How to Learn About Classical Music

Get to Know Some Great Composers and Their Styles

• Some of the most interesting and revolutionary composers included:

  Antonio Vivaldi

  Johann Sebastian Bach

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  Ludwig Van Beethoven

  Frederic Chopin

  Peter Tchaikovsky

  Igor Stravinsky

  Vivaldi (1678-1741) was a (very) hardworking composer who wrote almost 700 pieces of music during his career. His most famous work, "The Four Seasons," is a series of four concertos that really do sound like the winter, spring, summer and fall.

  Some call Bach (1685-1750) the father of piano. He was, in fact, known during his lifetime for his amazing organ playing and not so much for his composing. Yet, because he is no longer capable of giving concerts, it is Bach's works that make him great today. Bach was a master at weaving several different tunes together and making them work as one song. (The technical term is "counterpoint.") If you listen carefully to any of his pieces, you'll be able to pick out at least two distinct melodies. It's pretty obvious in his well-known piece, "Air on the G String."

  Mozart was a child prodigy and a musical genius; he composed hundreds of works without a thought. It was simply a matter of getting it all down on paper in time. Mozart was fond of scales (quick successions of consecutive notes in one key) and often incorporated them into his music. The scales complemented the fleeting, blithe, and spirited nature of his works. For a great example of Mozart's style, listen to his "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."

  Beethoven (1770-1827) was not only a brilliant pianist and composer, he was a true artiste: sensitive, dramatic and tragic. It was, unfortunately, a debilitating handicap that pushed Beethoven into greatness: he discovered much to his horror that he was going deaf at the age of 31. Most of Beethoven's music is reflective of the stages of his life, so some of it is sweet sounding and mild, while other pieces are sweeping and grand, and still others are filled with drama and darkness. All of it is great, from his symphonies (like the famous fifth one) to his sonatas ("The Moonlight Sonata").

  Before Chopin (1810-1849) came along, people thought that classical music was emotionally limited when played on the piano alone. Chopin changed all that by composing beautiful, diverse music for the piano. One defining factor of a Chopin song is that they're always played on the piano. Stylistic features to look out for are blatant romance and passion. Chopin wrote lots of tender music like his "Grand Valse Brilliante" and fiery pieces like his "Fant-Impromptu op. 66."

  Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) lived like a true musician: his life was tragic, but he managed to change the course of classical ballet music before committing suicide at the age of 53. Despite his troubles, Tchaikovsky was capable of composing cheerful, bouncy music that ballet dancers pirouetted to. Like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky's musical style vacillated between the paradoxically weightless/rich music of his ballet compositions (for example, his famous "Nutcracker Suite"), and the dramatic nature of pieces like his famous "1812 Overture."

  Stravinsky's style comprised off-beats, jarring chords, surprising crescendos--these were his trademarks. When he launched his most famous piece, "The Rite of Spring," it infuriated crowds and caused riots. Strangely enough, audiences gave him standing ovations for it a year later.