Meet the Composers Johan Sebastian Bach 1685 1750

Meet the Composers

Johan Sebastian Bach 1685 - 1750 A German Baroque Composer • Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685. • As a child, Bach's father taught him to play violin and harpsichord. • He had 20 children! • Some of his most famous works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

George Frideric Handel 1685 - 1759 A German Baroque Composer • George Frideric Handel was born on 23 rd February 1685 – the same year as Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. • His aunt gave him a harpsichord for his seventh birthday, which Handel played whenever he had the chance. • His father wanted him to be a lawyer. • He wrote Water Music and The Messiah.

Antonio Vivaldi 1678 - 1741 An Italian Baroque Composer • Antonio Vivaldi was born on 4 th March 1678 in Venice. • Antonio's father, Giovanni Battista, was a barber before becoming a violinist, and taught Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with him. • He wrote The Four Seasons.

Ludwig Van Beethoven 1770 - 1827 A German Classical Composer • Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 – his actual date of birth is not known. • Ludwig's talent was recognized early on and, by 1778, he was learning to play the organ and viola as well as the piano. • In his twenties, Beethoven began to go deaf. • He wrote lots of music, memorably his Ninth Symphony, which includes the melody Ode to Joy.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 - 1791 An Austrian Classical Composer • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. • At age four, Wolfgang began keyboard lessons and, by age five, he was composing short pieces. • At the age of eight, Wolfgang published his first two sonatas for the harpsichord and, by the age of 13, he had composed his first opera. • His most famous pieces include Eine Kleine Nachtmusik for string orchestra, which means 'A Little Night Music‘. • He wrote over 600 compositions before he died, aged just 35.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840 - 1893 A Russian Romantic Composer • Tchaikovsky was inspiredwas by Shakespeare's Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky born in 1840 in writing and, in later years, composed other Udmurtia, Russia. for. Peter's productions The a. Tempest and • works In 1855, father of asked well-known Hamlet. German piano teacher to encourage his son's • On 6 th November Tchaikovsky died in Peter St. interest in music, 1893, but the teacher said that Petersburg. wasn’t very good! • His compositions are some of thehis greatest In 1869, Tchaikovsky composed first works include the masterpiece, 1812 Overture, Slav, and The recognised the. March Overture-Fantasy Nutcracker, which has become a Christmas Romeo and Juliet. favourite.

Frederico Chopin 1810 - 1849 A Polish Romantic Composer • Frederic Chopin was born on 1 st March 1810 in Poland. His father was French and his mother was Polish. • From an early age Chopin was an outstanding piano player. • He was famous for writing ballads; nocturnes and waltzes that were influenced by both French and Polish music. • Chopin loved and carried round a small silver box filled with Polish earth. The silver box was buried with him when he died in Paris on 17 th October 1849, at the age of 38.

Claude Debussy 1862 - 1918 A French Impressionist Composer • Claude Debussy was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, on 22 nd August 1862. • Claude began piano lessons at the age of seven with an Italian violinist named Cerrito. By the age of ten, Claude began studying music at the Paris Conservatoire. • His most popular pieces include Prélude à l'aprés-midi d'un faune (1892), Pelléas et Mélisande, La Mer (The Sea) (1905), and Children's Corner Suite (1908). • He died on 25 th March 1918.

Meet the Composers Now can you think of any other famous composers?