#comp exam

"What if I fall?" 

Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) - inspired Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony No. 3. He was originally going to dedicated it to Napoleon, however, Beethoven did not like his ways of imperialism, so he dedicated it to someone else.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - wrote “Faust” and inspired a great deal of literature, music and illustration.

Paul Verlaine - A French poet who inspired composers like Debussy and Faure who set many of his poems to music.

Anton Stradivari - Around 1960-onward, Stradivari's violins are regarded as amongst the finest stringed- instruments ever created, are VERY expensive, and are played by the best professionals today. There are several violinmakers who try to copy the craftsmanship and sound today.

Johann Maelzel - he invented the metronome in 1816.

Joseph Stalin - Early 20th century, he influenced music in commissioning Dmitri Shostakovich for his compositions. He was forced under the Stalinist regime to compose music that was only pleasing to him, even though Shostakovich did “hidden” works that are noted today.

Adolph Saxe - invented the saxophone in 1841

Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy – employed Haydn at their house to write/perform music for their court.

Pope Gregory I - “Gregorian chant” is named after him because he was the patron Saint of musicians, singers, etc…and his writings were later chanted.

Sergei Diaghilev - director of the Ballet Russes (Russian Ballet), worked closely with composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographed and commissioned him to write ballets like “The Rite of Spring” and “Pulcinella.”

Martha Graham - Dance choreographer who worked in conjunction with Aaron Copeland and did the dance choreography for his ballet “Appalachian Spring” in 1948.