Classical Composers

Classical Composers is a fascinating novelty fabric with a design of silhouetted busts of some of classical music's greatest composers.

The legendary names include the members of the so-called "Viennese School": Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was instrumental in the development of the symphony and the string quartet; his symphonies number over 100 and his string quartets more than 80. He also composed a number of oratorios, piano sonatas and chamber compositions which are still frequently performed. "Papa" Haydn, as he was known, was also teacher to Beethoven for a time.

With the extensive output of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), the most common forms of Western music reached pinnacles of beauty. His operas, symphonies, chamber music, orchestral serenades and piano concertos are among the most performed works in their respective genres. Despite his short life he essayed every major form of composition. His life has also inspired plays (Pushkin's Mozart and Salieri and Peter Shaffer's Amadeus), operas (Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri), and movies (Milos Forman's Amadeus).

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was almost as infamous for his temperament as he was famous for his music during his lifetime. His creativity brought such forms as the symphony, Mass, string quartet, piano sonata and piano concerto to their zeniths. Beethoven's output has popularly been divided into Early, Middle and Late periods. Famous works from his "early" period include his first two symphonies, first three piano concertos, first six string quartets and first twenty piano sonatas, including the "Pathétique" and the so-called "Moonlight" Sonata.

His "middle" period includes such works as the Fourth and Fifth piano concertos, the String Quartets Nos. 7-11, the opera Fidelio, and the Piano Sonatas 21-27. The Third through Eighth Symphonies also date roughly from this period. Many of the works he composed during this time convey a certain sturm und drang, or storm and stress, that is to many Beethoven's calling card. It is with these works that Beethoven's enduring modern popularity was secured.

Beethoven's "late" period works are perhaps the most profound musical statements he set to paper. It is these works that elevate Beethoven to the pantheon of pivotal figures in the history of Western art. Works from this period include the Ninth Symphony, the last five piano sonatas, the Diabelli Variations for solo piano, and the last five string quartets.

Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828), was a short-lived but prolific composer. Schubert elevated the composition of lieder, or art songs, to prominence. Schubert's songs cycles may be the best known and most recorded part of his oeuvre; they are Die schöne Müllerin (The Beautiful Miller-Maid), Die Winterreise (Winter Journey), and Schwanengesang (Swansong). However, he was also a composer of symphonies, including the so-called "Unfinished" Eighth in B minor and the "Great" Ninth in C major. Schubert also composed 21 piano sonatas, over a dozen string quartets, various works for piano duet and two piano trios.

Previous to any of these composers lived another of the seminal figures of Western music: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). While never completely forgotten, appreciation of his music waned in the years after his death. Nevertheless, a coterie of discerning composers continued to admire his works. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Mendelssohn were among his admirers. Later composers as diverse as Liszt, Brahms, Busoni and Shostakovich found something to take from his music. Nowadays, the music of Bach is practically revered by musicians.

Johann Sebastian Bach's prodigious output includes many works for pipe organ, 7 keyboard concertos, the Goldberg Variations for keyboard and Well-Tempered Clavier, also for keyboard. Furthermore, his Inventions and Sinfonias for keyboard are among the first works learned by aspiring pianists.

Much of Bach's creative energies were directed to the composition of sacred and secular choral music. These works are firmly entrenched in the repertoires of choral societies from the United States to Japan and are often recorded by the finest soloists and ensembles. Cantatas, motets, Masses and Passions form a large and representative part of Bach's oeuvre.

Bach also composed many significant works for orchestral forces such as the Brandenburg Concertos, the Orchestral Suites and various concertos for violin and orchestra.

His compositional output also encompasses incredible music for other solo instruments: six sonatas and partitas for solo violin, six suites for solo cello, suites for lute and sets of six each of the French and English Suites for keyboard.

The great Polish-born, French pianist and composer Frédéric François Chopin rounds out this exalted milieu of composers with a Romantic flourish. His creations include two piano concertos, three pianos sonatas, four ballades, four scherzos, a series of 26 preludes, 27 etudes, various polonaises, over a dozen nocturnes and dozens of mazurkas, all for solo piano.

Although you may not be a composer or even musically inclined, there is no doubt that this designer quilting fabric will inspire you to make many fabulous creations.