home › Test Drives › Composers in the Composers section. Great Classical Composers: A List of the Best

Composers in the Composers section. Great Classical Composers: A List of the Best

The Russian school of composers, whose traditions were continued by the Soviet and today's Russian schools, began in the 19th century with composers who combined European musical art with Russian folk melodies, linking together the European form and the Russian spirit.

You can talk a lot about each of these famous people, everyone has not simple, and sometimes even tragic fates, but in this review we have tried to give only a brief description of the life and work of composers.

1. Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

(1804-1857)

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka while composing the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. 1887, artist Ilya Efimovich Repin

“In order to create beauty, one must be pure in soul.”

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is the founder of Russian classical music and the first domestic classical composer to achieve world fame. His works, based on the centuries-old traditions of Russian folk music, were a new word in the musical art of our country.

Born in the Smolensk province, educated in St. Petersburg. The formation of the worldview and the main idea of Mikhail Glinka's work was facilitated by direct communication with such personalities as A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Griboyedov, A.A. Delvig. The creative impetus to his work was added by a long-term trip to Europe in the early 1830s and meetings with the leading composers of the time - V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, F. Mendelssohn and later with G. Berlioz, J. Meyerbeer.

Success came to M.I. Glinka in 1836, after staging the opera "Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar"), which was enthusiastically received by everyone, for the first time in world music, Russian choral art and European symphonic and opera practice, as well as a hero similar to Susanin, whose image generalizes best features national character.

VF Odoevsky described the opera as "a new element in Art, and a new period begins in its history - the period of Russian music."

The second opera, the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842), which was worked on against the backdrop of Pushkin's death and in the difficult living conditions of the composer, due to the profoundly innovative nature of the work, was ambiguously received by the audience and the authorities, and brought M.I. Glinka heavy experiences. After that, he traveled a lot, living alternately in Russia and abroad, without stopping composing. Romances, symphonic and chamber works remained in his legacy. In the 1990s, Mikhail Glinka's "Patriotic Song" was the official anthem of the Russian Federation.

Quote about M.I. Glinka:“The entire Russian symphonic school, like the whole oak in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”. P.I. Tchaikovsky

Interesting fact: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was not distinguished by good health, despite this he was very easy-going and knew geography very well, perhaps if he had not become a composer, he would have become a traveler. He knew six foreign languages, including Persian.

2. Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin

(1833-1887)

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, one of the leading Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century, in addition to his talent as a composer, was a chemist, doctor, teacher, critic and had a literary talent.

Born in St. Petersburg, since childhood, everyone around him noted his unusual activity, enthusiasm and abilities in various directions, primarily in music and chemistry.

A.P. Borodin is a Russian nugget composer, he did not have professional musician teachers, all his achievements in music are due to independent work mastering the technique of composing.

The formation of A.P. Borodin was influenced by the work of M.I. Glinka (as well as all Russian composers of the 19th century), and two events gave the impetus to dense occupation of composition in the early 1860s - firstly, the acquaintance and marriage with the talented pianist E.S. Protopopova, and secondly, the meeting with M.A. Balakirev and joining the creative community of Russian composers, known as " mighty bunch».

In the late 1870s and 1880s, A.P. Borodin traveled and toured extensively in Europe and America, met with the leading composers of his time, his fame grew, he became one of the most famous and popular Russian composers in Europe at the end of the 19th century. th century.

The central place in the work of A.P. Borodin is occupied by the opera "Prince Igor" (1869-1890), which is an example of national heroic epic in music and which he himself did not have time to finish (it was completed by his friends A.A. Glazunov and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov). In "Prince Igor", against the backdrop of majestic pictures of historical events, the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe composer's entire work was reflected - courage, calm grandeur, spiritual nobility of the best Russian people and the mighty strength of the entire Russian people, manifested in the defense of the motherland.

Despite the fact that A.P. Borodin left a relatively small number of works, his work is very diverse and he is considered one of the fathers of Russian symphonic music who influenced many generations of Russian and foreign composers.

Quote about A.P. Borodin:“Borodin's talent is equally powerful and amazing both in the symphony, and in the opera and in the romance. Its main qualities are gigantic strength and breadth, colossal scope, swiftness and impetuosity, combined with amazing passion, tenderness and beauty. V.V. Stasov

Interesting fact: named after Borodin chemical reaction silver salts of carboxylic acids with halogens, resulting in halogenated hydrocarbons, which he first investigated in 1861.

3. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

(1839-1881)

“The sounds of human speech, as external manifestations of thought and feeling, must, without exaggeration and rape, become truthful, accurate music, but artistic, highly artistic.”

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is one of the most brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, a member of the Mighty Handful. innovative creativity Mussorgsky was far ahead of his time.

Born in the Pskov province. Like many talented people, from childhood he showed his ability in music, he studied in St. family tradition, military. The decisive event that determined that Mussorgsky was born not for military service, but for music, was his meeting with M.A. Balakirev and joining the Mighty Handful.

