Johann Sebastian Bach:

Baroque Composer

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685-July 28, 1750) was a German Baroque composer. He was one of
the greatest composers of all time, but during his lifetime, he was little-known and was mostly
recognized for performing on the organ. Bach composed in many established musical forms, including,
for example, the cantata and fugue, and developed them into complex and sublime pieces. He
composed over 1,100 works in almost every musical genre (except opera).

Bach was born and died in Germany, and spent his entire life there, working as an organist, teacher, and
composer. He had over 20 children, including four who became famous musicians in their own right,
including Carl Philipp Emanuel, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian.

Bach's Early Life:

Bach was the youngest of eight children. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, had been a town musician,
and probably gave Bach his early music lessons. His mother, Maria Elisabetha, and his father died within
a year of each other (in 1694 and 1695, respectively). Orphaned at age 10, Bach moved in with his an
older brother, Johann Christoph, who was the organist at St. Michael's Church, Ohrdruf. This brother
probably taught Bach much about the organ.

Bach's Early Career:

Bach's early career involved playing the violin and organ at a low-level position in the ruling court in
Weimar and in Neukirche, Arnstadt, beginning in 1703.

Bach's First Marriage:

In October 1707, Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach; together they would eventually have
seven children (including Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach).

Life in Saxe-Weimar:
In 1708, Bach was appointed organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. During the
next nine years Bach composed many of his finest organ compositions, and became known as a fine
organist.

During this period, Bach's major works included Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (1705), Cantata No. 208
(1713), and The Little Organ Book (1714).

Kapellmeister at Anhalt-Cothen:
In 1717, Bach became Kapellmeister (the chapel master, who directed and/or composed music for a
church or chapel) in the court of the music-lover Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen.

During this period, Bach's major works included the Brandenburg Concertos (1721), The Well-Tempered
Clavier (first book, 1722). In 1721, the Prince married a woman who did not share the Prince's interest in
music, and the Prince's support of Bach lessened. Bach would soon leave.

Bach's Second Marriage:

Bach's wife Maria had died in 1720. In 1721, he married Anna Magdalena Wilcke (the daughter of the
town trumpeter); they would have 13 children together (including Johann Christian Bach). Altogether,
Bach had 20 children with his two wives, but 10 of his children died in infancy. Four went on to become
well-known composers and musicians.

Life in Leipzig:
Bach left Anhalt-Cothen in 1723 for Leipzig. He became Kantor (teacher and director of music) of St.
Thomas's in Leipzig. Bach remained in Leipzig for the rest of his life.

During this period, Bach's major works included St. John Passion (1723), St. Matthew Passion (1727),
Suite No. 3 in D (1729), Magnificat in D Major (1731), Christmas Oratorio (1734), Italian Concerto (1735),
Goldberg Variations (1741-1742, originally called "Aria With Diverse Variations," but later nicknamed
after Bach's student Johann Gottlieb Goldberg), The Well-Tempered Clavier (second book, 1742), the
Musical Offering (1747), and The Art of the Fugue (unfinished, 1749).

Bach's Death:
By 1740, Bach's eyesight was failing. Two eye operations resulted in Bach's complete blindness; these
operations also damaged his health and may have hastened his death. He died of a stroke on July 28,
1750. Bach is buried at St. John's cemetery, Leipzig. Bach's widow Anna lived for another ten years,
dying in poverty in 1760. Bach's death in 1750 marked the end of the Baroque period in music.

The Re-Discovery of Bach's Works - Bach's Back:

Bach's works were soon forgotten (but then again, they were hardly known during his lifetime - many of
his works were not published until a century after his death). In March, 1829 (almost 100 years after
Bach's death), the composer Felix Mendelssohn performed Bach's St. Matthew Passion, spurring a
world-wide interest in Bach. Soon, Bach's works were appreciated by the world - essentially for the first
time.
 Antonio Vivaldi (Composer)
Historical records suggest that the first violin was made in Italy way back in the 16th century. Since then
the tradition of making this musical instrument has been carried on by various Italians. Other then
the violins, the nation is also famous for some of the most renowned musicians in the world. One such
Italian violinist who made it big in the world of music was Antonio Vivaldi. This great composer is best
known for The Four Seasons, a four series musical concerti. A look at the Antonio Vivaldi biography gives
a rough picture of the majestic life of this great Italian composer. It doesn't come as a surprise that Vivaldi
is considered to be one of the legends of the Baroque era.

