Ordained as a priest, Antonio Lucio Vivaldi became one of Europe s most popular composers during the early part of the eighteenth century. He wrote hundreds of concertos, dozens of operas, and many sacred works before his music fell out of fashion during the latter part of his life. He died in obscurity and his work suffered a similar fate for almost two centuries. His music was rescued from oblivion in the 1930s. His most famous work, The Four Seasons, has since become one of the best-selling classical compositions of all time.

Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a family that lived in extreme poverty. Yet by the time of his death he had become one of the most financially successful classical music composers who ever lived. It wasn t easy. His family had to move several times while Hannes (as he was nicknamed) was still a boy. He had to go to work when he was just 13, playing the piano in rough waterfront taverns in Hamburg. Often he wouldn t come home until dawn. Brahms received his first big break when he was 20. The composer Robert Schumann called him a genius and a young eagle. Even then, it still took him many years to become famous. While he is most noted for his symphonies and concertos, it is likely that more people know him for his Cradle Song, better known as Brahms s Lullaby, which millions of mothers have sung to their young children to lull them to sleep.

More than any other musician in the early twentieth century, Duke Ellington brought jazz into nightclubs and later into the living rooms of America. The music he played sprang in part from the blues and gospel rhythms of the plantation slaves living in the mid-nineteenth century, infused with the sounds of ragtime from the turn of the century. Jazz has been called the first musical form created in the United States. It was a type of sharp improvisation for which band members played anything they wanted along a chosen key or set of chords, so every night the music was different. Duke led with his piano playing, but he allowed various other members of his band to shine, too. Embracing new technologies such as radio receivers and record players, Duke Ellington was an early pop star.

Unlike most 19th Century composers who had to struggle to make a living, Felix Mendelssohn came from a very wealthy family. He never had to work, but he worked harder to fulfill his family s expectations than many who suffered poverty. He was an extremely gifted musical genius who wrote some of his best works while he was still a teenager. Mendelssohn gained fame as a conductor, and as the organizer of many music festivals in Germany and in England where he was always enthusiastically welcomed. Unlike some composers who only performed their own work, Mendelssohn had a passion for presenting the best music of all periods. He was also very generous in helping younger composers by playing their work. His weakness was being unable to say no to the many requests he received for performances. He was a perfectionist who devoted his energy to presenting the highest possible level of musical perfection. As his fame spread, he had little time left for his own compositions. Mendelssohn died at the age of 38, essentially from exhaustion brought on by overworking.

A biography of the nineteenth-century American composer.

The most popular of all Russian composers, Peter Tchaikovsky is probably best known for his ballets. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Nutcracker are still performed worldwide. But a good part of Tchaikovsky s career was spent writing operas. Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades are two of his better-known works. A precocious child, Peter could read French and German by the age of six. At seven, he wrote verses in French. In school, he studied to be a lawyer. It was not until he was twenty-one years old that he turned his focus to music. But this man who made such beautiful melodies was unhappy most of his life. He was terrified when he stood in front of an orchestra. He had an unrealistic fear that his head would fall off and he actually held his left hand under his chin to keep his head attached! However, he left a great legacy of beautiful music. From the diaries and letters he wrote, we know about the life of Peter Tchaikovsky. In this book, young adults are introduced to one of the greatest composers of all time.

As a little boy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began writing musical compositions when most kids his age were still learning to read. By the time he was seven, Mozart was an accomplished musician who could play several instruments and also sing. Accompanied by his older sister, Nannerl, and his father, Leopold, young Wolfgang toured Europe. He performed before royalty and some of the richest members of society. By the time he was twelve, Wolfgang was famous. He first tasted failure as a teenager, as audiences ignored his operas, and he had trouble making money. He began to be known for his bad jokes and relentless pursuit of women. He eventually married the sister of the woman who broke his heart. In adulthood, Mozart s problems grew. He couldn't keep a job. He was usually broke. One of the greatest composers the world had ever known was forced to make a living giving piano lessons. Yet today, he is one of the most celebrated and respected composers of all time.?