"instance, by Schroeder (1999). Revisionism is, perhaps, likely to continue. Assessing the whole tradition of Mozart biography, Steptoe concludes: There is little doubt that successive generations of scholars have been sincere in their views of the composer, each claiming to be more 'objective' than the last, stripping away the veneer of speculation to arrive at 'the real man'. It is sobering to realize that these different opinions about Mozart as a person are all based on a very similar set of data. Biographies of Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died after a short illness on 5 December 1791, aged 35. His"
"aged 69. Rolle is remembered mainly for his oratorios. Johann Heinrich Rolle Johann Heinrich Rolle (23 December 1716 - 29 December 1785) was a German baroque composer. Rolle was born in Quedlinburg. His father was a musician in Magdeburg, and in his early years Rolle served there as an organist while studying law. In 1741 he became a chamber musician in the court of the Prussian King Frederick II, before returning to Magdeburg in 1746 to take up the position of organist at St John's Church. Rolle's father died in 1751, and Rolle succeeded him as music director at the"
"Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his ""Pavane"", Requiem, ""Sicilienne"", nocturnes for piano and the songs ""Après un rêve"" and ""Clair de lune"". Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his most highly regarded works in his later years, in a more harmonically and melodically complex style. Fauré was born into a"
"at the age of 50. Fridolin Sicher Fridolin Sicher (March 6, 1490 – June 13, 1546) was a Swiss composer and organist of the Renaissance era. He was born in Bischofszell and began his study of the organ at the age of 13 with Martin Vogelmaier, the organist of Konstanz Cathedral. He then studied theology and in 1510 became a prebend and organist at St Agnes Church in Bischofszell. He later returned to Konstanz for further study with Hans Buchner (a pupil of Paul Hofhaimer). Sicher went on to become the organist of the collegiate church of St Gallen (circa"
"Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but diverging greatly in technique. Though he had several bursts of extraordinary productivity, particularly in 1888 and 1889, depression frequently interrupted his creative periods, and his last composition was written in 1898, before he suffered a mental collapse caused by syphilis. Hugo Wolf was born"
"Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 4 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early romantic period. Mendelssohn wrote symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his Overture and incidental music for ""A Midsummer Night's Dream"", the ""Italian Symphony"", the ""Scottish Symphony"", the overture ""The Hebrides"", his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. His ""Songs Without Words"" are his most famous solo piano compositions. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism"
"all have been composed late in Scarlatti's career (after 1735), with the majority perhaps dating from after the composer's sixty-seventh birthday. Aside from his many sonatas, Scarlatti composed a number of operas and cantatas, symphonias, and liturgical pieces. Well-known works include the ""Stabat Mater"" of 1715 and the ""Salve Regina"" of 1757, which is thought to be his last composition. Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 26 October 1685 Madrid, 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style and he"
"Rahier. The position was restored at Joseph Haydn's intervention. Johann was again unemployed from 1790 (when Prince Anton Esterházy succeeded Nikolaus and abolished most of the family's musical establishment) until 1795 (when Anton's successor Nikolaus II revived it). Nothing is known about what Johann did during this time. Following his reinstatement, he continued in the service of the Esterházy family for the remainder of his life, dying in Eisenstadt at the age of 63. Johann Evangelist Haydn Johann Evangelist Haydn (December 23, 1743 – May 10, 1805) was a tenor singer of the classical era; the younger brother of the"
"of Spain. In 1803 or 1804, Rudolph began taking lessons in piano and composition from Ludwig van Beethoven. The two became friends, and Rudolph became a supporter and patron of Beethoven; their meetings continued until 1824. Beethoven dedicated 14 compositions to Rudolph, including the ""Archduke"" Trio, the ""Hammerklavier"" Sonata, the ""Emperor"" Concerto and the ""Missa Solemnis"". Rudolph, in turn, dedicated one of his own compositions to Beethoven. The letters Beethoven wrote to Rudolph are today kept at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. Schubert and Ferdinand Ries also dedicated works to Rudolf. On 24 March 1819 aged 31 Rudolph was"
"8 January 2017, aged 91, was not announced by his family until 9 February 2017. He died after a heart attack at his home in Tolochenaz in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final operatic recording. Skilled at languages, he performed operas in French, Russian, German, Italian, English, Czech, and Swedish, as well as"
"He told Block, ""I am a bad pianist and my voice is raspy. Why should one eternalize it?"" Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; , ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893), was a Russian composer of the romantic period, whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States. He was honored in 1884 by Emperor Alexander III, and awarded a lifetime pension. Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky"
