Composer Research Project!

For this project, you are going to research a composer from any of the classical music eras we
previously discussed. A list of composers has been provided on the back of this page.!

You will present a PowerPoint presentation to the class about your composer.!
Your project must include: !

!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The name of the composer!

The era in which he lived!
The composers birth/death years!
5 of his famous compositions!
5 interesting facts about the composer!
The types of ensembles for which he wrote!
Choose a piece by the composer that you really enjoy. Write about why you enjoy that
piece.!

Steps To Complete Your Project!

1. Start by selecting any of the eras we talked about in which you really enjoyed the music.!
2. Once youve selected the era, look up the wikipedia page for that era, and youll find a list
of composers to choose from.!
3. Spend time on YouTube or GrooveShark listening to different compositions by different
composers. Even within the same era, different composers had different writing styles, so
choose a composer that you enjoy.!
4. Next, research and listen to 5 of his famous compositions. Try and figure out which types
of ensembles the compositions were written for.!
5. Next, research 5 interesting facts about the composer. Where was he born? Who were his
influences? There are many other sources besides wikipedia, dont limit your research to
one website!!
6. Last, choose a piece by the composer that you really enjoy. Write about why you enjoy
that song. You must cite musical examples to support your reasoning.!

You may choose from the following composers:!

!
Baroque!
1600-1750

Classical!
1750-1820

Romantic!
1820-1910

20th Century!
1910-Present

Bach, Johann Sebastian!

Handel, George Frideric!
Lully, Jean-Baptiste!
Monteverdi, Claudio!
Vivaldi, Antonio Bach,
Johann Sebastian!
Handel, George Frideric!
Lully, Jean-Baptiste!
Monteverdi, Claudio!
Vivaldi, Antonio

Beethoven, Ludwig van!

Haydn, Joseph!
Schubert, Franz!
Mozart, Wolfgang
Amadeus!
Clementi, Muzio!

Berlioz, Hector!
Bizet, Georges!
Brahms, Johannes!
Dvorak, Anton!
Grieg, Edvard!
Holst, Gustav!
Liszt, Franz!
Mahler, Gustav!
Mussorgsky, Modest!
Rachmaninoff, Sergei!
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai!
Rossini, Gioacchino!
Saint-Saens, Camille!
Schumann, Clara!
Schumann, Robert!
Strauss, Richard!
Strauss Jr., Johann!
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich!
Verdi, Giuseppe!
Wagner, Richard

Adams, John!
Bartok, Bela!
Bernstein, Leonard!
Britten, Benjamin!
Copland, Aaron!
Debussy, Claude!
DeFalla, Manuel!
Gershwin, George!
Glass, Phillip!
Hindemith, Paul!
Joplin, Scott!
Ives, Charles!
Khachaturian, Aram!
Kodaly, Zoltan!
Offenbach, Jacques!
Prokofiev, Sergei!
Respighi, Ottorino!
Reich, Steve!
Schuman, William!
Shostakovich, Dmitri!
Still, William Grant!
Stravinsky, Igor!
Tower, Joan!
Villa-Lobos, Hector!
Williams, John

!
PowerPoint!
!

!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

!
!
/ !
5 !
5 !
!
!

!
1. !
2. !
3. YouTube.comGrooveShark.com
!
4. 5 !
5. 5
!
6.

!
1600-1750

!
1750-1820

!
1820-1910

!
1910-

!
!
- !
!

!
!
- !
!

!
!
!

!
Muzio

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
DeFalla !
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Ottorino !
!
!
!
!
!
!
- !