Classical Composers Through History Quiz

Answer: Baroque (c. 1580 - c. 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is considered among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, and is almost a synonymous with the Baroque period, at the point that, coincidentally, the same year of his death is widely considered as the end of the Baroque itself.

Born into a musical family, he composed numerous pieces for strings and keyboard, including many concertos, suites, chamber music, and also vocal pieces such as oratorios, motets, cantatas, and church masses.

His music highlighted the characteristics of the Baroque period, with most of them making extensive use of the canon and fugue forms (as in one of his most famous pieces, "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor", BWV 565). He also mastered the use of counterpoint in his compositions, as well as having a strong harmonic sense.

Answer: Baroque (c. 1580 - c. 1750)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was another prominent name in Baroque music. As did many of his peers, he composed a wide variety of works, but focused strongly on the concerto, being instrumental (no pun intended) in its consolidation. Most of his concertos were written for violin (in which he also excelled as a player, developing techniques and styles that were innovative at the time), but he also composed for other instruments.

Vivaldi also wrote more than fifty operas, and a wide catalogue of sacred choral music, due to his tenure as a music teacher in the Ospedale Della Pieta, an orphanage in Venice.

His most well-known composition is the series of violin concertos that have been popularized as "The Four Seasons". Accompanied by a series of sonnets describing the scenes, it is a major example of programmatic music, since the instruments, at various points of the performance, resemble various non-musical elements, such as a thunderstorm, dogs barking, freezing weather, and birds singing in the background.

Answer: Baroque (c. 1580 - c. 1750)

Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) is considered, along with Bach, the maximum exponent of the Baroque, particularly of the "high baroque" style. He spent his first years as a composer in Hamburg and in Italy, drawing much influence from both the choral works of Middle Germany and the Italian Opera, which he eventually developed greatly in his early work.

In 1712 he settled in London and developed his more celebrated compositions, mostly under the patronage of the English Royalty. He switched from composing operas to developing the new genres of organ concerto and English oratorio. His best known works stem from this stage of his life: the oratorio "Messiah" (HWV 56), particularly the "Hallelujah" ; and the suites "Water Music" (HWV 348-349-350) and "Music for the Royal Fireworks" (HWV 351).

Another of his noteworthy compositions, is one of the four Coronation Anthems commissioned in 1727 for the Coronation of George II. "Zadok the Priest" has been performed at every British coronation ceremony up to this day, since the time of its composition, and even became recognised as a British patriotic anthem.

Answer: Baroque (c. 1580 - c. 1750)

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was a German composer who was active during the middle Baroque. His works were not as technically demanding as other composers of the era, as he focused more on melody and harmonic structure.

While he was very popular during his active years, in present times he is mainly known for his Canon in D (P 37), which has experienced a strong revival during the 20th century, with some varied musical acts making adaptations of it in different styles.

The piece showcases the main components of baroque music: as its name implies, it is performed as a canon, meaning that one of the voices plays a melody, which is imitated by the other voices in succession; and it features a "basso continuo" (a bass line that provides the background chord progression continuously) which is played in "ostinato" ("obstinate", as it repeats the sequence over and over, without variation).

Answer: Classical (c. 1750 - c. 1820)

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) made remarkable innovations in his musical forms, that led to an important development of chamber music, expanding it to styles such as the piano trio, the string quartet and the symphony (he was called the "father" of the latter two).

Most of his career was spent as a court musician for the Esterházy family, residing almost permanently in their castle. That kept him isolated not only from the rest of the composers of the time, but also from the musical trends. He remarked that this forced him to become original, thus introducing new elements that were considered a blueprint for composers of the Classical Era.

A close friend of Mozart, and a mentor to Beethoven in his early years, Haydn was an acclaimed composer throughout Europe. His style was light-spirited and even humorous, which is especially showcased in his "Surprise" Symphony (Symphony N° 94 in G Major, H. 1/94).

Answer: Classical (c. 1750 - c. 1820)

When discussing Classical Music, one of the names that comes up more often is that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), as his work is among the most famous in the genre.

A true prodigy, he began composing at the stunning early age of five, and wrote over 800 pieces of various styles throughout his short lifetime, all of them considered of great musical beauty.

