Piano Composers

Johann Sebastian Bach
Date of Birth
21 March 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany
Date of Death
28 July 1750, Leipzig, Germany (stroke, high fever)
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a large and distinguished family of professional musicians. His
father, named Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a violinist and trumpeter, employed by the city of
Eisenach. His uncles were church organists, court musicians and composers. His mother and father
died before Bach was 10. As an orphan, he moved in with his eldest brother, J. C. Bach, an organist
and composer, under whose tutelage Bach studied organ music as well as the construction and
maintenance of the organ.
Education: At the age of 14, Bach received a scholarship and walked on foot 300 kilometers to the
famous St. Michael's school in Luneburg, near Hamburg. There he lived and studied for 2 years from
1699-1701. It was there that he sang a Capella at the boys chorale. Bach's studies included organ,
harpsichord, and singing. In addition he took the academic studies in theology, history and
geography, and lessons of Latin, Italian, and French. Besides his studies of music by the local
Nothern German composers, Bach had important exposure to the music of composers from other
European nations; such as the French composers Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marais, and Marchand, the
South German composers Johann Pachelbel and Froberger, and the Italians Arcangelo Corelli and
Antonio Vivaldi.
Personality and character: Bach was 17 when he made a 4-month pilgrimage, walking on foot about
400 kilometers from Arnstadt to the Northern city of Lubeck. There he studied with 'Dietrich
Buxtehude' and became so involved that he overstayed his leave by three months. Buxtehude being
probably the best organist of his time became the living link between the founder of Baroque music
Heinrich Schuetz and the biggest Baroque genius, Bach. Back in Arnstadt, Bach wrote 'Toccata and
Fugue in D Minor' (1702), his first masterpiece; which stemmed from his bold organ improvisations. At
that time he was in love with his second cousin Maria Barbara; whom he was taking upstairs to the
church organ, where her presence was inspirational for his creativity. Bach was punished for the
violation of the restrictions on women's presence in the church and he was fired. However, he
eventually married Maria Barbara.
Cross-cultural studies: Bach studied the orchestral music of Antonio Vivaldi and gained insight into
his compositional language by arranging Vivaldi's concertos for organ. Six French suites were written
for keyboard; each suite opens with 'Allemande' and consists of several pieces, including 'Courante',
'Sarabande', 'Menuet', 'Gavotte', 'Air', 'Anglaise', 'Polonaise', 'Bourree', and 'Gigue'. As suggested by
their titles, the pieces were representing songs and dances from various cultures. From the music of
the Italians Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, and 'Giuseppe Torelli'; Bach adopted dramatic
introductions and endings as well as vivacious rhythmical dynamism and elaborate harmonization.
Bach also performed the music of English, French, and Italian composers; motets of the Venetian
school, and incorporated their rhythmical patterns and textural structures in the development of his
own style.
Teaching: Bach selected and instructed musicians for orchestras and choirs in Weimar and Leipzig.
His work as a Cantor included teaching instrumental and vocal lessons to the church musicians and
later to the musicians of the court orchestra. Bach was also a teacher of his own children and of his
second wife. In 1730, Bach presented his second wife with a musical notebook for studies, known as
the 'Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach'. Compositions in the notebook were written in a form of
minuete, polonaise, gavotte, march, rondeau, chorale, sonata, prelude, song, and aria; written mainly
by Bach, as well as by his sons 'Carl Philip Emanuel Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and composers
'Francois Couperin', Georg Bohm, and others.
Family: Bach married his second cousin, named Maria Barbara, who was the inspirational force for
his early compositions. They had seven children, 4 of whom survived to adulthood. Maria Barbara
died in 1720. On December 3, 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena (bee Wilcke), a talented
soprano, who was 17 years his junior. They had thirteen children. Bach fathered a total of 20 children
with his two wives. His sons with Maria, 'Friedemann Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and 'Carl Philip
Emanuel Bach' became important composers in the Rococo style. The descendants of Bach are living
in many countries across the world.
Social activity: Bach replaced his friend Georg Philipp Telemann as the director of the popular
orchestra known as Collegium Musicum, which he led from 1729-1750. It was a private secular music
society that gave concert performances twice a week at the Zimmerman's Coffeehouse near the
Leipzig market square. Bach's exposure to such a secular public environment inspired him to
compose numerous purely entertainment pieces for solo keyboard and several violin and harpsichord
concertos.
Politics: Being the undisputed musical genius, Bach still suffered from ugly political machinations.
