Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) German
 Johannes Brahms was born on May 7th, 1833 in Hamburg. He began studying piano at the age of seven. His first public appearance, as a solo pianist, was in 1847. Brahms looked to Beethoven and Bach for his inspiration. After going to Vienna to settle down, his music mellowed and even took on sad tones. It was his balance between Classical forms and early Romantic music that made him one of the more prominent composers of the 19th century. He died in 1897.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) French
 Claude Debussy was born in St. Germaine-en-Laye in August 1862. Some of Debussy's music was quite new and colorful to Western music. His impressions came from many places he had visited. Some of his tunes were: La damoiselle elve (1888); Cinq poems de Baudelaire (1889); Ariettes oubliees, Trois melodies, Fetes galantes (1893); Prelude a L'apres-midi d'un faune' (1894); Pelleas et Melisande (1893-95); La mer (1905)
Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Russian
 Piotr Tchaikovsky was born in Russia and was schooled in the Russian national school during the late Romantic period. His music reflects heavily his Russian influences and traditions, very appealing and melodic and is loved by many. He composed much music in his lifetime with an endearing quality that would reveal the emotional passion in which he had. He died in 1893.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Italian
 Giuseppe Verdi was born in Italy October, 1813. He was an organist at the age of ten for a village church. He went to Milan to study under Lavigna. These are some of his notable compositions: Oberto 91839); Nabuco (1842); Lombardi (1843); Ernani (1844); He had several operas between (1844-1846). Luisa Miller (1849); Rigoletto (1851); La Traviata (1853); Un Ballo in Maschera (1859). His production of Aida (1887) was his last. He later died in 1901.
Frediric Francois Chopin (1810-1849) French
 Chopin was born in Poland in 1810. He settled, however, in Paris at age twenty-one. Chopin was a gifted pianist. He had a way of making his music speak right to the emotions and to the heart. Among his noted works here are a few: Nocturne in E-flat (1827); Piano concertos No. 1 and No.2 (1830); Piano Ballade No. 1 Fantasie-Impromptu' (1835); Ballade No. 2 (1841); Ballade No. 4 (1842); Piano Sonata No. 3 (1844); Barcaolle (1846); Chopin died young with health problems in 1849. He was truly a poet of the piano. His instrument spoke volumes.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) German
 Felix Mendelssohn was born February 3rd, 1809 in Hamburg Germany. He began writing music at the age of nine and performing in public by 1818. His first real masterpiece was his Overture to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohns passion was for music of the past, with such music as Bach's. Mendelssohn wrote forty-eight short piano pieces under the title Lieder ohne Worte (Song's Without Words). Mendelssohn died at the very young age of 38.
John Knowels Paine (1839-1906) American
 John Knowles Paine was born in 1839 in Portland, Maine. He came from a musically talented family. Under the tutelage of Herman Kotzchmar, Paine studied organ, piano and harmony. He later went to Germany to study composition and counterpoint. In 1875 he became a professor of music at Harvard University, and was the first professor of music and the first American to write a symphony in the United States.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Schumann, a son of a shoe salesman, showed interest as a pianist early in his life. He began his adulthood studying law. However, he spent most of his time in musical or literary work. He founded a musical journal, the Neve Zeitschrift fur Musik, and wrote for it for ten years. Some of his musical contributions were: Dances of the of David, Carnaval, Phantasiestucke, Kreisleriana, Kindrszenen, A woman's Love and Life, and A Poet's Love. Schumann died in 1856.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) German
 Gustav Mahler was born in July 1860. He came from a Jewish middle-class family. His musical interest started young. He began playing piano at the age of six and had his first public performance at age ten. These are some of his works: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1885); Resurrection Symphony (1888-94); Third Symphony D-minor (1895-96); Fourth Symphony (1899); Fifth Symphony (1901); Sixth Symphony (1903-05); Seventh Symphony (1904-05) Symphonies Eight , Nine and Ten were done in (1906-09-10). Mahler worked until his death in 1911.
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) French
Chabrier was a French composer born in Ambert, Py-de-Dome, whose works are characterized by vivacity, humor and a strong rhythm. Afew of his compositions were: Gwendoline (1886); King in spite of Himself (1887); and the orchestral pieces Espana (1883); and Joyeuse march (1888).
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) French
Born in Paris, Camille Saint-Saens had been raised by his mother after his father's death. His Aunt Charlotte taught him piano beginning at age two. He played much of Beethoven and Mozart but later he would compose his own music. Carnival Des Animaux was written as a joke and he would allow no one to perform it while he was yet alive. He believed the music was not the best quality. But his composition, Carnival Des Animaux, would turn out to be one of his most well-known pieces of work. The Swan, a beautiful piece of music from Carnival Des Animaux was the only piece he allowed others to perform.
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