NICCOLO PAGANINI

He was born in October 27, 1782 in Genoa, Italy in a family of six children. His musical skills started with
playing the mandolin at the age of five. He eventually transferred his training to the violin at the age of
seven with different violin professors in Italy. His violin teachers could not keep up with the progress of
his violin skills that he kept on transferring from one violin teacher to another. This led him to adopt all
his teachers’ influences in playing the violin. Paganini became the most famous violin virtuoso in the
world. However, together with his fame came the rumors about his amazing violin skills that was said to
be a gift from the devil and that he sold his soul in exchange for those skills. He was also rumored to
have a problem with women and gambling. His compositions inspired a lot of other composers such as
Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann. Some Works of Niccolo Paganini:

 “La Campanella”
 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1
 Concerto No. 1 in Eb. Op. 6
 15 Quartets for Guitar and Strings Trio
 The Carnival of Venice

FREDERIC CHOPIN

Frederic Chopin was known as the “Poet of the Piano”. He was born on March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa,
Poland. Frederic Chopin began to play piano at age 4. He composed polonaise at the age of 7. He studied
piano at Warsaw Conservatory under Wilhelm Würfel and most of his music was influenced by folk
music. He finished his formal education at the higher school in1829 and soon traveled to Europe giving
concerts in places such as Vienna, Munich, Paris, and London. He wrote almost exclusively for piano. He
made extensive use of piano pedal in most of his compositions. Some of his music is characterized by its
beautiful tone, rhythmic flexibility, grace and elegance. Some of his compositions like mazurkas and
polonaise express his love for Poland. Chopin is famous for the following:

 BALLADE- a verse form or narrative that is set to music

 ETUDE –a piece composed for the development of a specific technique.
 MAZURKA - a Polish dance in triple time signature
 NOCTURNE - an instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, for the piano
 POLONAISE – a slow Polish dance in triple time that consists of a march or procession
 PRELUDE - a short piece of music that can be used as a preface, and introduction to another
work or may stand on its own.
 WALTZ – a German dance in triple meter
 IMPROMPTU–a short free-form musical composition usually for a solo instrument, like the piano
 SCHERZO - a musical movement of playful character, typically in ABA form
 SONATA - composition for one or more solo instruments usually consisting of three or four
independent movements varying in key, mood, and tempo
FRANZ LISZT

The best word that describes the works of Franz Liszt is “virtuosity”. He was known as the virtuoso
pianist, a composer and the busiest musician during the romantic era. He played and studied in Vienna
and Paris while performing in concerts in the rest of Europe. Liszt was born in the village Doborjan,
Hungary. He displayed remarkable talent at a young age and easily understood sight reading. His father
was his first teacher at age six. A turning point came when, in his early twenties, Liszt heard the virtuoso
violinist Niccolo Paganini perform so he decided to dedicate himself in becoming a virtuoso pianist.

He was known for his symphonic poems where he translated great literary works into musical
compositions. He also made piano transcriptions of operas and famous symphonies. Many of his piano
compositions are technically challenging pieces. He was also known with his generosity in sharing time
and money to the orphans, victim of disasters and the many students he taught music for free.

Some of Liszt’s Piano works:

 La Campanella
 Liebestraume No. 3
 Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsodies" were originally written for solo piano, but many were arranged
for orchestra or other combinations of instruments. The Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 is the most
popular and was the basis for the Tom& Jerry cartoon called the Cat Concerto
 Un Sospiro
 Sonata in B Minor
 Arrangements of the 9 Beethoven Symphonies
 Transcriptions of Lieder by Schubert

ROBERT SCHUMANN

One of the famous Romantic composers that beautifully combined music and words is Robert
Schumann. He was a composer and music critic. Robert Alexander Schumann was born in 1810 in
Zwickau. His father wanted him to study law and so in 1821, Schumann went to Leipzig to study law.
However, he spent most of his time with musical and literary circles thru the effort of Friedrich Wieck
who took some time to teach Schumann how to play the piano. It was also this time when he wrote
some of his first piano compositions. He eventually convinced his family that he should put aside law in
favor of a performing career. In 1830, Schumann went to live with Wieck in Leipzig. He soon developed a
problem with his hands, effectively ending his dreams as a pianist.

Piano Works

 "Abegg Variations," Opus 1(1830)

 "Davids bundlertanze" ("Dances of the Band of David"), Opus 6 (1837)
 "Carnaval," Opus 9 (1835) - a portrait of a masked ball attended by his allies and his beloved
Clara
 "Phantasiestucke," Opus 12 (1837) - a series of mood pieces
 Kreisleriana," Opus 16 (1838) - a fantasy on the mad Kapellmeister
 "Kinderszenen," Opus 15 (1838) - a poetic series of evocations of a child's world