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Georg Friederic Handel
Messiah is an oratorio that follows the birth, death, ressurection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. The link is the most memorable part of the Messiah, The Hallelujah Chorus. -
Johann Sebastian Bach
His children were also prolific and successful musicians, and are generally considered more talented than he was. He composed the Goldberg Variations. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prodigy writing his first work when he was still a child. Mozart's Requiem was one of his final works, yet he did not complete the piece.
Mozart's Requiem -
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven was not born deaf, rather, he began to lose his hearing in his late twenties. By the last decade or so of his life, he was all but completely deaf. However, he never let his disability hinder him, and he continued composing through it all. He composed Fur Elise. -
Giuseppe Verdi
One of his operas, 'La Traviata', means 'The Fallen Woman'. It was originally going to be titled 'Violetta', after the main character. He composed Macbeth. -
William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
These men subverted the stereotypical view of operas as long and boring by writing relatively short, hilarious, and satirical operettas. They wrote and composed Pirates of Penzance. -
Sergei Rachmaninoff
His work, 'Isle of the Dead' is a musical poem based on a painting of the same name. He composed The Angel. -
Igor Stravinsky
Stravinsky's ballet, The Rite of Spring, was so ill received at it's first performance in Paris in 1913, that there was a riot. -
Carl Orff
Despite being composed well after the 'Classical' time period of music, Carmina Burana is considered classical music, because of its style. -
William L. Dawson
'Mary Had a Baby' was a Christmas spiritual composed by Dawson and dedicated to fellow conductor and arranger, Robert Shaw. -
Franz Biebl
His most popular composition was an Ave Maria that was written specifically for the Cornell University Glee Club. -
John Cage
Cage was an avant-garde composer who challenged what music truly was by using non-traditional instruments and techniques.He composed 4'33''. -
Stephen Sondheim
Over his lengthy career, Sondheim has won the most Tony awards of any composer; eight. He composed Fiddler on the Roof. -
Sam Pottle
His piece, 'Jabberwocky', was composed using text from the nonsense poem of the same name by Lewis Carroll. He co-composed the Sesame Street theme song. -
David MacIntyre
MacIntyre has composed all kinds of music, including opera, choral, musical theatre, and orchestral. -
Mack Wilberg
Wilberg is a Mormon from Utah, and much of his music was composed for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He eventually became the choir's director. -
Moses Hogan
Hogan is well known for arranging African-American traditional spirituals for choirs. He composed Elijah Rock.
