Famous German Composers

Born in Eisenach, Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is celebrated for his Brandenburg Concertos, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor and a number of other instrumental masterpieces.

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Born in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist in the period between the Classical and Romantic eras. He spent his childhood in Germany, where he was taught by his father – Johann van Beethoven and later by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21, he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he began studying under Joseph Haydn. Some of his most influential works include Symphony No. 5 and 9, Piano Sonata No. 29, Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 4.

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Born in Leipzig, Richard Wagner grew up to become one of Germany’s most famous composers. Although he had many talents, he is best known for his operas. Some of his major works include The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohegrin, Tristan and Isolde, Parsifal and The Ring of the Nibelung.

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One modern-day German composer is Hans Zimmer. Born in Frankfurt, Zimmer has composed scores for more than 150 different films. Some of his most famous works include scores for The Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Intersteller, Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Inception, Dunkirk and the Dark Knight trilogy. Of course, his works are quite different from those of Beethoven – but we still love them!

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