Mussorgsky is great because in his grandiose works - the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina - he captured in music the dramatic milestones of Russian history with a radical novelty that Russian music did not know before him, showing in them a combination of mass folk scenes and a diverse richness of types, the unique character of the Russian people. These operas, in numerous editions by both the author and other composers, are among the most popular Russian operas in the world.

Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is the cycle of piano pieces "Pictures at an Exhibition", colorful and inventive miniatures are permeated with the Russian refrain theme and the Orthodox faith.

There was everything in Mussorgsky's life - both greatness and tragedy, but he was always distinguished by genuine spiritual purity and disinterestedness.

His last years were difficult - life's disorder, non-recognition of creativity, loneliness, addiction to alcohol, all this determined his early death at 42, he left relatively few compositions, some of which were completed by other composers.

The specific melody and innovative harmony of Mussorgsky anticipated some features musical development 20th century and played an important role in the development of the styles of many world composers.

Quote about M.P. Mussorgsky:“Originally Russian sounds in everything that Mussorgsky did” N. K. Roerich

Interesting fact: At the end of his life, Mussorgsky, under pressure from his "friends" Stasov and Rimsky-Korsakov, renounced the copyright to his works and presented them to Tertiy Filippov.

4. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

(1840-1893)

“I am an artist who can and must bring honor to his Motherland. I feel a great artistic power in myself, I have not yet done even a tenth of what I can do. And I want to do it with all the strength of my soul.”

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the greatest Russian composer of the 19th century, raised Russian musical art to unprecedented heights. He is one of the most important composers of world classical music.

native Vyatka province, although paternal roots in Ukraine, Tchaikovsky from childhood showed musical ability However, the first education and work was in the field of jurisprudence.

Tchaikovsky is one of the first Russian "professional" composers - he studied music theory and composition at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Tchaikovsky was considered a "Western" composer, in contrast to the folk figures of the "Mighty Handful", with whom he had good creative and friendly relations, however, his work is no less imbued with the Russian spirit, he managed to uniquely combine the Western symphonic heritage of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann with Russian traditions inherited from Mikhail Glinka.

The composer led active life- was a teacher, conductor, critic, public figure, worked in two capitals, toured Europe and America.

Tchaikovsky was a rather emotionally unstable person, enthusiasm, despondency, apathy, irascibility, violent anger - all these moods changed in him quite often, being a very sociable person, he always strove for loneliness.

It is a difficult task to single out something best from Tchaikovsky's work, he has several works of equal size in almost all musical genres Opera, ballet, symphony, chamber music. And the content of Tchaikovsky's music is universal: with inimitable melodism, it embraces the images of life and death, love, nature, childhood, works of Russian and world literature are revealed in a new way, deep processes of spiritual life are reflected in it.

Composer quote:“Life has charm only when it consists of the alternation of joys and sorrows, of the struggle between good and evil, of light and shadow, in a word, of diversity in unity.”

"Great talent requires great hard work."

Composer quote: “I am ready day and night to stand as a guard of honor at the porch of the house where Pyotr Ilyich lives - to such an extent I respect him” A.P. Chekhov

Interesting fact: Cambridge University in absentia and without defending a dissertation awarded Tchaikovsky the title of Doctor of Music, as well as the Paris Academy fine arts elected him as a corresponding member.

5. Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov

(1844-1908)

N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.K. Glazunov with their students M.M. Chernov and V.A. Senilov. Photo 1906

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a talented Russian composer, one of the most important figures in the creation of an invaluable domestic musical heritage. His peculiar world and worship of the eternal all-encompassing beauty of the universe, admiration for the miracle of being, unity with nature have no analogues in the history of music.

Born in the Novgorod province, according to family tradition, he became a naval officer, on a warship he traveled around many countries in Europe and two Americas. Musical education received first from his mother, then taking private lessons from the pianist F. Canille. And again, thanks to M.A. Balakirev, the organizer of the Mighty Handful, who introduced Rimsky-Korsakov into the musical community and influenced his work, the world did not lose the talented composer.

The central place in Rimsky-Korsakov's legacy is occupied by operas - 15 works demonstrating the diversity of genre, stylistic, dramatic, and compositional decisions of the composer, nevertheless having a special style - with all the richness of the orchestral component, melodic vocal lines are the main ones.

Two main directions distinguish the composer's work: the first is Russian history, the second is the world of fairy tales and epic, for which he received the nickname "storyteller".

In addition to direct independent creative activity, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov is known as a publicist, compiler of collections folk songs, in which he showed great interest, and also as the finalist of the works of his friends - Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin. Rimsky-Korsakov was the founder composer school, as a teacher and head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he produced about two hundred composers, conductors, musicologists, among them Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Composer quote:“Rimsky-Korsakov was a very Russian man and a very Russian composer. I believe that this primordially Russian essence of his, his deep folklore-Russian basis, should be especially appreciated today. Mstislav Rostropovich

Fact about the composer: Nikolai Andreevich began his first lesson in counterpoint like this:

Now I will talk a lot, and you will listen very carefully. Then I will speak less, and you will listen and think, and, finally, I will not speak at all, and you will think with your own head and work independently, because my task as a teacher is to become unnecessary to you ...

Found an error? Select it and left click Ctrl+Enter.

The melodies and songs of the Russian people inspired the work of famous composers of the second half of the 19th century. Among them were P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.I. Glinka and A.P. Borodin. Their traditions were continued by a whole galaxy of outstanding musical figures. Russian composers of the 20th century are still popular.

Alexander Nikolaevich Skryabin

Creativity A.N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), a Russian composer and talented pianist, teacher, innovator, cannot leave anyone indifferent. Mystical moments can sometimes be heard in his original and impulsive music. The composer is attracted and attracted by the image of fire. Even in the titles of his works, Scriabin often repeats such words as fire and light. He tried to find a way to combine sound and light in his works.

The composer's father, Nikolai Alexandrovich Scriabin, was a well-known Russian diplomat, a real state adviser. Mother - Lyubov Petrovna Scriabina (nee Shchetinina), was known as a very talented pianist. She graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her professional activity began successfully, but shortly after the birth of her son, she died of consumption. In 1878, Nikolai Alexandrovich completed his studies and was assigned to the Russian embassy in Constantinople. The upbringing of the future composer was continued by his close relatives - grandmother Elizaveta Ivanovna, her sister Maria Ivanovna and father's sister Lyubov Alexandrovna.

Despite the fact that at the age of five, Scriabin mastered playing the piano, and a little later began to study musical compositions, according to family tradition, he received a military education. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow cadet corps. At the same time, he took private lessons in piano and music theory. Later he entered the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a small gold medal.

At the beginning of his creative activity, Scriabin consciously followed Chopin, choosing the same genres. However, even at that time, his own talent was already evident. At the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote three symphonies, then "The Poem of Ecstasy" (1907) and "Prometheus" (1910). Interestingly, the composer supplemented the score of "Prometheus" with a light keyboard part. He was the first to use light music, the purpose of which is characterized by the disclosure of music by the method of visual perception.

The composer's accidental death interrupted his work. He never realized his plan to create the "Mystery" - a symphony of sounds, colors, movements, smells. In this work, Scriabin wanted to tell all mankind his innermost thoughts and inspire him to create a new world, marked by the union of the Universal Spirit and Matter. His most significant works were only a preface to this grandiose project.

Famous Russian composer, pianist, conductor S.V. Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943) was born into a wealthy noble family. Rachmaninoff's grandfather was a professional musician. The first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, and later they invited the music teacher A.D. Ornatskaya. In 1885, his parents assigned him to a private boarding school to the professor of the Moscow Conservatory N.S. Zverev. The order and discipline in the educational institution had a significant impact on the formation of the future character of the composer. He later graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal. While still a student, Rachmaninoff was very popular with the Moscow public. He has already created his "First Piano Concerto", as well as some other romances and plays. And his "Prelude in C-sharp minor" became very popular composition. Great P.I. Tchaikovsky drew attention to graduation work Sergei Rachmaninov - the opera "Oleko", which was written by him under the impression of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Gypsies". Pyotr Ilyich succeeded in staging it in Bolshoi Theater, tried to help with the inclusion of this work in the repertoire of the theater, but died unexpectedly.

From the age of twenty, Rachmaninov taught at several institutes, gave private lessons. At the invitation of the famous philanthropist, theatrical and musical figure Savva Mamontov, at the age of 24, the composer becomes the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera. There he became friends with F.I. Chaliapin.

Rachmaninov's career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 due to the rejection of his innovative First Symphony by the St. Petersburg public. Reviews for this work were truly devastating. But the composer was most upset by the negative review left by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose opinion Rachmaninoff greatly appreciated. After that, he fell into a protracted depression, from which he managed to get out with the help of a hypnotist N.V. Dahl.

In 1901 Rachmaninoff completed his Second Piano Concerto. And from that moment begins his active creative work as a composer and pianist. Unique style Rachmaninov combined Russian church hymns, romanticism and impressionism. He considered the melody to be the main leading principle in music. This found its greatest expression in the author's favorite work - the poem "The Bells", which he wrote for the orchestra, choir and soloists.

At the end of 1917, Rachmaninoff left Russia with his family, worked in Europe, and then left for America. The composer was very upset by the break with the Motherland. During the Great Patriotic War, he gave charity concerts, the proceeds of which were sent to the Red Army Fund.

Stravinsky's music is notable for its stylistic diversity. At the very beginning of his creative activity, she is based on Russian musical traditions. And then in the works one can hear the influence of neoclassicism, characteristic of the music of France of that period and dodecaphony.