His work includes symphonies, operas, concertos, choral pieces, masses, sonatas and chamber music, and is notable for employing a wide array of techniques and harmonic resources. "The Marriage of Figaro" (K. 492), the Serenade No. 13 for strings in G Major (K. 525, most famous as "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"), and the Symphony No. 40 in G Minor (K. 550) are only a few of his masterpieces.

Answer: Classical (c. 1750 - c. 1820)

Together with Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is a name that is widely referred to when discussing Classical music. Many of his life details, particularly his progressive deafness, are facts that are known by most people.

Musically speaking, Beethoven is considered a composer that bridged the transition between the Classical and Romantic periods, with different sources classifying his career (traditionally subdivided in three phases) as part of either of the two periods. His compositions covered a broad range of themes, and included styles such as piano sonatas, string quartets, and even an opera ("Fidelio", Op. 72), but his most famous pieces are his nine symphonies, particularly the 3rd ("Eroica", Op. 55), the 5th (Op. 67), the 6th ("Pastoral", Op. 68) and the 9th ("Choral" Op. 125).

Answer: Classical (c. 1750 - c. 1820)

Cristoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787) might not be as famous a name as other composers of the era, but he has been an inspiration for many of the greats that would follow, like Mozart, Schubert, Wagner, among others.

His catalogue is relatively less famous than his peers', with most of it having being destroyed by a fire in 1809. His greater successes came with his operas, a genre that he largely enriched by introducing variations and innovations, such as more recitative orchestration, the shortening of the da capo aria, and the fusing of Italian and French operas to create a new style that was met with high praise at the time. "Iphigenie en Tauride" (1779) is considered his most exquisite work.

Answer: Romantic (c. 1820 - c. 1910)

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) was an influential composer of the Romantic period, who wrote almost exclusively for piano, and whose pieces were of such technical sophistication, that they expanded the known limits of the instrument at the time. Some of the ornamentation he introduced into his works was adapted from singing.

His compositions range from nocturnals, waltzes, sonatas and preludes, to more specific genres such as the instrumental ballade, the Polish mazurka, and the "individual" scherzo (as in, an individual piece and not part of a greater composition). His style of playing emphasized the leading characteristics of the Romantic era, with a strong emphasis on Nationalism in his music.

Answer: Romantic (c. 1820 - c. 1910)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was the first great Russian composer, as he was the first to successfully introduce musical elements from his native country into Western classical music.

Though subject to some criticism at the time of their composing, his works were, and still are, internationally renowned, and performed regularly in theaters. His most famous pieces include "The Swan Lake" (Op. 20) and "The Nutcracker" ballets (Op. 71), and "The Year 1812, Solemn Overture" (Op. 49; more popularly known as simply the "1812 Overture"); he also wrote concertos, fantasies and operas.

Answer: Romantic (c. 1820 - c. 1910)

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) is synonymous with operas. He did write some instrumental music for piano, orchestra, and chamber music, but he devoted his work mostly to vocal pieces, especially the aforementioned style. Some of his operas are considered masterpieces of the genre and are regularly performed all around the world, with "La Traviata", "Rigoletto", "Aida" and "Il Trovatore" enjoying the most popularity.

Although some of his songs and compositions became identified with the Italian "Risorgimento" movement, that sought the unification of the country, Verdi was known for keeping a very low profile and tried to not be associated with popular movements.

Answer: Romantic (c. 1820 - c. 1910)

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) is considered one of the last great Russian representatives of Romantic music. While he was actually more prolific as a performer and as a conductor, he did write a few symphonies and concertos.

His skills with piano were remarkable, and as such, most of his work is composed around that instrument. In his early career, poor reactions and reviews of his first symphony led him to an extended period of depression and writer's block. He eventually overcame his initial difficulties and went on to produce several successful pieces, and toured extensively around Europe.

In 1918, he relocated to the United States with his family, after the Russian Revolution broke out, became an American citizen and spent the remainder of his life giving performances all across the country, with brief returns to Europe, also on tour.

One of his most popular pieces of music is the 18th variation of the "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini" (Op. 43), which is a concertante written for piano and orchestra, consisting of a total of 24 variations over the final Caprice for violin by Niccolo Paganini.