Ludwig von Beethoven: Arguably the most well known composer of all time and deservingly so. He was such a great musician that he actually composed much of his work when he was deaf. Beethoven was also a master of the simple motif, as evidenced by the first movement of his famous 5th symphony, where he used the 3 short-1 long note motif to create a powerful piece of music. Have you ever seen that movie about him? Immortal something or the other.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach was one of those Baroque composers. I'm not that big of a fan of Baroque music so I don't know much, but I'll say something anyway. Baroque music often features a harpichord as the continuo, or moving line. Listen to Bach's Air on a G String for a great example of this. Bach also wrote a lot of important choral stuff. Indeed, he was a very prolific composer, and famous works include his Cello Suites (I think there are Six), and numerous organ compositions (the Cantata that you always hear in scary movies).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Here's another very well known composer. He had a movie made about him too - Amadeus. This guy was truly a musical genius. He was already composing at 5, and at 6, he was touring Munich and Vienna as a keyboard virtuoso. Mozart was definitely a pianist at heart, and it really shows in his music - his piano compositions are more exciting than anything else he wrote. Mozart's compositions are a good example of beauty in simplicity - easy to play, but difficult to play well. Among pieces that I like are his Requiem, Eine Kleine Nachtmusick, and his Turkish March.

Niccolo Paganini: Paganini composed numerous works for the violin, and one of my previous mp3 of the week was the last of his 24 Caprices for solo violin. Many composers of Paganini's day wrote compositions for other soloists to perform because they were not skilled enough to play their own composition. But Paganini was different. Paganini wrote fiendishly difficult pieces that he would perfect and perform himself. Paganini was such a violin virtuoso that there were actually rumors that Paganini had sold his soul the Devil for such perfect technique.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Tchaikovsky composed for just about any arrangement of instruments. His orchestra works are extremely famous, including the Pathetique Symphonie and also many ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. But Tchaikovsky also wrote many excellent concertos for solo instruments with orchestral accompaniment. Particular concertos worth noting are his famous Piano Concerto and his famous Violin Concerto (he only wrote one of each). Other famous works include the Romeo and Juliet Fantasie (the love theme you hear in cheesy movie) and the 1812 Overture.

I'll be posting more stuff about my favorite composers soon...visit me again when I do!