Igor Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum (now the city of Lomonosov), in 1882. The father of the future composer Fyodor Ignatievich is a famous Opera singer, one of the soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre. His mother was pianist and singer Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. From the age of nine, teachers taught him piano lessons. After completing the gymnasium, at the request of his parents, he enters the law faculty of the university. For two years, from 1904 to 1906, he took lessons from N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, under whose leadership he wrote the first works - the scherzo, the piano sonata, the Faun and the Shepherdess suite. Sergei Diaghilev highly appreciated the composer's talent and offered him cooperation. The joint work resulted in three ballets (staged by S. Diaghilev) - The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring.

Shortly before the First World War, the composer left for Switzerland, then to France. A new period begins in his work. He studies the musical styles of the 18th century, writes the opera Oedipus Rex, music for the ballet Apollo Musagete. His handwriting has changed several times over time. For many years the composer lived in the USA. His last famous work is Requiem. A feature of the composer Stravinsky is the ability to constantly change styles, genres and musical directions.

Composer Prokofiev was born in 1891 in a small village in the Yekaterinoslav province. The world of music was opened for him by his mother, a good pianist who often performed works by Chopin and Beethoven. She also became a real musical mentor for her son and, in addition, taught him German and French.

At the beginning of 1900, young Prokofiev managed to attend the Sleeping Beauty ballet and listen to the operas Faust and Prince Igor. The impression received from the performances of Moscow theaters was expressed in own creativity. He writes the opera "The Giant", and then the overture to "Desert Shores". Parents soon realize that they can no longer teach their son music. Soon, at the age of eleven, the novice composer was introduced to the famous Russian composer and teacher S.I. Taneyev, who personally asked R.M. Gliera to engage in musical composition with Sergei. S. Prokofiev at the age of 13 passed the entrance exams to the St. Petersburg Conservatory. At the beginning of his career, the composer toured and performed extensively. However, his work caused misunderstanding among the public. This was due to the features of the works, which were expressed in the following:

modernist style;
destruction of established musical canons;
extravagance and inventiveness of composing techniques

In 1918, S. Prokofiev left and returned only in 1936. Already in the USSR, he wrote music for films, operas, ballets. But after he was accused, along with a number of other composers, of "formalism", he practically moved to live in the country, but continued to write musical works. His opera "War and Peace", the ballets "Romeo and Juliet", "Cinderella" became the property of world culture.

Russian composers of the 20th century, who lived at the turn of the century, not only preserved the traditions of the previous generation of the creative intelligentsia, but also created their own, unique art, for which the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Great composers, whose names are widely known all over the world, have created a huge number of valuable works. Their creations are truly unique. Each of them has an individual and unique style.

Great composers of the world (foreign). List

Below are foreign composers different centuries whose names are known all over the world. This:

A. Vivaldi.
J. S. Bach.
W. A. Mozart.
I. Brahms.
J. Haydn.
R. Schuman.
F. Schubert.
L. Beethoven.
I. Strauss.
R. Wagner.
G. Verdi.
A. Berg.
A. Schoenberg.
J. Gershwin.
O. Messiaen.
C. Ives.
B. Britten.

Great composers of the world (Russians). List

He created a large number of operettas, worked with light musical forms of a dance character, in which he was very successful. Thanks to Strauss, the waltz became extremely popular dance in Vienna. By the way, balls are still held there. The composer's legacy includes polkas, ballets and quadrilles.

And G. Verdi - the great ones who created a huge number of operas that won the sincere love of the audience.

The German Richard Wagner was the most prominent representative of modernism in the music of this century. His opera heritage is rich. Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, The Flying Dutchman and other operas are still relevant, popular and staged.

The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi is a very majestic figure. He gave Italian opera a new breath, while he remained true to operatic traditions.

Russian composers of the 19th century

M. I. Glinka, A. P. Borodin, M. P. Mussorgsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky are the great composers of classical music of the 19th century who lived and created their works in Russia.

The works of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka determined the national and global importance in the history of Russian music. His work, which grew up on Russian folk songs, is deeply national. He is rightfully considered an innovator, the ancestor of the Russian musical classics. Glinka worked fruitfully in all his operas Ivan Susanin (A Life for the Tsar) and Ruslan and Lyudmila opened the way for two leading directions. Great importance in development musical art also had his symphonic works: "Kamarinskaya", "Waltz-Fantasy" and many others.

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin is a great Russian composer. His work is small in scope, but significant in content. The central place is occupied by heroic historical images. He closely intertwines deep lyricism with epic breadth. The opera "Prince Igor" combines the features of folk-musical drama and epic opera. His first and second symphonies mark a new direction in Russian symphony - heroic-epic. In the field of chamber-vocal lyrics, he became a real innovator. His romances: "Sea", "For the Shores of the Far Homeland", "Song of the Dark Forest" and many others. Borodin had a significant impact on his followers.

