Ludwig van Beethoven

T he inventor of Romantic music. Before him, all that could be said in music had been said (by the next two composers). Beethoven began his career by imitating the styles of Mozart and Haydn, and is considered the third greatest Classical composer after them. With his 3rd Symphony, nicknamed “Eroica,” and his 4th and 5th Piano Concerti, the world of music entered its Romantic Era, out of which it may not yet have emerged. The advent of film required that Romantic music not be done away with, as the more modern music of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, etc., was not suitable for the enhancement of drama. Thus, as film’s musical lineage goes directly back to Wagner, it goes back farther, to Beethoven, who influenced Wagner the most. It was Beethoven’s temperament that created his finest, and most idiosyncratic works, among them his 3rd to 9th symphonies, his last three of five piano concerti, his violin concerto, the finest ever written, two masses, one of which is the Missa Solemnis, the second greatest mass ever written, his chamber music, especially his string quartets, the last 6 of which, the Late Quartets, are universally considered to be among the greatest musical works in history. Of these, Igor Stravinsky deemed the Grosse Fuge of the second to last quartet the greatest piece of music ever written. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony begins with the single most famous melody in music history. People who don’t even know who he was hum it every day.

W olfgang Amadeus Mozart

The most gifted musical genius in history, the most famous genius of any field in history, and the perfecter of Classical music. He wrote 41 symphonies, 27 piano concerti, a large amount of chamber music, 23 operas, 18 sonatas for piano, 36 for violin, for cello, church sonatas, organ pieces, 18 masses, including one Requiem, 4 horn concerti, 20 string quartets, serenades, divertimenti, and many others. He was the supreme composer of melody and lyrical quality in music history. All other melodic composers aspired to his greatness, including Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, etc. He wrote his music in full orchestral scores, without corrections of any kind, until late in life when he was sick. His first drafts were his final drafts. His greatest works are all legendary, and cannot be listed entirely, but of them, his Requiem Mass, the greatest ever written, although he only finished half. The second half was finished by his pupil, Sussmayer. His last 20 symphonies or so, his last serenade, nicknamed Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, his 20th through 24th piano concerti, his 15th and 17th masses, in C Major and c minor, respectively, his 12 variations on Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman, which is commonly known as Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, and there are many others. It was because of his perfection of the Classical mode, that Beethoven decided not to imitate, but rather to create a new mode. Mozart’s work features, among other things, the finest balance between solo instruments and orchestra. He was one of the finest pianists to ever live, and equally adept at the violin. Probably his greatest single work, for its pristine clarity in all respects, is his opera Don Giovanni.