Curated playlist
German opera composers
- Ludwig van BeethovenBeethoven was deaf when a singer turned him around to see applause. It happened at the premiere on the 7th of May 1824.
- Richard WagnerRichard Wagner grew up believing his stepfather was his real father.
- Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMozart finished more than 800 works in thirty-five years and died with his Requiem unfinished.
- Robert SchumannComposer Robert Schumann fought his own piano teacher in court for the right to marry the teacher's daughter.
- Felix MendelssohnAt 20, Felix Mendelssohn conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in Berlin.
- Richard StraussRichard Strauss drove to a concentration camp to plead for his daughter-in-law's grandmother.
- George Frideric HandelA large coat button once saved George Frideric Handel from a sword. A friend lunged at him in 1704 during a quarrel.
- Jacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach died months before his last opera opened. He told his dog he would give everything to be there.
- Paul HindemithJoseph Goebbels publicly called composer Paul Hindemith an "atonal noisemaker" in December 1934.
- Johann Christian BachIn 1764, eight-year-old Mozart spent five months in London learning from Johann Christian Bach.