March Composer Birthdays

March seemingly has a plethora of famous and influential composers, so I will try to cover a few in small detail. This month we celebrate Frédéric Chopin (March 1, 1810), Johann Sebastian Bach (March 31, 1685) and Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31, 1732). I could easily write an entire book of these composers' lives and achievements, but we will briefly sum up some of the more important parts of their lives.

Starting with the Baroque master himself, J.S. Bach is routinely considered one of the, if not the number one most influential composer of all time. He lived a modest life in Germany and fathered twenty children! Many of them grew up to be famous musicians as well. Bach worked for royalty, but the majority of his work was for the church. Some famous masterworks to check out:

The Well Tempered Clavier, Volumes I and II
The Brandenburg Concertos
The Art of the Fugue
Toccata and Fugue in d minor
St. John's Passion
St. Matthew's Passion
B Minor Mass

Moving along to the Classical giant, we examine Haydn. German in origin, Haydn worked for the House of Esterhazy in Prague. Haydn is often credited with creating the symphony, writing 104 of them! He also taught many younger composers such as Mozart (briefly) and Beethoven. Take a listen to:

Symphony no. 94 ("Surprise Symphony")
Symphony no. 104 ("London Symphony")
The Creation

We finish with the Romantic Era's Chopin. Chopin was a virtuoso pianist, so talented at his instrument that he is the only composer known to have written solely piano music! All other classical composers worked on symphonies, chamber works, choral works etc., but Chopin only wrote for the piano. He preferred to play in parlors for aristocrats rather than give large concerts. He was half French and half Polish, but he is quoted saying that his heart remained in Poland. Chopin, like other composers, was heavily influenced by Bach, and wrote his own set of preludes! Some works to check out:

Etudes
Waltzes
Ballades
Mazuraks
Nocturnes
Preludes

Happy listening!