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is another great Russian composer of the 19th century. He was a member of the Balakirev circle, which was called "The Mighty Handful". He worked fruitfully in a variety of different genres. His operas are beautiful: “Khovanshchina”, “Boris Godunov”, “ Sorochinskaya Fair". His works show features creative individuality. He owns a number of romances: "Kalistrat", "Seminarian", "Lullaby to Eremushka", "Orphan", "Svetik Savishna". They capture the unique national characters.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - composer, conductor, teacher.

In his work were leading opera and symphonic genres. The content of his music is universal. His operas The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin are masterpieces of Russian classical music. The symphony also occupies a central place in his work. His works became known throughout the world during his lifetime.

Representatives of the new Viennese school

A. Berg, A. Webern, A. Schoenberg are great composers who lived and created their works throughout the 20th century.

Alban Berg became world famous thanks to his amazing opera Wozzeck, which made a strong impression on the listeners. He wrote it for several years. Its premiere took place on December 14, 1925. IN currently Wozzeck is a classic example of 20th century opera.

Anton Webern - Austrian composer, one of the brightest representatives of the new Viennese school. In his works he used serial and dodecaphone technique. Conciseness and conciseness of thought, concentration of musical and expressive means are inherent in it. His work had a strong influence on Stravinsky, Boulez, Gubaidulina and many other Russian and foreign composers.

Arnold Schoenberg is a prominent representative of such a musical style as expressionism. Author of serial and dodecaphone technique. His writings: Second string Quartet(F-sharp minor), "Drama with music for choir and orchestra", the opera "Moses and Aaron" and many others.

J. Gershwin, O. Messiaen, C. Ives

These are the great composers of the 20th century who are known all over the world.

George Gershwin is an American composer and pianist. He became extremely popular thanks to his large-scale work Porgy and Bess. This is a "folklore" opera. It is based on the novel by Dubos Hayward. No less famous instrumental works: "Rhapsody in the Blues Style for Piano and Orchestra", "An American in Paris", "Second Rhapsody" and many others.

Olivier Messiaen - French composer, organist, teacher, music theorist. In his remarkable theoretical works, he outlined new and rather complex principles of musical composition. Theological ideas were reflected in his works. He was very fascinated by the voices of birds. Therefore, he created the "Catalogue of Birds" for piano.

Charles Ives is an American composer. His work was influenced folk music. Therefore, his style is extremely unique. He created five symphonies, five violin sonatas, two piano sonatas, the cantata "Heavenly Country" and many other works.

Russian composers of the 20th century

S. S. Prokofiev, I. F. Stravinsky, D. D. Shostakovich are the great composers of the 20th century.

Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev - composer, conductor, pianist.

His music is varied in content. It contains lyrics and epic, humor and drama, psychologism and characterization. Opera and ballet creativity laid down new principles and techniques of musical dramaturgy. His operas are The Gambler, The Love for Three Oranges, War and Peace. Prokofiev worked in the genre of film music. His cantata "Alexander Nevsky", created in collaboration with director S. Eisenstein, is widely known.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky - émigré composer, conductor.

His work is divided into Russian and foreign periods. His brightest ballets: "Petrushka", "The Rite of Spring", "The Firebird". Stravinsky also made a great contribution to the symphonic genre.

Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich - composer, teacher, pianist. His work is multifaceted in genres and figurative content. Especially his importance as a composer-symphonist. His fifteen symphonies reflect the complex world of human feelings with experiences, struggles, tragic conflicts. His opera "Katerina Izmailova" is an excellent work of this genre.

Conclusion

The music of great composers is written in different genres, contains multifaceted plots, constantly updated techniques that correspond to a particular era. Some composers have excelled in a few genres, while others have successfully covered almost all areas. Of the entire galaxy of great composers, it is difficult to single out the best. All of them made a significant contribution to the history of the world musical culture.

Classical music is nowhere near as popular today as it was in its golden age from the 17th century to the early 20th century, but it is still impressive and an inspiration to many. Known musical composers who created these great works may have lived hundreds of years ago, but their masterpieces still remain unsurpassed.

Notable German composers

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most important names in the history of classical music. He was an innovator of his era, expanding the scope of the symphony, sonata, concerto, quartet, and combining vocals and instruments in new ways, although vocal genre he wasn't that interested. The public did not immediately accept his innovative ideas, but fame did not take too long to wait, so even during the life of Beethoven, his work was duly appreciated.

Beethoven's whole life was marked by a struggle for healthy hearing, but deafness still overtook him: some of major works the great composer were created during the last ten years of his life, when he was no longer able to hear. One of the most famous works Beethoven are " Moonlight Sonata"(No. 14), the play "To Elise", symphony No. 9, symphony No. 5.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Another world famous German composer is Johann Sebastian Bach - a brilliant author, whose works in the 19th century aroused interest even among those who were not interested in serious, classical music. He wrote and organ music, and vocal-instrumental, and music for other instruments and instrumental ensembles, although opera genre he still managed to get around. Most often, he was engaged in writing cantatas, fugues, preludes and oratorios, as well as choral arrangements. It was Bach, along with Georg Friedrich Handel, who were the last composers of the Baroque era.