"that haven't been commercially released, including songs, piano works and the String Quartets Nos 1, 4 and 5. Bernard van Dieren Bernard Hélène Joseph van Dieren (27 December 188724 April 1936) was a Dutch composer, critic, author, and writer on music, much of whose working life was spent in England. Van Dieren was the last of five children of a Rotterdam wine merchant, Bernard Joseph van Dieren, and his second wife, Julie Françoise Adelle Labbé. Details of his education are unknown but it seems that his early training was as a scientist, as a research assistant in a laboratory. Gifted"
"""KV"" followed by this number. The first edition of the catalogue was completed in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel. It has since been repeatedly updated, as scholarly research improves knowledge of the dates and authenticity of individual works. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart"
"Selective bibliography Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include ""Der Rosenkavalier"", ""Elektra"", ""Die Frau ohne Schatten"" and ""Salome""; his Lieder, especially his ""Four Last Songs""; his tone poems, including ""Don Juan"", ""Death and Transfiguration"", ""Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"", ""Also sprach Zarathustra"", ""Ein Heldenleben"", ""Symphonia Domestica"", and ""An Alpine Symphony""; and other instrumental works such as ""Metamorphosen"" and his Oboe Concerto. Strauss was also a prominent conductor in Western Europe and the Americas, enjoying"
"his honour, as is the main-belt asteroid 1815 Beethoven. Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (; ; baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Classical music, he remains one of the most recognised and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies; 5 piano concertos; 1 violin concerto; 32 piano sonatas; 16 string quartets; a mass, the ""Missa solemnis""; and an opera, ""Fidelio"". Beethoven was born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the"
"Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include ""Der Rosenkavalier"", ""Elektra"", ""Die Frau ohne Schatten"" and ""Salome""; his Lieder, especially his ""Four Last Songs""; his tone poems, including ""Don Juan"", ""Death and Transfiguration"", ""Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"", ""Also sprach Zarathustra"", ""Ein Heldenleben"", ""Symphonia Domestica"", and ""An Alpine Symphony""; and other instrumental works such as ""Metamorphosen"" and his Oboe Concerto. Strauss was also a prominent conductor in Western Europe and the Americas, enjoying quasi-celebrity status"
"and Arturo Toscanini, and in the ""Petite Suite"", Henri Büsser, who had prepared the orchestration for Debussy. Many of these early recordings have been reissued on CD. In more recent times Debussy's output has been extensively recorded. In 2018, to mark the centenary of the composer's death, Warner Classics, with contributions from other companies, issued a 33-CD set that is claimed to include all the music Debussy wrote. Claude Debussy Achille-Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He"
"Michael Haydn's works influenced Mozart. To give just three examples: the ""Te Deum"" ""which Wolfgang was later to follow very closely in K. 141""; the finale of the Symphony No. 23 which influenced the finale of the G major Quartet, K. 387; and the (fugal) transition and (nonfugal) closing theme of the G major second subject expositions of the finales of both Michael's Symphony No. 29 (1784) and Mozart's monumental last Symphony No. 41 (""Jupiter"") (1788), both in C major. Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the"
"Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (; 4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian Baroque musical composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, and priest. Born in Venice, the capital of the Venetian Republic, he is regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as the ""Four Seasons"". Many of his compositions were written for the"
"purportedly also learned Italian for this purpose. Although there are several Italian cantatas listed in Breitkopf's thematic catalogue, few, if any, of these pieces have survived. Christoph Förster appears to have been a very prolific composer, however as most of his surviving manuscripts are signed only ""Förster"", it is possible that some pieces have been misattributed. Works which are likely to be by Christoph Förster are listed below. The following pieces are listed in Breitkopf's thematic catalogue unless otherwise stated. Christoph Förster Christoph Förster (30 November 1693 – 6 December 1745) was a German composer of the baroque period. Christoph"
"Carolus Luython Carolus Luython (French: ""Charles Luython""; 1557 – 2 August 1620) was a late composer of the ""fifth generation"" of the Franco-Flemish school. Luython was born in Antwerp, and was recruited as a child to serve in the choir of Maximilian II in Vienna. After Maximillian's death in 1576 Luython become court organist and composer to Rudolf II first in Vienna, then in Prague, while his fellow Fleming Philippe de Monte was Kapellmeister 1568–1603, together with the Germans Hans Leo Hassler and Jakob Hassler. After Rudolf II died in 1612 Luython was among many court officials dismissed without pension"
"Philippe de Vitry Philippe de Vitry (31 October 1291 – 9 June 1361) was a French composer, music theorist and poet. He was an accomplished, innovative, and influential composer, and may also have been the author of the ""Ars Nova"" treatise. He was widely acknowledged as the greatest musician of his day, with Petrarch writing a glowing tribute, calling him: ""... the keenest and most ardent seeker of truth, so great a philosopher of our age."" Details of his early life are vague. While some medieval sources claim that he was born in the Champagne region, more recent research indicates"
"Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 26 October 1685 Madrid, 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style and he was one of the few Baroque composers to transition into the classical period. Like his renowned father Alessandro Scarlatti, he composed in a variety of musical forms, although today he is known mainly for his 555 keyboard sonatas. He spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples,"
"Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (; , in modern usage ""Liszt Ferenc"" ; 22 October 181131 July 1886) was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, author, nationalist and a Franciscan tertiary during the Romantic era. Liszt gained renown in Europe during the early nineteenth century for his prodigious virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was a friend, musical promoter and benefactor to many composers of his time, including Frédéric Chopin, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Robert Schumann, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull, Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka, and Alexander Borodin. As a composer, Liszt was"
"Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (; ; 7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, the Paris Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the conservatoire, Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style"
"member of the literary fraternity in Bakov nad Jizerou. He died of tuberculosis; his gravesite is unknown. Most of Linek's music was composed for the church. His favorite instrument was the harpsichord. Many of his religious works were written on Czech texts. He composed pastorals (at least thirty numbers), Easter ""sepolcros"", as well as devotional pieces dedicated to St. John Nepomucene. Jiří Ignác Linek Jiří Ignác Línek (21 January 1725 – 30 December 1791) was a renowned Czech late-Baroque composer and pedagogue, said to have composed over 300 works in his lifetime. He is especially noted for his Christmas pastorals"
"Claude Debussy Achille-Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement, Debussy showed enough musical talent to be admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano, but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. He"
"of Gounod seen in so many French operas of the period. Though it is conservative in form, the orchestration and harmonic style are rich (...) Stirring homorhythmic choruses make ""Winkelried"" a fine vehicle for Swiss patriotic sentiment."" Lacombe died in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, a small town located on the English Channel, at age 65. Louis Lacombe Pierre Louis Trouillon-Lacombe (November 26, 1818, Bourges (Cher)– September 30, 1884, Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, (Manche) was a French pianist and composer. Louis Lacombe was born in Bourges, the brother of composer Felicita Casella. He showed unusual musical abilities at very young age and was soon hailed as a"
"severe financial worries. Van Swieten's loyalty to Mozart at this time is also indicated by one of Mozart's letters of 1789, in which he reported that he had solicited subscriptions to a projected concert series (as he had previously done with great success in the mid-1780s) and found that—after two weeks—the Baron was still the only subscriber. When Mozart died (1:00 am on December 5, 1791), van Swieten showed up at his home and made the funeral arrangements. He may have temporarily helped support the surviving Mozarts, as Constanze's correspondence in several places mentions his ""generosity"". On 2 January 1793,"
"of 107. He never married; he lived with his sister Doris until her death in 1997. Roy Douglas Richard Roy Douglas (12 December 1907 – 23 March 2015), better known as Roy Douglas, was a British composer, pianist and arranger. He worked as musical assistant to Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton, and Richard Addinsell, made well-known orchestrations of works such as ""Les Sylphides"" (based on piano pieces by Chopin) and Addinsell's ""Warsaw Concerto"", and wrote a quantity of original music. Roy Douglas was born at Royal Tunbridge Wells. He was self-taught in music. He gained experience writing film scores with"
"Sviatoslav Richter in the 1952 film ""Glinka – The Composer""; by Will Quadflieg in Max Ophüls's 1955 film Lola Montès; by Carlos Thompson in the 1955 film ""Magic Fire""; by Dirk Bogarde in the 1960 film ""Song Without End""; by Jeremy Irons in the 1974 BBC Television series ""Notorious Woman""; by Roger Daltrey in the 1975 Ken Russell film ""Lisztomania""; and by Julian Sands in the 1991 British-American film ""Impromptu"". Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (; , in modern usage ""Liszt Ferenc"" ; 22 October 181131 July 1886) was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist,"
"Capilla Flamenca. MEW 0852. Contains recordings of ""Vos quid admiramini virginem / Gratissima virginis / Gaude gloriosa"" and ""Adesto sancta trinitas / Firmissime fidem / Alleluia Benedicta"" by Philippe de Vitry. Philippe de Vitry Philippe de Vitry (31 October 1291 – 9 June 1361) was a French composer, music theorist and poet. He was an accomplished, innovative, and influential composer, and may also have been the author of the ""Ars Nova"" treatise. He was widely acknowledged as the greatest musician of his day, with Petrarch writing a glowing tribute, calling him: ""... the keenest and most ardent seeker of truth,"
"earlier. Antoine de Bertrand Antoine de Bertrand (also Anthoine) (1530/1540 – probably 1581) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Early in his life he was a prolific composer of secular chansons, and late in his life he wrote hymns and canticles, under the influence of the Jesuits. He was murdered by Protestants during the French Wars of Religion. Details of his life are relatively scanty for an otherwise prominent composer of the period, probably because he never held a salaried position as a musician at an establishment whose records have survived. He was born at Fontanges, in Auvergne, and"