Antonio Vivaldi Biography

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in the beautiful city of Venice, in Italy, on March 4, 1678. His father
Giovanni Battista Vivaldi was a violinist working with the church of St. Mark's in Venice. Antonia Vivaldi
was subjected to both religious as well as musical lessons in his childhood.

Beginning of the Journey

In March 1703, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest at the age of 25. That, however, did not coincide with his
love for music, which continued to be his prime devotion. Later the same year, he was appointed as a
music teacher in Ospitale della Pieta, a convent in Venice. Owing to his sheer dedication for music, he
was appointed as the conductor of the orchestra at Pieta. This proved to be a major boost for Vivaldi as
well as Ospitale della Pieta, which earned reputation at the international level as a result of a brilliant
performance given by the orchestra.

First Opera and Claim to Fame

Vivaldio continued with Ospitale della Pieta till 1940, with a brief break between 1709 and 1711, wherein
he worked with an opera theater - Teatro Sant' Angelo. Meanwhile, he orchestrated several musical
programs in various parts of the world. He staged his first opera, Ottone in villa, in Vicenza, in 1713. In
1716, he was successful in coming up with Ospitale della Pieta's first oratorio, - Juditha Triumphans
devicta Holofernis barbaric.

Maestro di Concerti
In 1717, Vivaldi moved to the city of Mantua, where he was appointed the Chamber Capellmeister at the
court of Landgrave Philips van Hessen-Darmstadt. He returned to Venice in 1720, and started working on
his own operas in association with Teatro Sant' Angelo. Though Vivaldi worked with various institutions,
he was associated with Ospitale della Pieta throughout his life. The institute nominated him as
the Maestro di concerti. Though his presence in the institute was not a compulsion anymore. He was only
expected to send two concertos to Venice every month.

Last Years of the Legend

A large part of his life was spent traveling in various parts of Europe. He made a mark as an opera
composer with performances in some of the major cities in Italy, including Rome, Florence, Verona and
Vicenza. One of the lesser known Antonio Vivaldi facts was his romance with singer Anna Giraud, who
lived with him throughout his life. After spending several years in different cities, Vivaldi finally decided to
return to Venice. He resigned from Ospitale della Pieta in 1940. Vivaldi's wish to spend some time in
Venice was cut short by his death on July 28, 1741.

Vivaldi had more than 700 musical works to his credit, which included operas, sonatas and concertos.
Though Vivaldi used numerous musical instruments, including the flute, trumpet and mandolin, violin
seemed to have a special place in almost all the Antonio Vivaldi compositions. An account of the
magnificence of this great music composer, Antonio Vivaldi biography does demonstrate playful
exuberance, something which Vivaldi himself demonstrated in his musical masterpieces. Though Antonio
Vivaldi music may have lost its importance as far as the present generation, it did rule the heart and soul
of the people of the baroque era. Ask those people who follow the history of baroque, and they will be full of
praises for this legendary violinist hailing from Venice.

BEETHOVEN

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in a small town ‘Bonn’ of Germany on 16 December 1770 in a family of
professional musicians. His father Johann and grandfather Ludwig were musicians and they had decided
to train him in music right from his childhood, so his father took on the job to teach him the basic
lessons of music. Ludwig learned violin and some other instruments from his father. His father wanted
Ludwig to be perfect in music, and in that endeavor he thrashed littel Ludwig whenever he made any
mistake during practice (According to one story, because of the punishments given by his father Ludwig
suffered from hearing problems in future, which ruined his life). Besides the fact that his father and
grandfather had a wish that little Ludwig should become a great musician, he himself had a great
interest in music. Whatever treatment Ludwig received from his father, he never let fade his love and
interest in music. 

Further, Beethoven was sent to learn music from C. G. Neefe. Beethoven learned every possible and
minute detail of music from Neefe and also became his assistant when was 11 years of age. He learned
piano, violin and organ from Neefe. Beethoven and Mozart share many situations in their lives which are
perfectly similar in many aspects, both of them were born in a family where music was the most
important and indivisible part of life, both received training in music right from their childhood, they
both had genuine interest in music and like Mozart, Beethoven also had started performing in public
events, shows etc. when he was just six years of age. When Beethoven was twelve years old, his first
music work was published. Ludwig dropped out of his school when he was thirteen year old in order to
concentrate on his practice and to perform in musical tours. 