Throughout his life, he created more than a thousand pieces of music. The most famous works of Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565, Pastoral BWV 590, "Brandenburg Concertos", "Peasant" and "Coffee" cantatas, mass "Matthew Passion".

Richard Wagner

Wagner was not only one of the most influential composers in the entire world, but also one of the most controversial - because of his anti-Semitic worldview. He was a supporter new form opera, which he called "musical drama" - in it all the musical and dramatic elements merged together. To this end, he developed a compositional style in which the orchestra plays as strong a dramatic role as the performing singers.

Wagner himself wrote his own librettos, which he called "poems". Most of Wagner's plots were based on European myths and legends. He is best known for his eighteen-hour cycle of epic operas in four parts called Der Ring des Nibelungen, the opera Tristan und Isolde, and the musical drama Parsifal.

Famous Russian composers

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Glinka is usually referred to as the founder of the Russian national tradition in music, but his Russian operas offered a synthesis of Western music with Russian melodies. Glinka's first opera was A Life for the Tsar, which was well received at its first production in 1836, but the second opera, Ruslan and Lyudmila, with a libretto written by Pushkin, was not so popular. However, she showed new type dramaturgy - heroic-historical opera, or epic.

Glinka became the first of the Russian composers who achieved world recognition. The most famous works of Mikhail Ivanovich: the opera "Ivan Susanin", a fantasy waltz for a symphony orchestra and an overture-symphony on a circular Russian theme.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular and famous composers in the world. For many, he is also the most beloved Russian composer. Tchaikovsky's work, however, is much more Western than the works written by other composers of his contemporaries, as he used both folk Russian melodies and was guided by the legacy of German and Austrian composers. Tchaikovsky himself was not only a composer, but also a conductor, music teacher and critic.

No others famous composers Russia, perhaps, is not famous for creating ballet productions in the way that Tchaikovsky is famous for. by the most famous ballets Tchaikovsky's are: "The Nutcracker", " Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. He also wrote operas; the most famous are The Queen of Spades, Eugene Onegin.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov

The work of Sergei Vasilyevich absorbed the traditions of post-romanticism and took shape in a unique style in the musical culture of the 20th century, unlike any other in the world. He always gravitated towards large musical forms. Basically, his works are full of melancholy, drama, strength and rebellion; they often displayed images of the folk epic.

Rachmaninov was known not only as a composer, but also as a pianist, therefore significant place in his work it is piano works that occupy. He began learning piano music at the age of four. Rachmaninov's defining genre was the piano concerto and orchestra. Rachmaninoff's most famous works are the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and four concertos for piano and orchestra.

Famous composers of the world

Giuseppe Francesco Verdi

It is difficult to imagine the 19th century without the music of Giuseppe Verdi, one of the classics of Italian musical culture. Most of all, Verdi strove to bring musical realism to the opera production, he always worked directly with singers and librettists, interfered in the work of conductors and did not tolerate false performance. He said that he liked everything that was beautiful in art.

Like many composers, Verdi gained the greatest popularity thanks to the creation of operas. The most famous among them are the operas Othello, Aida, Rigoletto.

Frederic Chopin

The most famous Polish composer, Frederic Chopin, always illuminated in his works the beauty of his native land and believed in its greatness in the future. His name is the pride of the Polish people. Chopin stands out in the field of classical music in that he wrote works only for piano performance than others. famous composers with their variety of symphonies and operas; now Chopin's works have become the basis for the work of today's pianists.

Chopin was engaged in writing piano pieces, nocturnes, mazurkas, etudes, waltzes, polonaises and other forms, and the most famous among them are the Autumn Waltz, Nocturne in C sharp minor, Spring Rhapsody, Impromptu Fantasy in C sharp minor.

Edvard Grieg

The famous Norwegian composer and musical figure Edvard Grieg specialized in chamber vocal and piano music. Grieg's work was tangibly influenced by the legacy of German romanticism. Grieg's bright and recognizable style can be characterized by such a direction as musical impressionism.

Often, when creating his works, Grieg was inspired by folk tales, melodies, and legends. His work had a huge impact on the development of Norwegian musical culture and art in general. The most famous works of the composer are the overture "In Autumn", the concerto for piano and orchestra of 1868, the music for the play "Peer Gynt", the suite "From the time of Holberg".

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

And, of course, the most famous composers of all time cannot do without this name, which even people who are far from classical music know. Austrian composer and a virtuoso performer, Mozart created a number of operas, concertos, sonatas and symphonies that had a huge impact on classical music and, in fact, shaped it.

He grew up as a child prodigy: he learned to play the piano at the age of three, and at five he was already creating small pieces of musical works. The first symphony was written by him at the age of eight, the first opera at the age of twelve. Mozart had a phenomenal ear for music and an amazing ability to play many musical instruments and improvise.

