Great
Classical Music
Composers

German Composers

Germany has provided us with a wealth of classical composers,including the 3 B's Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The 19th century in particular produced some other outstanding composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann and Wagner. On this site we try to give an overview of some of them with quick facts, samples of music and useful links for where to go for more information
BACH, Johann Sebastian
	21 March 1685 - 28 July 1750 Bach is now considered to be one of the greatest German baroque composers. During his lifetime however he was famed as an organist rather than as a composer. He came from a dynasty of 7 generations of musicians extending from the 16th to the 18th century. Apparently he had 76 male relatives who were musicians and 53 of them were called Johann! Get more info on our Bach page
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
	17 December 1770 - 26 March 1827 German 19th century classical composer and virtuoso pianist. Beethoven was one of the most influential composers of all time and one of the most popular. More on our Beethoven page
BRAHMS, Johannes
	7 May 1833 - 3 April 1897 One of the 'Three B's", Brahms is one of the giants of classical music. His output includes most genres except for opera and ballet. Called by some 'Last of the Classicists' he is classified in the Early Romantic period. More at our Brahms page
BRUCH, Max
	6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920 Max Bruch was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, one of which is a staple of the violin repertoire. Our profile of Max Bruch is in preparation . In the meantime find information on Wikipedia
HANDEL, George Frideric
	23 February 1685 - 14 April 1759 Handel is best known for his grand oratorio 'Messiah', his Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. In addition to these he produced a formidable body of work including about 50 operas. More at our Handel page .
MENDELSSOHN, Felix
	3 February 1809 - 4 November 1847 Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, conductor,organist and pianist. One of the most popular composers of the Romantic period. He was also largely responsible for arousing interest in the music of J.S.Bach. More on our Mendelssohn page
ORFF, Carl
	July 10, 1895 – March 29, 1982 Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children. Our profile of Carl Orff is in preparation. In the meantime find information at Wikipedia
PACHELBEL, Johann
	August 1653 - March 1706 Johann Pachelbel, German composer, teacher and organist of the Baroque period. Unfairly labelled a 'one hit wonder' he is neverthless best known for his Canon in D More on our Pachelbel pages .
SCHUMANN, Robert
	8 June 1810 - 29 July 1856 Robert Schumann was one of the most important Romantic composers of the 19th century. He was also a pianist, influential music critic and editor of 'The New Journal of Music'. He was a champion of young composers including Chopin and Brahms. For more information go to our Schumann page
STRAUSS, Richard
	11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949 Richard Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, his lieder; and his tone poems and orchestral works. He was also a popular conductor. Our profile of Richard Strauss is in preparation. In the meantime find information at Wikipedia.
STOCKHAUSEN, Karlheinz
	22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007 Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his ground-breaking work in electronic music, aleatory (controlled chance) inserial composition, and musical spatialization. Our profile of Stockhausen is in preparation In the meantime find information at Wikipedia.
TELEMANN, Georg Philipp
	14 March 1681 – 25 June 1767 Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history and was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time—he was compared favorably to Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel (both of whom Telemann knew personally). Our profile of Telemann is in preparation' In the meantime find information at Wikipedia.
WAGNER, Richard
	22 May 1813 - 13 February 1883 Richard Wagner was a 19th century German composer, conductor and theatre director. Best known for his operas. He wrote his own librettos and even built his own opera house. More on our Wagner page .
Weber, Carl Maria von
	18–19 November 1786 – 4–5 June 1826 Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. Our profile on von Weber is in preparation. In the meantime find information at Wikipedia.