Adam de la Halle

Dates: c.1237-c.1288
Country: France
Refer to: Chapter 9
Composition: “J’ose bien a m’amie parler”
Genre: secular song
Musical Era: Middle Ages
Did you know? He was a French composer (trouvere) from the Middle Ages
who worked in Naples, Italy.

Adams, John
Dates: born in 1947
Country: United States
Refer to: Chapter 6, 12, 15, 16
Composition: Gnarly Buttons, Nixon in China, Chamber Symphony and
Shaker Loops
Genre: concerto, opera, chamber
Musical Era: 20th century, Minimalism
Did you know? He received a Grammy award for his opera Nixon in China.

Albeniz, Isaac
Dates: 1860-1909
Country: Spain
Refer to: Chapter 15
Composition: Sevilla and Asturia
Genre: music for guitar
Musical Era: Romantic
Did you know? A pianist, he was the founder of the modern Spanish
nationalist school of music.

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Dates: 1685-1750
Country: Germany
Refer to: Chapter 4, 5, 6, 10, 15
Composition: many instrumental and vocal works
Genre: everything but opera
Musical Era: Baroque
Did you know? The same doctor who ruined his eyesight also operated on
 and ruined Handel’s.

Bartok, Bela
Dates: 1881-1945
Country: Hungary
Refer to: Chapter 6
Composition: Concerto for Orchestra
Genre: concerto
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? He died penniless in New York City in 1945.

Beethoven, Ludwig von

Dates: 1770-1827
Country: Germany
Refer to: Chapter 5, 7, 8
Composition: Pathetique Sonata, Symphony No. 3, 5, and 9
Genre: sonata, symphony
Musical Era: Classical, bridge to Romantic
Did you know? In 1809 when Vienna fell to Napoleon, Beethoven hid in his
basement with pillows over his head.

Berg, Alban
Dates: 1885-1935
Country: Austria
Refer to: Chapter 16
Composition: Wozzeck
Genre: Expressionism and 12-tone
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? With the coming of Hitler to power, the works of Berg,
Webern, and Schoenberg were all banned in Germany.

Berlioz, Hector
Dates: 1803-1869
Country: France
Refer to: Chapter 9, 14
Composition: Symphonie Fantastique
Genre: symphonic poem (tone poem)
Musical Era: Romantic
Did you know? His “fatal attraction” to Harriet Smithson was the inspiration
for his Symphonie Fantastique.

Bernstein, Leonard
Dates: 1918-1990
Country: United States
Refer to: Chapter 16
Composition: On the Town, West Side Story
Genre: musicals, jazz, American music
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? A modern-day Renaissance man, he was a famous conductor,
composer, pianist, and the author of many books on music.

Bizet, Georges
Dates: 1838-1875
Country: France
Refer to: Chapter 12
Composition: Carmen
Genre: opera
Musical Era: Romantic
Did you know? The opera Carmen has been performed in many languages
including Russian and Japanese.

Brahms, Johannes
Dates: 1913-1976
Country: England
Refer to: Chapter 2 and 10
Composition: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and The War Requiem
Genre: orchestral work with narrator, requiem mass
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? He is probably the most important 20th century English
composer.

Cage, John
Dates: 1912-1992
Country: United States
Refer to: Chapter 16
Composition: Sixteen Sonata
Genre: prepared piano
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? His piece Imaginary Landscape No. 4 was written for 12 radios
that were set to predetermined wavelengths, and played whatever was “on the air”
at the time of the concert.

Chopin, Frederic
Dates: 1810-1849
Country: Porland
Refer to: Chapter 15
Composition: mazurkas, polonaises, and nocturnes
Genre: character pieces, solo piano works
Musical Era: Romantic
Did you know? His lover was a women who took the pen-name of George
Sands. She dressed like a man and smoked cigars.

Copland, Aaron
Dates: 1990-1990
Country: United States
Refer to: Chapter 13
Composition: Rodeo
Genre: ballet
Musical Era: 20th century
Did you know? He is considered the “Dean” of American music. He won an
Academy Award for his film music to the movie The Heiress.

Debussy, Claude
Dates: 1862-1918
Country: France
Refer to: Chapter 5, 24
Composition: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, Prelude to the Afternoon of
a Faun, “Voiles,” “La fille aux cheveux de lin,” and Nocturnes.
Genre: sonata, piano music, program music (tone poem)
Musical Era: 20th century, Impressionism
Did you know? In 1889 he heard the gamelan orchestras from Java and
became fascinated with their scales (pentatonic), unusual timbres, and textures.

Dvorak, Antonin
Dates: 18841-1904
Country: Czech
Refer to: Chapter 8
Composition: Symphony No. 9
Genre: symphony
Musical Era: Romantic
Did you know? He had a fascination and passion for steam engines and
trains.

Gabrieli, Giovanni
Dates: c.1556-1612
Country: Italy(Venice)
Refer to: Chapter 4
Composition: “In ecclesiis”
Genre: motet, sacred vocal work
Musical Era: Renaissance
Did you know? He worked for St. Mark’s Church in Venice, Italy.

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