Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) — German composer who bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, composing masterworks despite progressive deafness.
In Depth
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was premiered when he was almost completely deaf. At the end, a soloist had to turn him around to see the audience's thunderous applause — he could not hear it.
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Browse allJohann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) — German composer and the supreme master of counterpoint, whose works define the Baroque era.
Béla Bartók (1881–1945) was a Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist who fused folk music research with modernist techniques to create a unique musical language.
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was a French Romantic composer who revolutionized orchestration and pioneered the programme symphony with his Symphonie fantastique.
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American composer, conductor, and educator whose works bridged classical music and Broadway, most famously in West Side Story.
Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) was a Russian composer and chemist whose small but brilliant output includes the opera Prince Igor and the Polovtsian Dances.
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) — German composer who upheld Classical forms within the Romantic era, creating music of profound depth and craftsmanship.
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) — Polish composer and pianist who wrote almost exclusively for solo piano, defining Romantic keyboard music.
Aaron Copland (1900–1990) was an American composer who created a distinctly American orchestral sound through works like Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Rodeo.