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Pietro Metastasio
Metastasio was the most important librettist of the 18th century. His libretti were so popular, they were set over 800 times in the 18th and 19th century. -
Giovanni Battista Sammartini
Sammartini was a Galant composer of the 18th century. His light musical compositional style innovated the Milan symphony. -
Farinelli (Carlos Broschi)
Broschi was one of the most famous castrati during the 18th century. Usually going by his stage name of Farinelli, he was trained by Nicola Porpora. -
Franz Xaver Richter
Richter was one of the foremost Mannheim composers. He was a German innovator, composer, singer, and teacher. He is known for his work with string quartets. -
Wilheim Friedemann Bach
W. F. Bach was another son of J. S. Bach. A German composer known as "Halle Bach by a ton," he was less popular than his family due to his troubles. -
Prince Nikolaus J. Eszterházy
Eszterházy was not actually a composer, but is noteworthy as Haydn's employer. He was Haydn's patron until he died in 1790. -
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
The eldest son of J. S. Bach, C. Bach, unlike his father, wrote in not only the Baroque style, but classical as well. A Galant composer well known for Empfindsamkeit, or the sentimal style, he wrote many works and was employed by Frederick the Great for 30 years. -
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Gluck was a German opera reform composer who created a new balance between drama and music. He was jealous of Mozart and his success, and thought not really active in Baroque times, his music is considered by some in that genre. -
Johann Stamitz
A composer, conductor, teacher, violinist, and innovator in the Mannheim style, Stamitz was a young symphonic composer. His work helped establish the symphonic genre. -
Leopold Mozart
L. Mozart was the father of Wolfgang Mozart. In addition to being the father of that prodigy, L. Mozart was a composer, teacher, violinist, and theorist as well. -
Dr. Charles Burney
Burney was another important musical figure, though not a composer. He was known for traveling around Europe and making observations. He was a music historian as well as an author and organist. -
Franz Joseph Haydn
Haydn is known as one of the innovators of the classical style. He was a prominent Austrian composer, in addition to keyboardist, violinist, and teacher. -
Johann Christian Bach
Another son of J. S. Bach, J. C. Bach was a well renowned composer in his own right, working around London and Milan. He set up concert series in London, and his work was some inspiration to Mozart. -
Michael Haydn
M. Haydn was the lesser known brother of Franz Haydn. M. Haydn was known for his work toward choral music in the 18th century, as well as his work in Salzburg. -
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Mannheim School
This was a music school of thought known for a new compositional style at the time. Some innovations include sudden orchestral crescendos and diminuendos, replication of bird song in music, and a Grand Pause, which everything would stop and then pick up suddenly. This school of music helped influence people like Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Mozart. -
Luigi Boccherini
Boccherini was a prolific composer and cellist. He composed a lot of music for strings- 91 string quartets, over 90 string quintets, sextets, octets, and more. -
William Billings
Billings is known as the most prolific composer in North America in the 18th century. However, he was not a very good composer, and is better known for being a good singing teacher. -
Domenico Cimarosa
A central figure in opera in his day, Cimarosa was extremely successful in that time. He was an Italian composer who wrote 65 operas in his lifetime. -
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Da Ponte was a well known composer and librettist who sometimes collaborated with Mozart. A controversial figure, Da Ponte eventually moved from Italy to the U.S., where he became a professor at Columbia College. -
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
von Goethe's written works were used by composers as texts for their works. He was a German poet and writer whose text works were a force for the Romantic era. -
Antonio Salieri
Salieri was an extremely well known and successful composer and teacher. He functioned well in the transition between galant and classical an well as classical and romantic. -
Muzio Clementi
Clementi was a English composer of Italian birth. He was an important music publisher, as well as a keyboardist, piano manufacturer, and teacher. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart is known for many things, firstly being that he was a child prodigy. Writing in all genres, Mozart is known as one of the best musicians and composers of all time. His best innovations were in opera, however to many Mozart represents the classical era in its purest form.