Preview

The Most Famous Classical Musicians

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1406 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Most Famous Classical Musicians
Being famous is subjective to what the people want and what they people understand and/or know. I gathered eleven surveys and averaged out their numbers to get the most famous composers. They are in order from 1st to 5th.

As the first-most famous composer, Johann Sebastian Bach was consistently first place in online surveys.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer who lived from 1685-1750, part of the Baroque Period. Bach wrote hundreds of pieces for organ, choir, as well as many other instruments. He spent most of his life as a church organist and a choir director. Even Bach, one of the famous '3 B's' was inspired by other musicians. His music combines profound expression with clever musical-mathematical feats, like fugues and cannons in which the same melody is played against it self in various ways. Famous for their intellectual depth, Bach�s pieces and compositions have inspired many musicians such as Mozart. Mozart, one of the most famous musicians ever, was greatly inspired by Bach. He even once said 'Now, here is something one can learn from!'. Bach is often compared to the 'original' classical artist is terms of adequacy. Beethoven was also inspired by Bach, referring to him as the 'Urvater der Harmonie' ('original father of harmony') and 'nicht Bach, sondern Meer' ('not a stream but a sea', punning on the literal meaning of the composer's name). Bach also inspired Chopin, a not so famous, but prominent figure. Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music. At the end of his lifetime, his music was considered old-fashioned compared to the emerging new classical style. His reputation weakened as a composer, but people today still hear his melodies as inspirational works of art and as theme songs. Three pieces of Bach's work were included onboard the Voyager spacecrafts in the form of golden records that were meant to "represent our hope and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Mus 100 Study Guide

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages

    - Haydn: Wrote pleasant, good-natured music throughout his long life. Wrote masses, oratorios, and other religious compositions for church and for concert performance.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two people I decided to write about are Diego Velazquez, and Johann Sebastian Bach, who are both apart of the Baroque period.Diego Velazquez was a painter in the court for the king of spain who published what is called the “world’s greatest painting”. Johann Sebastian Bach played the harpsichord, and today is considered “one of the great western composers of all time”.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 –1791) was one of the most popular Classical Composers of the 18th century. He was born in Salzburg, Austria under the influence of a musical family. A genious from a young age Mozart excelled in his compositions. Alleluiah was written in 1713 at the age of 17. The piece is part of the famous Exsultate Jubilate motet. At the time, Mozart did not have in mind the voice of a soprano for the beautiful melody but rather the one of a castrato, a specific one, Venanzio Rauzzini; a famous Italian castrato of the time with a very agile and crystal clear voice. “Allelujah” is the culminating piece of a three movement vocal concerto that was originally scored for soprano solo, oboes, horns, organ and strings; it is preceded…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After some researching. the one composer that caught my ear and attention was Cecile Louise Stephanie Chaminade, most commonly known as Cecile Chaminade. She was a French composer and pianist. From the years of her birth in 1857 to her death in Monte Carlo in 1944, she composed over a hundred pieces that gave her a wide range of admirers. What really caught my attention about Chaminade was the fact that her father disapproved of her musical education. With the strong passion she had, she continued forward in her musical career. At eight years old, she played her music to Georges Bizet who was extremely impressed. Chaminade continued the success and gave her first concert at eighteen. From then on, constant music from Chaminade was being published and gaining popularity.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the early years of his life, he wrote poetry and musical compositions without any formal instruction, and his first musical composition was published at the age of seven. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he began to receive great theory, melody, and harmony instruction. He would later move to Vienna, Austria, and performed many of his works at the Karntner Theater in 1829. Romanticism was predominantly a German aesthetic which spanned from 1800-1850, with characteristics that include; dynamics, big orchestras, more emotional, and technical virtuosity. The Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60 written by Chopin gained its popularity due to the 12/8 time instead of 6/8time. The left-hand plays the ostinato accompaniment with the melody in the A-major key, building up to the F-sharp major opening theme. Johann Sebastian Back was born in Germany in 1685 primarily a Baroque era composer, with many of his pieces and performances were written for harpsichord and organ. Many of his pieces were written for the church, coming from a long line of family musicians. The piece performed at the concert that was written by Bach was Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052 which is only one of seven that were originally written for harpsichord and later reworked for piano. In this song, his form mimics Vivaldi’s form of Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation, that he employed in many of his concertos. I think the best part about the performance of the seven that he wrote, is that they were written for young professional and student players to perform, at a local Collegium…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This journal is all about one of the most famous and successful German composer of the Baroque period. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach Germany in 1685 he had seven siblings which made him the youngest out of all his brothers and sisters. His father Johann Ambrosius Bach was the director of the town musicians and his uncles were professional musicians. Bach was surrounded by music and musicians his whole child hood, this influenced him to have a love for music. When both of his parents died in 1694 he went to live with his older brother Johann Christopher Bach who was the organist at St. Michael`s church. This is when the young Bach studied copied, and performed music. His brother taught him how to play the clavichord and introduced him to the works of many great composers of the time. By early 1700 Bach was enrolled in St. Michael`s school in Luneburg where he sang in the choir as well as played the organ and harpsicord. In 1706 Bach started his work as the organist at the Blasius church in Muhlhausen, but by t 1708 he left to go to Weimar this is where he started his period of sustained composing.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A composer, organist, and musician during the Baroque era, J.S. Bach was a brilliant artist of his era. Known today for his polyphony style, masterpieces of church, and instrumental music, the works of the German composer are said to be the greatest of all time. Although he was known as an excellent organist than a composer during his life, his musical compositions would have stand the test of time and continue to demonstrate his innovative style of melody and harmony. Of the many 17th century composers, Johann Sebastian Bach notably paved the way towards the Classical music period; which would maintain a hold on composition for years to come.…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Johann Sebastian Bach in my opinion was one of the best composers in the Baroque era. Sebastian had many complex songs. He was considered a master of polyphonic music. He knew how to blend the different voices together and how to make them both distinct.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During his lifetime, Johann Sebastian Bach was famous as a virtuoso organist rather than as a composer. His works conveyed a sense of beauty and creativity that few can rival. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Johan Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany on March 31, 1685. Bach had prestigious musical lineage and took multiple organist positions during the eighteenth century, creating famous pieces such as “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” also, and “Mass in B Minor,” The “Brandenburg Concertos and “The Well-Tempered Clavier” Bach came from a family of musician. Bach’s father worked as the town musician in Eisenach. Where he taught Bach how to play the violin. At age seven, Bach went to school where he received religious studies and Latin studies and others courses. His faith would improve his later musical works. At the age of ten, Bach discovered to be an orphan after the death of both of his parents. His older brother Christoph provides some further musical instruction to Bach to enroll him in a local school.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The man wrote gorgeous pieces and was recognized as one of the top musicians of the…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages

    to study with his brother, Johann Christoph. In the early 1700's Bach began working as a…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    his father 's consent to study music. Success in music as a child led him…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Beethoven Biography

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ludwig van Beethoven is perhaps the most famous and influential of all the pianist composers of his time. He was considered instrumental in the transition of between the classical and romantic eras in Western Art Music.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Classical Music Era

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the most famous composers was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756, Mozart was a born prodigy. He mastered the keyboard at 5 and was a self taught violin play wrote hundreds of symphonies and many…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays