (Chouchou)
• Wrote "Children's Corner" for her

Duke Ellington

Ellington Biography

• Born in Washington, DC USA
• Father of Jazz Music
• Had a band called The Washingtonians
• Much of his music was written for jazz halls and night clubs
• Had childhood jobs as a soda jerk and selling peanuts at Washington Senators games

GEORGE GERSHWIN

Gershwin Biography

• Born in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Was a song plugger at 15
• At 20, won a contract with Thomas B. Harms Publishing Company that published all his works
• Would sometimes write up to 6 songs in a day
• His famous opera is Porgy and Bess
• Died young of a brain tumor at 38

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

• Find your top 5 choices
• Be prepared to draft your top available choice on the “draft board”
• Be prepared to teach your classmates all about your composer!

John Williams

Williams Biography

Amy Beach

Beach Biography

Clara Schuman

Clara Schumann Biography

Fanny Mendelssohn

Fanny Mendelssohn Biography

Nadia Boulanger

Boulanger Biography

Francesca Caccini

Caccini Biography