Beethoven then continued assisting Neefe till he was seventeen years old. In 1787, he went to Vienna in
search of good opportunities and to demonstrate his talent in music. But he had to return to his house
in Bonn when he learned about his mother's illness. Finally, near 1792 he took off for Vienna in search of
a good work in the field of music. 

In Vienna, Beethoven tried to learn new things and learned composition and counterpoint from well-
known personalities from the world of music such as Haydn, Albrecht Berger, Salieri and Schenk. He
even published some of his compositions. Beethoven was a wise person and had a good foresight; he
had understood that in his run to achieve a good position, all that he needed was good relations with
people who had power in their hands. Beethoven established his relations with high profile people in
Vienna, which ensured him continual income for his lifetime. His relations helped him on such level that
even that time (1809) Prince of Vienna, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz assured him a yearly income
if he agreed to stay in Vienna for rest of his life. 
During the period 1800 to 1813, Beethoven learned high classical style and even adopted it in his
creations and performances he gave. With the new style that he had learned, he wrote some new
symphonies, some new concerts, quartets etc. Beethoven gained popularity very fast during the middle
period of his life. It was a time when Beethoven wanted to concentrate on his work and continue with
new compositions, but at the same time he suffered from hearing problem, which worsened gradually.

The problem with hearing that he suffered was reflected in the compositions he created and even his
social life was getting affected because of it. It became very hard for Beethoven to attend any public
event as his hearing problem created lot of tension for him and at times the situation led in broken
relationships with others. The other problem Beethoven faced in his life was his relations with women. It
was always a tension filled situation for him to face a woman; probably because he hesitated to express
himself or may be because no woman could ever understand him. This resulted in the fact that he could
never fulfill his dream of getting married to a beautiful woman, as the woman he loved was either from
a high profile family who loved someone else or he loved a married woman. 

At the time when everything had almost finished for Beethoven, he came up with a determination that
helped him mark his re-entry in the world of music. He wrote many symphonies (Erotica Symphony No.
3 which he dedicated to Napoleon, symphony no. 5, 6, 7 and 8), piano and violin concerts, various tones,
compositions for orchestras, few operas, number very famous sonatas, three and six string quartets etc.
Beethoven's musical work during this period is the most ultimate and a state of art performance he ever
gave. Beethoven had proved himself to be the greatest musician of his time. He was successful in
gaining popularity as a public figure and was respected for his work in the field of music. 

After few years, Beethoven was in situation where he became almost deaf and could hear nothing. It
was a dead end for the musical genius and it became nearly impossible for him to perform. Beethoven
stopped creating new composition and was very much frustrated (He even wrote letters to his brothers
telling them how he felt like it was an end of his life and what he wished to do). During this period when
Beethoven had almost stopped working on music creation, his earlier compositions, and symphonies
ensured funds for him. But it could hardly suffice for longer period and he suffered economical
problems. 

His health went on deteriorating and he had not enough funds left to take care of himself. Finally, on 26
March 1827, the great musical genius left this world forever.

MOZZART

One of the most widely appreciated prominent musical maestro ever happened to live in the history,
musical genius Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 in Salzburg, Austria to Leopold Mozart, a business-
minded composer, violinist and an assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court and Anna Maria Pertl.
He was named Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Gottlieb Mozart in honor of his grandfather
(maternal) and a Saint Johannes Chrysostomus with whom he shared his birth date. 

Being born and brought up in a family where music was in air, in life and in dreams of everyone, Mozart
was naturally attracted towards music. From his childhood, Wolffanfus learned and developed immense
interest in music. When he was just 5 years old, Mozart started composing small and beautiful melodious
numbers. Looking at his children's musical talent, Mozart's father decided to use this opportunity to
showcase the talent of his children (Wolfgangus and elder daughter Maria Anna "Nannerl") in front of the
world. At the age of six (in mid 1763), Mozart and his elder sister performed in many concerts in
European Courts (In Paris and London); they also gave performances at major cities where they met
many music lovers. They also performed in front of the Bavarian elector, royal families and the Austrian
empress. Wolfgangus and his sister played piano and violin and were more than successful to tie their
audiences to the chairs. 

