Cool, Classical Composers
Do a search for Mozart's music at the All Music Guide.
1770 - 1827
Music! Not cooking, good manners, or fashion, was Ludwig van Beethoven's whole life. His father gave him piano lessons before he was four years old. Young Beethoven was so small, he had to stand on the piano bench in order to reach the keys. His father rapped his knuckles whenever he made a mistake. Neighbors recalled him as a tiny boy weeping in front of the piano. When he was a little older, his father, who was an alcoholic, would rouse Beethoven at midnight to show him off to friends he brought home from bars. Later in his life, a policeman arrested Beethoven one day for acting suspiciously. By this time, the composer was very well known, and the policeman refused to believe that the "great Beethoven" could look as he did. The fashionable hairstyle of the day was careful pigtails, but Beethoven let his thick hair grow long and wild. He also couldn't be bothered with clean or stylish clothes. When his clothes became too dirty and disgusting, his friends took them away during the night while he was sleeping and brought new ones. Beethoven never noticed the difference. He had a loud laugh and annoying voice. He liked to spit. He sometimes left restaurants without paying and sometimes wrote music on the bill. He died of liver failure at the age of fifty-seven.
Another good link for Beethoven is at The Composer's Corner.
This book by Kathleen Krull is a wonderful resource for music teachers of all grades. The pictures are based on caricatures of the composers featured. There is much more information supplied on each of the composers in this article but you'll need to get the book to find out the rest of the goodies. And believe me, this author has found some incredibly juicy bits of trivia.
Other links worth browsing are:
Search for the Classical Composer of your choice.
Or search for Romantic Composers at Classics World.
To do a search for pictures
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