During his life, Mozart created more than six hundred musical works, some of the most famous among which are the opera Le Nozze di Figaro, the symphony No. 41 Jupiter, the 3rd part of the sonata No. 11 Turkish March, the concerto for flute and harp with orchestra and "Requiem" in D minor, K.626.

Listen the best works world classical music in this video:

Take it, tell your friends!

What is classical music

Classical music - enchanting melodies created by talented authors, who are rightly called classical composers. Their works are unique and will always be in demand by performers and listeners. Classical, on the one hand, is usually called strict, deep-seated music that is not related to the directions: rock, jazz, folk, pop, chanson, etc. On the other hand, in historical development music is the period of the late XIII - early XX century, called classicism.

Classical themes are distinguished by sublime intonation, sophistication, a variety of shades and harmony. They have a positive effect on the emotional worldview of adults and children.

Stages of development of classical music. Their brief description and main representatives

In the history of the development of classical music, stages can be distinguished:

Renaissance or Renaissance - early 14th - last quarter of the 16th century. In Spain and England, the Renaissance lasted until the early 17th century.
Baroque - came to replace the Renaissance and lasted until the beginning of the 18th century. Spain was the center of style.
Classicism is a period of development of European culture from the beginning of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century.
Romanticism is a direction opposite to classicism. It lasted until the middle of the 19th century.
Classics of the 20th century - the modern era.

Brief description and main representatives of cultural periods

1. Renaissance - a long period of development of all areas of culture. - Thomas Tullis, Giovanni da Palestina, T. L. de Victoria composed and left immortal creations to posterity.

2. Baroque - in this era, new musical forms appear: polyphony, opera. It was during this period that Bach, Handel, Vivaldi created their famous creations. Bach's fugues are built in accordance with the requirements of classicism: obligatory observance of the canons.

3. Classicism. Viennese classical composers who created their immortal creations in the era of classicism: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. Sonata form appears, the composition of the orchestra increases. and Haydn differ from the ponderous works of Bach by their uncomplicated construction and the elegance of their melodies. It was still a classic, striving for perfection. Beethoven's compositions are the verge of contact between romantic and classical styles. In the music of L. van Beethoven, there is more sensuality and ardor than rational canonicity. Such important genres as symphony, sonata, suite, opera stood out. Beethoven gave rise to the Romantic period.

4. Romanticism. Musical works are characterized by color and drama. Various song genres are formed, for example, ballads. Piano compositions by Liszt and Chopin received recognition. The traditions of romanticism were inherited by Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Schubert.

5. Classics of the 20th century - characterized by the authors' desire for innovation in melodies, the terms aleatoric, atonalism arose. The works of Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Glass are referred to the classical format.

Russian classical composers

Tchaikovsky P.I. - Russian composer musical critic, public figure, teacher, conductor. His compositions are the most performed. They are sincere, easily perceived, reflect the poetic originality of the Russian soul, picturesque pictures of Russian nature. The composer created 6 ballets, 10 operas, more than a hundred romances, 6 symphonies. The world-famous ballet "Swan Lake", the opera "Eugene Onegin", "Children's Album".

Rachmaninov S.V. - works outstanding composer emotional and cheerful, and some are dramatic in content. Their genres are diverse: from small plays to concerts and operas. The generally recognized works of the author: the operas "The Miserly Knight", "Aleko" based on Pushkin's poem "Gypsies", "Francesca da Rimini" based on a plot borrowed from " Divine Comedy» Dante, poem "The Bells"; suite "Symphonic dances"; piano concertos; vocalise for voice with piano accompaniment.

Borodin A.P. was a composer, teacher, chemist, doctor. The most significant creation is the opera "Prince Igor" based on the historical work "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which was written by the author for almost 18 years. During his lifetime, Borodin did not have time to finish it; after his death, A. Glazunov and N. Rimsky-Korsakov completed the opera. The great composer is the founder of classical quartets and symphonies in Russia. The "Bogatyr" symphony is considered the crowning achievement of world and Russian national-heroic symphony. The instrumental chamber quartets, the First and Second Quartets were recognized as outstanding. One of the first to introduce heroic figures from ancient Russian literature into romances.

Great musicians

M. P. Mussorgsky, who can be said to be a great realist composer, a bold innovator, touching on acute social problems, an excellent pianist and an excellent vocalist. The most significant musical works are the opera "Boris Godunov" by dramatic work A.S. Pushkin and "Khovanshchina" - folk musical drama, main acting character these operas - the rebellious people from different social strata; creative cycle "Pictures at an Exhibition", inspired by the works of Hartmann.

Glinka M.I. - a famous Russian composer, the founder of the classical direction in Russian musical culture. He completed the process of creating a school of Russian composers, based on the value of folk and professional music. The master's works are imbued with love for the Fatherland, reflect the ideological orientation of the people of that historical era. The world-famous folk drama "Ivan Susanin" and the fairy-tale opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" have become new trends in Russian opera. Symphonic works"Kamarinskaya" and "Spanish Overture" by Glinka are the foundations of Russian symphonism.

