In the years spanning from 1800 to 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven completed nine symphonies, now considered among the greatest masterpieces of Western music. Yet despite the fact that this time period, located in the wake of the Enlightenment and at the...

Best known for the challenging four-opera cycle "The Ring of the Nibelung", Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a conductor, librettist, theater director, and essayist, in addition to being the composer of some of the most enduring operatic works in histo...

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) is one of the most important and representative composers of the Romantic era. Born in Zwickau, Germany, Schumann began piano instruction at age seven and immediately developed a passion for music. When a permanent injury...