Exploring Music

Joseph Haydn was born March 31, 1736, and he was a very famous composer while he was alive. Haydn studied voice as a child, and he had a reputation for being silly and playing pranks (which got him into a lot of trouble). Haydn eventually went to work for a very rich family, and Haydn himself did well by publishing music as well as writing music.

Haydn wrote over 100 symphonies in his life, and he helped popularize the form so much that many call him "The Father of the Symphony." He died on May 31, 180.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born January 27, 1756. He wrote his first song when he was only five years old, was playing violin and piano when he was six, and wrote an opera when he was twelve! He was very famous when he was a child, but, as he grew up, his popularity dropped since he was no longer a cute child.

Mozart was a musical genius who wrote a great deal of music during his life. He wrote over 50 symphonies, over 40 concertos, 20 piano solos, over 20 operas -- and that's just a few of his works! He did all of this in just a few short years because he dies on December 5, 1791 at only 35 years old.

Handel was born February 23, 1685 in Germany. He studied music in Italy, though, and spent most of his life in England. His father wanted him to be a lawyer, but Handel learned to play the organ and harpsichord. He wrote orchestral music and choral music, including operas and oratorios. Handel is perhaps best known for Music for the Royal Fireworks, Water Music, and Messiah.

Handel never married, and he kept his personal life very private. He died on April 14, 1759, and more than three thousand people attended his funeral.

Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. He comes from a family of musicians, and there are at least twelve other composers and musicians all related to J. S. Bach spanning close to 300 years of history!

Bach is considered one of the great geniuses of music history, and a many of the rules and styles we follow in music today come from his music. During his lifetime, he worked for a duke, a prince, and finally for St. Thomas Church. He also liked to perform at coffee houses with a group of friends. He died on July 28, 1750.

Pachelbel was born in late August 1653, and he may be the oldest composer we're going to learn about this year! Not much is known about Pachelbel's early life outside the fact that he was trained in music and organ-playing as a child. He grew up in Nuremburg, Germany but would later move to Vienna.

Pachelbel's work was very poular during his life, and he had many fans and students. His most popular work is his Canon in D, and he also wrote music for organ, harpsichord, strings, and voice. Pachelbel died in March of 1706.