Johannes Brahms

Born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 7, 1833,

Brahms was the great master of symphonic and
sonata style in the second half of the 19th
century He can be !iewed as the protagonist of
the "lassical tradition of #oseph Haydn, Mo$art,
and Beetho!en
%idely considered one the 19th century&s
greatest composers and one of the leading
musicians of the 'omantic era, #ohannes
Brahms was born May 7, 1833, in Hamburg,
Germany
He was the second of #ohanna Henri(a "hristiane )issen and #ohann #a(ob
Brahms& three children Music was introduced to his life at an early age His
father was a double bassist in the Hamburg *hilharmonic +ociety, and the young
Brahms began playing piano at the age of se!en
By the time he was a teenager, Brahms was already an accomplished musician,
and he used his talent to earn money at local inns, in brothels and along the city&s
doc(s to ease his family&s often tight financial conditions
,n 18-3 Brahms was introduced to the renowned German composer and music
critic 'obert +chumann .he two men /uic(ly grew close, with +chumann seeing
in his younger friend great hope for the future of music He dubbed Brahms a
genius and praised the 0young eagle0 publicly in a famous article .he (ind words
/uic(ly made the young composer a (nown entity in the music world
But this music world was also at a crossroads Modernist composers li(e 1ran$
2is$t and 'ichard %agner, the leading faces of the 0)ew German +chool0
rebu(ed the more traditional sounds of +chumann .heirs was a sound
predicated on organic structure and harmonic freedom, drawing from literature
for its inspiration
1or +chumann and e!entually Brahms, this new sound was sheer indulgence
and negated the genius of composers li(e #ohann +ebastian Bach and 2udwig
!an Beetho!en
Franz Peter Schubert
Born on #anuary 31, 1797, in Himmelpfortgrund,
3ustria, 1ran$ *eter +chubert, the son of a
schoolmaster, recei!ed a thorough musical
education and won a scholarship to boarding
school 3lthough he was ne!er rich, the
composer&s wor( gained recognition and
popularity, noted for bridging classical and
romantic composition He died in 1848 in
5ienna, 3ustria
3s a child, his talents included an ability to play
the piano, !iolin and organ He was also an
e6cellent singer
1ran$ was the fourth sur!i!ing son of 1ran$ .heodor +chubert, a schoolmaster,
and his wife, 7lisabeth, a homema(er His family culti!ated +chubert&s lo!e of
music His father and older brother, ,gna$, both instructed +chubert early in his
musical life
7!entually, +chubert enrolled at the +tadt(on!i(t, which trained young !ocalists
so they could one day sing at the chapel of the ,mperial "ourt, and in 1888 he
earned a scholarship that awarded him a spot in the court&s chapel choir His
educators at the +tadt(on!i(t included %en$el 'u$ic(a, the imperial court
organist, and, later, the esteemed composer 3ntonio +alieri, who lauded
+chubert as a musical genius +chubert played the !iolin in the students&
orchestra, was /uic(ly promoted to leader, and conducted in 'u$ic(a&s absence
He also attended choir practice and, with his fellow pupils, practiced chamber
music and piano playing
,n 1814, howe!er, +chubert&s !oice bro(e, forcing him to lea!e the college,
though he did continue his instruction with 3ntonio +alieri for three more years ,n
1819, under pressure from his family, +chubert enrolled at a teacher&s training
college in 5ienna and too( a :ob as an assistant at his father&s school
Frederic Chopin
Born on March 1, 1818, in ;ela$owa %ola,
*oland, 1r<d<ric "hopin, grew up in a middle=
class family He published his first composition at
age 7 and began performing one year later ,n
1834, he mo!ed to *aris, sociali$ed with high
society and was (nown as an e6cellent piano
teacher His piano compositions were highly
influential He died of tuberculosis and ill health on
>ctober 17, 1899, in *aris, 1rance
1r<d<ric "hopin was born 1ydery( 1rancis$e(
+$open on March 1, 1818, in the small !illage of ?
ela$owa %ola, @uchy of %arsaw Anow *olandB
His 1ather, )icholas, was a 1rench <migr< who
was wor(ing as a boo((eeper when he met and married #ustyna Cr$y?anows(a
+oon after 1rederic was born, )icholas found employment as a tutor for
aristocratic families in %arsaw
His father&s employment e6posed young "hopin to cultured %arsaw society, and
his mother introduced him to music at an early age By age D, young "hopin was
ably playing the piano and composing tunes 'ecogni$ing his talent, his family
engaged professional musician %o:cheh ;ywny for lessons, and soon pupil
surpassed teacher in both techni/ue and imagination
By 1818, "hopin was performing in elegant salons and writing his own
compositions, including the Polonaise in G Minor By 184D, he had composed
se!eral piano pieces in different styles, and his parents enrolled him in the
%arsaw "onser!atory of Music, where he studied for three years under *olish
composer #osef 7lsner
+ensing he needed a broader musical e6perience, "hopin&s parents sent him to
5ienna, where he made his performance debut in 1849 3udiences were
enthralled with his highly technical yet poetically e6pressi!e performances >!er
the ne6t few years, "hopin performed in *oland, Germany, 3ustria and *aris,
where he settled in 1834 .here he /uic(ly established relationships with other
young composers, among them 1ran$ 2is$t, 5incen$o Bellini and 1eli6
Mendelssohn
Franz Liszt
1ran$ 2is$t was born on >ctober 44, 1811, in
'aiding, Hungary His father, a multi=
instrumentalist, taught him to play piano By the
time 2is$t was 9 years old, he was performing in
concert halls 3s an adult, he toured e6tensi!ely
throughout 7urope He had an affair and children
with Marie dE3goult, and later li!ed with *rincess
"arolyne $u +ayn=%ittgenstein By his death, he
had written more than 788 compositions
1ran$ 2is$t, one of the most impressi!e figures in
all of music history, was born on >ctober 44, 1811,
in 'aiding, Hungary His father, 3dam, played the
cello, as well as se!eral other instruments, and
passionately taught 1ran$ how to play piano By the age of D, young 2is$t was
recogni$ed as a child prodigyF by the age of 8, he was composing elementary
wor(sF and by the age of 9, he was appearing in concerts His father wor(ed as a
secretary for *rince )icholas 7sterha$y, and, after the boy played for a group of
wealthy sponsors, he as(ed the prince for e6tended lea!e so he could de!ote his
time to enriching his sonEs musical education
1ather and son tra!eled to 5ienna, and 3ntonio +alieri, Mo$art&s old ri!al, /uic(ly
became a proponent of 2is$t&s genius Gpon hearing the boy play at a pri!ate
home, he offered to train him in composition free of charge 1or se!eral months,
the young pianist held performances for both musicians and (ings His most
impressi!e talent was his uncanny ability to impro!ise an original composition
from a melody suggested by an audience member 3t the age of 14, 2is$t
tra!eled with his father to *aris to see( admittance to the *aris "onser!atory
.he admissions council denied him a place in the school on the grounds that he
was a foreigner His father, e!er determined, turned to 1erdinando *aer to teach
his son ad!anced composition ,t was during this time that 2is$t wrote his first and
only opera, @on +anche
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlio$ was born in 1rance on @ecember
11, 1883 He turned his bac( on a career in
medicine to follow his passion for music, and went
on to compose wor(s that showcased the
inno!ati!eness and search for e6pression that were
hallmar(s of 'omanticism His well=(nown pieces
include theSymphonie fantastique and Grande
messe des morts 3t the age of D-, Berlio$ died in
*aris on March 8, 18D9
2ouis=Hector Berlio$ was born on @ecember 11,
1883, in 2a "Hte=+t=3ndr<, ,sIre, 1rance Anear
GrenobleB Hector Berlio$, as he was (nown, was
entranced with music as a child He learned to play
the flute and guitar, and became a self=taught
composer
Heeding his physician father&s wishes, Berlio$ went to *aris in 1841 to study
medicine Howe!er, much of his time was spent at the *aris=>p<ra, where he
absorbed "hristoph %illibald Gluc(&s operas .wo years later, he left medicine
behind to become a composer
,n 184D, Berlio$ enrolled at the *aris "onser!atoire .he ne6t year, he saw
Harriet +mithson in the role of >phelia and became capti!ated by the ,rish
actress His ardor inspired the Symphonie fantastique A1838B, a piece that bro(e
new ground in orchestral e6pression %ith its use of music to relate a story of
desperate passion, it was a hallmar( of 'omantic composition
1ollowing three unsuccessful attempts to win the *ri6 de 'ome, Berlio$ finally
succeeded in 1838 3fter spending more than a year in ,taly, he headed bac( to
*aris, where a performance of his 0fantastic symphony0 too( place in 1834
+mithson attended the concertF after meeting the woman who had haunted him,
Berlio$ married her the ne6t year
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe 5erdi was born in ,taly in 1813, prior to
,talian unification 5erdi produced many
successful operas, including La
Traviata, Falstaff and Aida, and became (nown
for his s(ill in creating melody and his profound
use of theatrical effect 3dditionally, his re:ection
of the traditional ,talian opera for integrated
scenes and unified acts earned him fame 5erdi
died on #anuary 47, 1981, in Milan, ,taly
1amed composer Giuseppe 5erdi was born
Giuseppe 1ortunino 1rancesco 5erdi on >ctober
9 or 18, 1813, in the community of 2e 'oncole,
near Busseto in the pro!ince of *arma, ,taly His
mother, 2uigia Gttini, wor(ed as a spinner, and his father, "arlo Giuseppe 5erdi,
made a li!ing as a local in(eeper
5erdi first de!eloped musical talents at a young age, after mo!ing with his family
from 2e 'oncole to the neighboring town of Busseto .here, he began studying
musical composition ,n 1834, 5erdi applied for admission at the Milan
"onser!atory, but was re:ected due to his age +ubse/uently, he began studying
under 5incen$o 2a!igna, a famous composer from Milan
5erdi got his start in ,taly&s music industry in 1833, when he was hired as a
conductor at the *hilharmonic +ociety in Busseto ,n addition to composing, he
made a li!ing as an organist around this time .hree years later, in 183D, 5erdi
wed Margherita Bare$$i, the daughter of a friend, 3ntonio Bare$$i
,n 1838, at age 4-, 5erdi returned to Milan, where he completed his first
opera, Oberto, in 1839, with the help of fellow musician Giulio 'icordiF the
opera&s debut production was held at 2a +cala, an opera house in Milan %hile
wor(ing on Oberto, the composer suffered what would be the first of many
personal tragediesJ His and Margherita&s first child, daughter 5irginia Maria 2uigia
5erdi Aborn in March 1837B, died in infancy on 3ugust 14, 1838F :ust one year
later, in >ctober 1839, the couple&s second child, son 5erdi ,cilio 'omano 5erdi
Aborn in #uly 1838B, died, also as an infant