The German composer Ludwig van Beethoven was probably the first truly bad boy of music. He showed utter distain for discipline and authority and brusquely dismissed the conventions of aristocratic society. The formal court etiquette was particularly irksome to him,

Vying with Mozart for the Viennese connoisseurs Working as a contemporary musician and composer alongside Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven must have been a rather daunting task. Yet, a good number of critics and scholars considered Leopold Koželuch (1747-1818) the finer

“Contesting the rubbish of effeminate song” It might be difficult to believe, but at one time the art of counterpoint was considered “the child of ancient aberration.” Bach’s Art of Fugue was seen as hopelessly out of date, with the

300th Birthday In June 1717, the Bohemian settlement of Německý Brod recorded the birth of Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (1717-57). Son of the town organist, Johann received his early education at a Jesuit grammar school—known for its excellence in music

The Original Barber of Seville In 2016, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Giovanni Paisiello’s death (1740-1816). One of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time, he wrote music for 94 operas that cultivated a comic, simple,

Music is an innocent Luxury Charles Burney (1726-1814) may only have been a relatively minor composer, but he was definitely a giant as a writer about music and the music scene of his time. In fact, his four-volume General History

The joys of Civil Service! If you really think that being a composer in the 18th and 19th centuries was an easy way to make a living, just ask Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814). Born into a highly musical family in

“No rights reserved” Vanhal, Violin Concerto in B-flat major If you have ever wondered about the competitive nature of the music business in the 18th Century, Johan Baptist Vanhal (1739-1813) would be a good person to ask. He rubbed shoulders