Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31st, 1732, in Rohrau, Austria near Hungary. His father, Mathias Haydn, was a wagoner and a sexton at his parish and his mother, Elizabeth, was a simple and humble woman. During the evening Mathias would play the harp, and Elizabeth would sing to their children...

"Not only did I have the encouragement of constant approval, but as the conductor of the orchestra I could experiment, find out what made a good effect and what weakened it, so I was free to alter, improve, add or omit and be as bold as I pleased. Cut off from the rest of the world I had no one to...

Ludwig van Beethoven was, and remains today, an influential figure in the history of classical music. Perhaps no other composer in history wrote music of such inspiring power and expressiveness. His influence on the last 150 years of music is unequalled. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770...