Rimsky-Korsakov N.A. is a talented Russian composer, naval officer, teacher, publicist. Two currents can be traced in his work: historical (“ royal bride”, “Pskovityanka”) and fabulous (“Sadko”, “Snow Maiden”, suite “Scheherazade”). A distinctive feature of the composer's works: originality based on classical values, homophony in the harmonic construction of early compositions. His compositions have an author's style: original orchestral solutions with unusually built vocal scores, which are the main ones.

Russian classical composers tried to reflect in their works the cognitive thinking and folklore characteristic of the nation.

European culture

Famous classical composers Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven lived in the capital of musical culture of that time - Vienna. Geniuses are united by masterful performance, excellent compositional solutions, the use of different musical styles: from folk tunes to polyphonic developments of musical themes. The great classics are characterized by a comprehensive creative mental activity, competence, clarity in the construction musical forms. In their works, intellect and emotions, tragic and comic components, ease and prudence are organically linked together.

Beethoven and Haydn gravitated towards instrumental compositions, Mozart masterfully managed both operatic and orchestral compositions. Beethoven was an unsurpassed creator of heroic works, Haydn appreciated and successfully used humor, folk-genre types in his work, Mozart was a universal composer.

Mozart is the creator of the sonata instrumental form. Beethoven perfected it, brought it to unsurpassed heights. The period became a period of quartet heyday. Haydn, followed by Beethoven and Mozart, make a significant contribution to the development of this genre.

Italian masters

Giuseppe Verdi - an outstanding musician of the 19th century, developed the traditional Italian opera. He had impeccable craftsmanship. The culmination of his composing activity was operatic works"Troubadour", "La Traviata", "Othello", "Aida".

Niccolo Paganini - born in Nice, one of the most musically gifted personalities of the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a virtuoso on the violin. He composed caprices, sonatas, quartets for violin, guitar, viola and cello. He wrote concertos for violin and orchestra.

Gioacchino Rossini - worked in the 19th century. Author of spiritual and chamber music, composed 39 operas. Outstanding works - "The Barber of Seville", "Othello", "Cinderella", "The Thieving Magpie", "Semiramide".

Antonio Vivaldi is one of major representatives violin art of the 18th century. He gained fame thanks to his most notable work- 4 violin concertos "Seasons". Lived an amazingly productive life creative life, composed 90 operas.

Famous Italian classical composers left an eternal musical legacy. Their cantatas, sonatas, serenades, symphonies, operas will give pleasure to more than one generation.

Peculiarities of perception of music by a child

Listening to good music has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional development of the child, according to child psychologists. Good music introduces one to art and forms an aesthetic taste, as teachers believe.

Many well-known creations were created by classical composers for children, taking into account their psychology, perception and the specifics of age, i.e. for listening, while others composed various pieces for little performers that were easily perceived by ear and technically accessible to them.

"Children's Album" by Tchaikovsky P.I. for little pianists. This album is a dedication to a nephew who loved music and was very gifted child. The collection contains more than 20 pieces, some of them based on folklore material: Neapolitan motifs, Russian dance, Tyrolean and French melodies. Collection "Children's Songs" by Tchaikovsky P.I. designed for the auditory perception of a children's audience. Songs of an optimistic mood about spring, birds, a blooming garden (“My garden”), about compassion for Christ and God (“Christ the baby had a garden”).

Children's classic

Many classical composers worked for children, the list of works of which is very diverse.

Prokofiev S.S. "Peter and the Wolf" - symphonic tale for children. Thanks to this fairy tale, children get acquainted with the musical instruments of the symphony orchestra. The text of the tale was written by Prokofiev himself.

Schumann R. "Children's scenes" are short musical stories with a simple plot, written for adult performers, memories of childhood.

Debussy's Piano Cycle "Children's Corner".

Ravel M. "Mother Goose" based on the fairy tales of Ch. Perrault.

Bartok B. "First Steps at the Piano".

Cycles for children Gavrilova S. "For the smallest"; "Heroes of fairy tales"; "Kids about animals."

Shostakovich D. "Album of Piano Pieces for Children".

Bach I.S. Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. Teaching his children music, he created special pieces and exercises for them to develop technical skills.

Haydn J. - progenitor of the classical symphony. Created a special symphony called "Children's". The instruments used: clay nightingale, rattle, cuckoo - give it an unusual sound, childish and provocative.

Saint-Saens K. came up with a fantasy for orchestra and 2 pianos called "Carnival of the Animals", in which musical means masterfully conveyed the clucking of chickens, the roar of a lion, the complacency of an elephant and its manner of movement, a touchingly graceful swan.

Composing compositions for kids and youth, the great classical composers took care of interesting storylines work, the availability of the proposed material, taking into account the age of the performer or listener.

Popular in category: