The Strange Stories Behind the Most Famous Musical Composers

Beethoven, Chopin, and Vivaldi… What do these three people have in common other than the fact that we call them only by their last name and that they had some interesting haircuts? These are three of the most widely celebrated musical composers in history, and also the three composers that Cristiana Pegoraro selected to cover in her upcoming Great Classical Composers class. They’re some of the most eccentric people who ever lived; they marched to the beat of their own drums, literally and figuratively. 

Beethoven’s Tumultuous Life

Beethoven was a child prodigy, and was taught music by his aggressive and abusive father from a very young age until age 21, when he went to study under composer Joseph Haydn. In his early 20s, Beethoven began losing his hearing, which he would completely lose by the time he was 46. Despite the loss of his hearing, his pitch still remained perfect and he composed his most famous works after he was fully deaf. Around the time this disability took a hold of him, he became a recluse, separating himself from friends and family and spending his time alone, feverishly composing music night and day. The composer was famously hard to get along with, and as we would say in 2020, started drama with many of his contemporaries, including one incident where he tried to break a chair over an Austrian Prince’s head. He never married or had children, but he did have one lifelong crush on a married woman, who he wrote poetic and brooding love letters to. 

 Chopin: A Romantic at Heart

Polish composer Frédéric François Chopin was, like Beethoven, a childhood prodigy that was given accolades at a very young age. Chopin only ever played the piano in the dark, even at the 30 concerts he ever performed in his lifetime. You might think this is because he was goth before it was cool, but he was actually just quite shy and preferred to hide in darkness while performing his masterpieces. He suffered difficulties with love (Alexa.. Play Halsey’s “Bad at Love”) and failed to have any long lasting relationship in his lifetime. Lover’s quarrels and breakups often coincide in time with Chopin's most famous works. All of this tumultuous drama and heartbreak made Chopin the posterboy of the Romantic Era - a period of music and art that took hold of Europe in the first half of the 19th century. Chopin died in poverty at the young age of 39 of a mysterious illness, which many believe to be tuberculosis. 

The Four Seasons of Vivaldi’s Life

Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy, and apparently an earthquake shook the city that day, causing his parents to immediately baptize him, and some say anointed him into priesthood. Regardless, he decided to officially become a priest at 15 years old, while still choosing to follow his calling to music. His wild red hair earned him the nickname il Prete Rosso - the red priest in Italian.  Most know him for his epic series of violin concertos called ‘The Four Seasons’, but Vivaldi also composed over 40 operas and even some vocal ensembles to be sung at a children’s orphanage, where he worked as a teacher. His career tragically aligned with the fall of the Venetian Republic in the late 18th century, which was a contributing factor to his dying without a penny to his name, despite being the most famous Baroque composers of the time.    

This is just the beginning of the mystery and dynamism behind these 3 musical geniuses. They led interesting lives, and you can identify this in the emotion and melody of their music. Dive deeper into the lives of these composers with world-renowned pianist Cristiana Pegoraro, who will walk you through some of their most famous musical accomplishments, while also talking more about their lives and philosophies. The course will be broken up into 3 one hour sessions, with one session dedicated to each composer. Each class will be on a Monday: January 27th, February 17th, and March 16th. The Classical Composer course is more of a “Listen and Learn” format, but there will still be a text chat to ask questions throughout the classes. Because of this format, the class will be offered at a discounted price of $11.99. Enrolled students receive unlimited, lifetime access to the recordings. Click here to register.