Michael McCooe

Girolamo Frescobaldi was a 17th Century Italian composer. Frescobaldi is regarded as one of the most important keyboard composers of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.

Heinrich Schütz was a 17th Century German composer and organist. Today, Schütz is considered to be one of the key composers of the era and the most important one before Johann Sebastian Bach.

Born in 1714, Christoph Willibald Gluck was a classical German composer. Christoph Willibald Gluck was a true musical revolutionary, who composed some of the 18th Century’s most popular operas.

Born in 1637, Dietrich Buxtehude was a Danish-German composer and organist. Leaving a significant legacy, he is today considered one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period.

Born in 1885, Alban Berg was a turn-of-the-century Austrian composer. By the time he died in 1935, Berg had gained a reputation as a master composer of orchestral and chamber music, who was also known for writing two ground-breaking operas, ensuring that his legacy lives on to this day.

Michael McCooe- Composer: Hindemith

Paul Hindemith is one of the most renowned composers of the 20th Century. His notable works include his song cycle Das Marienleben (1923), opera Mathis der Maler (1938) and theSymphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, which he wrote in 1943. Early career The German composer, violist, violinist, teacher and conductor was born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, on 16th November 1895. He was…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Weber

Carl Maria von Weber was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school of the 19th Century. Ability and style Born in November 1786, his influence on German classical music in the 19th Century cannot be understated. Weber was a capable composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic. His most famous operas include Der Freischütz, Euryanthe and Oberon which greatly influenced…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli (17th February 1653 – 8th January 1713) was an Italian violinist and composer. His music during the Baroque era was key to the development of modern classical music, including sonata and concerto while he also helped to establish the preeminence of the violin. Early life Corelli’s father passed away five weeks before the composer’s birth, so he was raised solely by his mother…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Smetana

Bedřich Smetana (2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was regarded as the father of Czech music in his homeland whose music became closely identified with his country’s aspirations to independent statehood. Smetana became internationally renowned for his opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má Vlast (“My Homeland”), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of his homeland. Read…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli (17th February 1653 – 8th January 1713) was an Italian violinist and composer. His music during the Baroque era was key to the development of modern classical music, including sonata and concerto while he also helped to establish the preeminence of the violin. Early life Corelli’s father passed away five weeks before the composer’s birth, so he was raised solely by his mother…

Michael McCooe: Pianist – Lipatti

Dinu Lipatti (19th March 1917 – 2nd December 1950) was a Romanian pianist and composer whose life was sadly cut short at the age of 33, relating to Hodgkin’s disease. During his short life, he was able to compose many of his own works, as well as showcase his impressive ability to recite others’ compositions. Early life of Lipatti Born in Bucharest to a musical family, Lipatti’s parents were both…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Offenbach

German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) completed nearly 100 operettas of the Romantic era between 1850s–1870s. His uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann is one of his most famous works and remains part of the standard opera repertory. He influenced the works of Johann Strauss Jr and Arthur Sullivan, among many other composers of future generations in…

Michael McCooe: Composer – Poulenc

Francis Poulenc (7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist whose most famous compositions include melodies, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Career Poulenc’s early works were renowned for their vigour and high spirit and he took influence from Erik Satie. An accomplished pianist, Poulenc had a reputation for…

Michael McCooe: Composer – Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer and pianist who received international acclaim for his work throughout the 20th Century. Summary He is most famous for being a musical director of the New York Philharmonic, as well as various other musicals such as West Side Story, Peter Pan, Candide, Wonderful Town, On the Town, On the Waterfront, his Mass, and a…

Michael McCooe – Composer: Villa-Lobos

Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer who some describe as the most significant creative figure in 20th Century Brazilian art music. The most well-known Latin-American composer to date, Villa-Lobos wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, totalling over 2,000 before his death. His musical style was influenced by both Brazilian…