Composer's Handout, Part 1

By Maggie Hogan

Schumann (SHOE-mahn) 1810-1856
Listen to:

• Scenes from Childhood
  
• Carnaval
  
• Symphony no. 2 in C major
  

Brahms 1833-1897
Listen to:

•  All four symphonies
  
• Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn
  

Dvorak – (da-VOR-zhak) 1841-1904
Listen to:

• Slavonic Dances
  
• Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (“From the New World”)
  

Tchaikovsky (chai-KOFF0skee) 1840-1893
Listen to:

•  Romeo and Juliet
  
• Nutcracker
  
• Swan Lake
  
• 1812 Overture – has cannons in it! Really!
  

Strauss 1864-1949
Listen to:

• Tell Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
  
• Death and Transfiguration
  

20th Century/Contemporary Era:

Debussy (de-bu-SEE) 1862-1918
Listen to:

• Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
  
• La Mer
  

Stravinsky (stra-VIN-skee) 1882-1971
Most famous for:

• Firebird
  
• The Rite of Spring
  

Aaron Copland (KOPE-land) 1900-1990
Listen to:

• Appalachian Spring
  
• Fanfare for the Common Man
  
• Billy the Kid
  

George Gershwin 1898-1937
Listen to:

• Rhapsody in Blue
  
• Porgy and Bess
  

Recommended Books:

• Classical Music for Dummies by Pogue and Speck
  
• The Story of the Orchestra by Robert Levine
  
• Seabastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler
  
• Mozart, The Wonder Boy by Opal Wheeler
  
• New in 2006! Composers through History: A Young Christian’s Guide to Famous People by Maggie Hogan & Melissa Craig
  

Then:

• Make a timeline.
  
• Put each composer on it, along with his lifespan.
  
• Take a pencil in another color and draw lines that connect composers who knew each other or had relationships.
  
• Place them on a map—note what countries they’re from.
  

Fill out a card for each composer include:

• Name
  
• Musical era
  
• Dates
  
• 3 interesting facts
  
• 2 famous compositions
  

Now: See, Say, Stack!