Soon, Wolfgangus wrote and published his first composition and when he was nine years old he started
writing symphonies. Demand for his music show started increasing so much that only nine months after
coming back from his tour in 1766, the Mozart family again set for yet another tour of Vienna. However,
due to some problems Mozart could not perform in an opera in Vienna. 

After coming from the tour of Vienna, Wolfgangus tried to concentrate on improving and learning new
skills in music, for this reason he did not plan any tour till 1770. In next three years from 1770 to 1773,
Mozart toured Italy three times and gave many outstanding performances. While on tour of Italy, Mozart
even wrote two of his famous operas 'Mitridate' and 'Lucio Silla'. Mozart showcased his talent and
astonished his audience when he adopted Italian style in his music. Mozart further started his journey of
music composition, he wrote set of string quartet and also some symphonies. When Mozart was at
Salzburg during the period from 1774 to 1777, he worked as Konzertmeister (Concert Master) at the
Prince Archbishop's Court where he performed in some Piano and Violin concerts (about half a dozen
piano sonatas), masses, symphonies etc. During the same period, he visited Munich once in 1775 for a
premier of his Opera La Finta giardiniera. 

Wolfgangus was very ambitious and wanted to attain a very high position in the world of music, he knew
that staying in Salzburg it was never possible to achieve what he wanted; in 1777 Mozart left Salzburg
with his mother and set for Munich and Mannheim. There he tried his best to find a good post for himself
but was never offered one, he then moved to Paris in search of the same. In Paris, Anna Maria
(Wolfgangus's mother) died and Wolfgangus became very lonely, here also Wolfgangus could not get any
suitable post for himself. After Wolfgangus's all the unsuccessful trials, Leopold called him back to
Salzburg, where he managed to arrange a high level post for his son. For next two years, Wolfgangus,
worked at Court and played concerts at Courts and Cathedrals. He actively participated in concerts,
serenades and also composed music for dramas. He also continued composing and creating
symphonies. In 1780 he received the most awaited opportunity to perform in an opera at Munich. 

Along with many concerts, operas and music composition for dramas, Mozart also wrote beautiful music
compositions, which have become masterpiece of his artwork. Mozart was sent to the court at Vienna
where he was not allowed to work for the post he wanted the most, he finally gave up trying to perform at
the court in Vienna and got out of the job around 1781. After that period, Mozart received many golden
opportunities to make fortune when he created music while he was not at any post. Soon, Mozart started
going in public, he played music in public functions, published his work and also started teaching music.
Further in 1787, Mozart was offered a minor court post as Kammermusicus, where he wrote dance music
for court balls. In year 1782, Mozart married Constanze Weber (younger sister of Aloysia Weber, Mozart’s
former lover). 

Mozart gained a reasonable popularity by publishing some beautiful sonatas (for violin and piano), music
compositions, and by performing in concerts and Operas like 'Die Entfuhrun aus dem Serail' (in 1782,
which was one of his most successful operas with many songs in it. NOTE: Mozart wrote serious as well
as comic operas (he wrote three comic operas in his life)), he also wrote some quartets, which he had
dedicated to his Haydn who appreciated Mozart for his knowledge of music and composition talent.
Mozart also gained popularity by managing concerts on his own, without any assistance he not only
composed music for the concert but he also managed the orchestra. Mozart earned enough to live a
comfortable life, but because of his improper management of money and expenses, he was never able to
save money for future and always had to borrow from others when was in need of money. 

Mozart spent rest of his life in Vienna; during this period he also visited various places such as Salzburg,
Berlin etc. to perform in operas, dramas and concerts. Mozart died on 5 December 1791 in Vienna.
(There are different stories regarding the death of musical genius, according to one story he died of the
feverish illness (Rheumatic Fever) and according to another he died of poisoning). 

Mozart composed hundreds of beautiful and unique music works which include over 20 operas, about 14-
15 Masses, 30-40 concerts (piano and violin), 50-60 symphonies, and 20 sonatas etc. Even after his
death, Mozart remained and will remain one of the most favorite musicians for millions of his fans.