Michael Haydn Born in Austria, Michael Haydn was the baby brother of the very famous composer Joseph Papa Haydn. With the loving support of

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2 Michael Haydn Born in Austria, Michael Haydn was the baby brother of the very famous composer Joseph Papa Haydn. With the loving support of his older brother, Michael became a great singer and composer himself. He became good friends with and inspired Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Even one of his symphonies was mistaken for Mozart s for many years! He also taught Carl Maria Von Weber (composer of the Hunter s Chorus). Michael composed over 300 works, much of it church music and pieces for voice.

3 Michael Haydn Listen to My Music! 1. Trumpet Concerto in D (Track 13 in book) 2. Look up my Symphony No. 26! People think it s Mozart but it s me!!

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5 Antonio Vivaldi Antonio was born in Venice during the Golden Age of Italian music. Venice was the music capital of Europe at the time. Along with his father being a violinist, it is little wonder that little Antonio, youngest of 6 children, became a great violinist and composer. In fact, his father taught him how to play! At 15, he studied to become a priest. Because of his bright red hair, he earned the nickname the Red Priest. He soon quit the priesthood and became a full-time composer and teacher at a school for orphaned girls in Venice. This is when he composed most of his great works, including the Four Seasons, which introduced the idea of music that can tell a story or paint a picture. By the time he died, he had over 600 works to his credit, mostly concertos.

6 Antonio Vivaldi Listen to My Music! 1. Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C (Track 14 in Book) 2.Concerto for Piccolo in C (Track 19 in Book) 3.Look up my very famous The Four Seasons.

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8 Henry Purcell One of the first great Baroque composers, Henry Purcell was born in Westminster, England, and was the son of a King s Court musician. Groomed to be a musician and attending Westminster schools, Henry started composing when he was as young as 9 years old! He studied under great teachers of the day. For his ability to write music that people loved, he soon became known as the English Orpheus. In the Greek myths, Orpheus was a legendary musician and poet who could charm all living things and even stones with his music. Henry worked for three kings and a Queen, all of whom loved him, and is buried in Westminster Abbey next to the organ. His music used the best of French and Italian styles, but was always English in its nature. Purcell wrote a large variety of music, from operas to ceremonial anthems to dances to drinking music.

9 Henry Purcell Listen to My Music! 1. Come Ye Sons of Art (Track 15 in Book) 2.Look up Laudate Cecilium (Ode for St. Cecilia s Day) 3.Look up The Fairy Queen.

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11 Sergei Prokofiev Born in Ukraine, Sergei was taught piano by his mother at age 3. By age 9 he had written his first opera, The Giant. At 13, he studied with the famous Russian composer Rimsky- Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, where everyone was impressed with his genius. He also showed everyone that he was a chess master! From the beginning, Sergei loved composing music that sounded new and different and told vibrant stories. When the Communist Revolution of 1917 broke out, Sergei left Russia and moved to the US and then to Paris, where he became famous for his ballets and symphonies. He returned to Soviet Russia in 1936 and remained a very strong presence in Russian music, despite struggling to write as he felt under Communist rule. He wrote Peter and the Wolf, the ballet Romeo and Juliet, along with many other works while in Russia. Sergei Prokofiev is one of the most admired composers of the 20 th century.

12 Sergei Prokofiev Listen to My Music! 1. Peter and the Wolf drum section (Track 17 in Book) 2.Love of Three Oranges (Track 20 in Book) 3.Listen to all of Peter and the Wolf!! You ll love it!

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14 Johannes Brahms Truly one of the greatest masters of classical music and worthy heir to Beethoven, Johannes Brahms was the last great classical composer, taking the form into the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, he grew up a young piano prodigy, playing in bars and dance halls at age 12 to help support his family. He soon began composing and was mentored by the great composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara, both of whom he deeply admired. He also idolized Beethoven, and much of his music shows this influence. Brahms was known for creating beautiful and simple themes and exploring all of their surprising possibilities. He composed in all genres and left behind symphonies, concertos, songs, quartets, and choral works, many of which are considered among the greatest ever written.

15 Johannes Brahms Listen to My Music! 1. Sonata No.1 in F Minor (Track 18 in Book) 2.Look up my famous Hungarian Dances 3.I m sure you already know my very famous Lullaby!

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17 Fritz Kreisler Born in Austria, Kreisler is quite simply one of the greatest violinists in history. He was known for his endless charm, sweet tone, and expressive phrasing, both as a musician and a person. The great British composer Edward Elgar dedicated a violin concerto to him, and Kreisler himself premiered it. He also served in World War I and for a brief time studied medicine. But violin and composition remained his passion. He proved himself a gifted composer for violin, and many of his concertos, cadenzas, and transcriptions are still played today. His influence on the next generations of great violinists can be summed up by a great master himself, Isaac Stern, who said, There is not a violinist alive in this century who does not have the sound of Kreisler s works in his ear, and indeed, in his heart.

18 Fritz Kreisler Listen to My Music! 1. Recitativo and Scherzo, Op. 6 (Track 21 in Book) 2.Look up my famous Liebeslied and Liebesfreud 3.Also look up Schön Rosmarin.

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20 G. F. Handel George F. Handel was born in Halle, Germany. His father hated music, but little George loved music so much that his mother helped him smuggle a spinnet piano in the attic, covering the strings with a cloth so he could quietly practice in secret. Even though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, when 8-yearold George played for the Duke, the Duke was so dazzled that he insisted that young Handel should learn music. And if a Duke insisted, one had to listen! So his father relented and George developed his talent. Off to Italy he went, as Italy was the place to learn opera. When he returned to Germany, his former employer the Duke had become King George I of England. Handel moved to England and wrote his Water Music for the King. The King loved it so much that he asked for it to be played three times at its opening! One of Handel s final works was The Messiah. Despite being 2 and ½ hours long, it took only 24 days to write! When King George II heard the Hallelujah Chorus, he stood and began a tradition that endures to this day. Handel left behind the greatest collection of baroque oratorios and operas ever written. The great Beethoven himself called him the greatest composer that ever lived, and his biggest thrill was receiving a complete collection of Handel s manuscripts as a gift!

21 G. F. Handel Listen to My Music! 1. Aria from the Opera Renaldo. (Track 22 in Book) 2.Look up my famous Water Music and Fireworks Music 3. Don t miss my most famous piece, The Messiah.

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23 Claude Debussy Born on the outskirts of Paris, Claude Debussy started playing piano at age 9, with his aunt nurturing his talent. Just 3 years later, he could play the very difficult Chopin F Minor Concerto! He entered the Paris Conservatory at the tender age of 11 and began composing. A brilliant student, Claude also was very rebellious, seeking to break all the rules of music composition. After a series of prizes for composition, he began writing independently. But it was after the birth of his beloved daughter Chou-Chou in 1905 that Debussy wrote much of his most famous music, inspired by her. This includes Clair de Lune, Girl With Flaxen Hair, La Mer, and Children s Corner. Claude Debussy s music has moments of indescribable beauty. Like the impressionist painters, his works often shimmer with light and beautiful textures. He was very influential on those composers who came after him.

24 Claude Debussy Listen to My Music! 1. Claire de Lune (Track 23 in Book) 2.Look up Children s Corner. 3.Look up La Mer and think of the sea!