Composers and Musical Periods

This musical period had an emphasis on subjective and emotional possibilities in music, and includes genres such as character pieces and tone poems.

• Baroque
• Modern

• Romantic

• Classical

This musical period had an emphasis on clear-cut musical structures and genres such as string quartets and symphonies. An important characteristic of this musical period includes the sonata-allegro form.

• Impressionist period
• Romantic period
• Baroque period
• Classical period

This musical period had an emphasis on musical colors and manipulation of melodic fragments. Claude Debussy is credited as the founder of this period.

• Romanticism
• Baroque
• Classical
• Impressionism

This musical period used the figured bass, terraced dynamics and had genres such as the cantata and fugue.

• Romantic
• Classical
• Renaissance
• Baroque

Which musical period's defining feature is polyphony which has two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody. It also introduced madrigals and motets.

• Classical
• Baroque
• Romantic
• Renaissance

Born in Germany in 1685, this composer is from the Baroque era. His most famous works include The Brandenburg Concerto and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. His death in 1750 marked the end of the Baroque era.

• Johann Pachelbel
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frideric Handel

Born in 1685 in Halle, Germany, this composer was one of the most famous of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in England. He is most famous for his English oratorio The Messiah and his composition Water Music.

• George Frideric Handel
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Johann Sebastian Bach

Born in 1678 in Venice, Italy this composer worked in the Baroque era. He wrote 94 operas and hundreds of concertos but is best known for his 4 violin concertos known as The Four Seasons (Winter, Summer, Spring and Autumn)

• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frideric Handel
• Claudio Monteverdi
• Antonio Vivaldi

Born in 1770 in Germany, this composer was active in the Classical period. He spent much of his life in Vienna where he grew to become famous despite his gradual deafness. His most famous works include his 9 symphonies (especially #5 and #9) and his piano solo Fur Elise. He also made one opera Fidelio.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Franz Joseph Haydn

• Johann Sebastian Bach

Born in 1732 in Austria, this composer was active in the Classical era. He was friends with Mozart and a mentor to Beethoven. He is considered the originator of the string quartet. He had over 100 symphonies and is best known for The Surprise Symphony and The Clock Symphony.

• Joseph Haydn
• Antonio Vivaldi

• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frideric Handel