Richard Wagner  May 22, 1813-Febraury 13, 1883  Famous for his operas  Ring Cycle – 18 Hour Opera  Ahead of its time – combine literature, music and visual settings; an extravagant production  Inspired film scoring some of which include Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings  Ride of the Valkyrie  Controversial composer – anti- semitic writings

Frederic Chopin  March 1, 1810-October 17, 1849  Child Prodigy - Published first composition at age 7, began performing at 8  By 22, he moved to Paris and was known as an exceptional piano teacher  Many famous pieces, most well know – Marche Funebre (“Funeral March”)

Antonin Dvorak  September 8, 1841-May 1, 1904  Parents encouraged his musical career  Started on violin and switched to organ  Prolific composers  Professor of composition in Prague  Most well known piece: Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”)

Hector Berlioz  December 11, 1803-March 8, 1869  Originally studied medicine  As a child, taught himself flute, guitar, and how to write music  Most well known piece: Symphonie Fantastique  Programatic Music  Saw an actress on stage, wrote the piece about her & married her a year later  the story of “an artist gifted with a lively imagination" who has "poisoned himself with opium" in the "depths of despair" because of "hopeless love." - paraphrased from Berlioz’s original notes  Five movements  Daydreams – Passions  A ball  Scene in the Country  March to the Scaffold  Dream of a Witches' Sabbath

Pytor Tchiachovsky  May 7, 1840-November 6, 1893  Began taking piano lessons at age 5First work publicly performed at age 15  Wrote his first symphony at age 18  Studied at St. Petersbug Conservatory as one of the first composition students  Forced to hide his homosexuality, married a young music student, marriage failed and attempted to commit suicide.  Most famous piece: The Nutcracker Ballet

Johannes Brahms  May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897  Master of symphony and sonata style  Did not like Lizst and Wagner – thought they were egotistical  Friends with Schumann; people thought he was trying to steal his wife  Most well know piece: Lullaby