Interesting Facts about Composers

Here are some interesting facts about some of the composers of the last few centuries. Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) was a native of Poland. He wrote the piece "Mazurka,"which comes from the word mazurek meaning dance, in memory of his homeland. The Italian tempo of the piece tells us to play the music as if singing, flowing and lyrical.

Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) who generally wrote pieces that were very boisterous and thundering, did manage to write a piece that was very tender, lyrical and interactive in the way that it sings its lovely melody. And that piece was entitled, "Emperor Concerto."

Wofgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote six piano concertos in his very short lifetime. He wrote over 600 compositions before he died tragically, including chamber music, countless concertos for every major instrument in his orchestra, and at least forty-one symphonies. All of Mozart's important works, including seven major operas, still are performed today througout the world!

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) lived much longer than most of his contemporary composers. He wrote 104 symphonies, 85 string quartets, 31 trios, and 52 keyboard sonatas, including "Rondo," which was the finale of his thirty-fifth such piano sonata.