Although the Leipzig Council had enough money, they never honored the promised salary of 1000
talers a year; promised to Bach by the Mayor of Leipzig, Gottlieb Lange, at the hiring interview. Bach
worked diligently, in spite of being underpaid for 27 years until his death. On top of that local political
factions in the Leipzig Council manipulated Bach's educational work as well as his compositions and
public performances. They were pressuring him as the Cantor and Composer and interfering his
creative efforts by imposing restrictions on his performances because of their ugly political games.
Bach prevailed as he composed and played his "Mass in B Minor" to the monarch of Saxony and was
appointed the Royal Court Composer of Saxony.
King Frederick the Great invited Bach to Potsdam in 1747. There the king played his own theme for
Bach and challenged the composer to improvise on it. Bach used the 'royal theme' and improvised a
three-part fugue on the king's piano. Later Bach upgraded the king's theme to a more sophisticated
melody, and composed an array of pieces based on the improved 'royal theme', which he titled
"Musical Offering" and later presented this composition to the king.
Legacy: Bach wrote over eleven hundred music compositions in all genres. In Leipzig alone he wrote
a cantata for every Sunday and feast day of the year, of which 224 cantatas survive. Some of his
compositions were written on the same theme at different times in his life, like choral cantatas and
organ works on similar themes with significantly reworked arrangements. The complete list of Bach's
works, BWV, has 1127 compositions for voice, organ, harpsichord, violin, cello, flute, chamber music
for small ensembles, orchestral music, concertos for violin and orchestra, and for keyboard and
orchestra. His music became the essential part of the education for every musician. Bach influenced
such great composers as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn-
Bartholdy, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev and many other prominent musicians.
Works
J.S. Bach's works are indexed with BWV numbers, {Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works
Catalogue)}. The catalogue, published in 1950, was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue
is organized thematically, rather than chronologically: BWV 1–224 are cantatas; BWV 225–249, the
large-scale choral works; BWV 250–524, chorales and sacred songs; BWV 525–748, organ works;
BWV 772–994, other keyboard works; BWV 995–1000, lute music; BWV 1001–40, chamber music;
BWV 1041–71, orchestral music; and BWV 1072–1126, canons and fugues. In compiling the
catalogue, Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of
the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905.
Organ works
Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ
works in both the traditional German free genres—such as preludes, fantasias, and toccatas—and
stricter forms, such as chorale preludes and fugues. He established a reputation at a young age for
his great creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. A decidedly North
German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, with whom Bach came into contact in Lüneburg, and
Dieterich Buxtehude in Lübeck, whom the young organist visited in 1704 on an extended leave of
absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach copied the works of numerous French and
Italian composers to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later arranged violin
concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. His most productive period (1708–14) saw
the composition of several pairs of preludes & fugues and toccatas & fugues, and of the
Orgelbüchlein ("Little organ book"), an unfinished collection of 45 short chorale preludes that
demonstrate compositional techniques in the setting of chorale tunes. After he left Weimar, Bach's
output for organ fell off, although his best-known works (the six trio sonatas, the "German Organ
Mass" in Clavier-Übung III from 1739, and the "Great eighteen" chorales, revised late in his life) were
all composed after this time. Bach was extensively engaged later in his life in consulting on organ
projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals. One of the high points
may be the third part of the Clavier-Übung, a setting of 21 chorale preludes uniting the traditional
Catholic Missa with the Lutheran catechism liturgy, the whole set interpolated between the mighty "St.
Anne" Prelude and Fugue on the theme of the Trinity.
Other keyboard works
Bach wrote many works for the harpsichord, some of which may also have been played on the
clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that show an eagerness to encompass whole
theoretical systems in an encyclopedic fashion.
 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book comprises a prelude
and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys in chromatic order from C major to B minor
(thus, the whole collection is often referred to as 'the 48'). "Well-tempered" in the title refers to
the temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach's time were not flexible
enough to allow compositions to move through more than just a few keys.
 The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These short two- and three-part
contrapuntal works are arranged in the same chromatic order as the Well-Tempered Clavier,
omitting some of the less used keys. The pieces were intended by Bach for instructional
purposes.
 Three collections of dance suites: the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites
(BWV 812–817) and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six
suites built on the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–
Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the
allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue. The
French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the
gigue. The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and
miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model.
 The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with thirty variations. The collection has a
complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather
than its melody, and musical canons are interpolated according to a grand plan. There are
nine canons within the 30 variations, one placed every three variations between variations 3
and 27. These variations move in order from canon at the unison to canon at the ninth. The
first eight are in pairs (unison and octave, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and
fifth). The ninth canon stands on its own due to compositional dissimilarities.
 Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831),
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).
Orchestral and chamber music
Bach wrote music for single instruments, duets and small ensembles. Bach's works for solo
instruments—the six sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001–1006), the six cello suites (BWV
1007–1012) and the Partita for solo flute (BWV 1013)—may be listed among the most profound works
in the repertoire. Bach also composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote trio
sonatas; solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba; and a large
number of canons and ricercare, mostly for unspecified instrumentation. The most significant
examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.
Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg concertos, so named because he submitted
them in the hope of gaining employment from Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in
1721; his application was unsuccessful. These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre.
Other surviving works in the concerto form include two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and BWV 1042); a
Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (BWV 1043), often referred to as Bach's "double" concerto; and
concertos for one, two, three and even four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the
harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of his concertos for other
instruments now lost. A number of violin, oboe and flute concertos have been reconstructed from
these. In addition to concertos, Bach also wrote four orchestral suites, a series of stylised dances for
orchestra, each preceded by a French overture. The work now known as the Air on the G String is an
arrangement for the violin made in the nineteenth century from the second movement of the
Orchestral Suite No. 3.
Vocal and choral works
Although he performed cantatas by other composers, he also composed at least three entire sets of
cantatas, one for each Sunday and holiday of the church year, at Leipzig, in addition to those
composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar. In total he wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which
approximately 195 survive.
His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation. Some of them are only for a solo singer; some
are single choruses; some are for grand orchestras; some only a few instruments. A very common
format, however, includes a large opening chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for
soloists (or duets) and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading
for the week and the aria is a contemporary reflection on it. The melody of the concluding chorale
often appears as a cantus firmus in the opening movement. Among the best known cantatas are BWV
4 ("Christ lag in Todesbanden"), BWV 21 ("Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis"), BWV 80 ("Ein' feste Burg"),
BWV 106 ("Actus Tragicus"), BWV 140 ("Wachet auf") and BWV 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und
Leben").
In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as council
inaugurations. These also include wedding cantatas, the Wedding Quodlibet, the Peasant Cantata
and the Coffee Cantata, which concerns a girl whose father will not let her marry until she gives up
her addiction to that extremely popular drink.
Bach's large choral-orchestral works include the famous St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion,
both written for Good Friday vespers services at St. Thomas' and St. Nicholas' Churches in alternate
years, and the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the Liturgical season of Christmas).
The Magnificat in two versions (one in E-flat major, with four interpolated Christmas-related
movements, and the later and better-known version in D major) and the Easter Oratorio compare to
large, elaborate cantatas, of a lesser extent than the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.
Bach's other large work, the Mass in B minor, was assembled by Bach near the end of his life, mostly
from pieces composed earlier (such as cantata BWV 191 and BWV 12). It was never performed in
Bach's lifetime, or even after his death, until the 19th century.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Date of Birth
27 January 1756, Salzburg, Austria
Date of Death
5 December 1791, Vienna, Austria (renal failure)
Birth Name
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
Mini Biography
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grew up in Salzburg under the regulation of his strict father Leopold
Mozart who also was a famous violin teacher and occasional composer of his time. His abilities in
music were obvious even when Mozart was still young so that his father took him in 1762 at the age
of six with his elder sister on a concert tour to Munich and Vienna and a second one from 1763 to 66
through the south of Germany, Paris and London. Mozart was celebrated as a wonder child
everywhere because of his excellent piano playing and his improvisations.
In 1769 he became the concertmaster of the archbishop and was knighted by the pope in Rome.
Working in Salzburg he nevertheless travelled around Europe to meet other composers and
orchestras. But in 1781 after a dispute with the archbishop he left Salzburg and went to Vienna where
he married Constanze Weber from Mannheim on 4 August 1782. His children were Raimund Leopold,
Karl Thomas, Johann Thomas Leopold, Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna, Anna
Maria and Franz Xaver Wolfgang.
In Vienna his friendship with Joseph Haydn started and a time of many work pieces. In the last year of
his life he wrote one of his masterpieces "Die Zauberflöte". Although some of his operas where
successful he could not make money from this and died at the age of 36 in poorness having even on
his last day worked on a "Requiem". He was buried in a massgrave for the poor which could not be
identified exactly later.
Trivia
 In Salzburg, Austria, his birthplace, there is a Mozart museum, and the Salzburg Festival,
held every year, is largely devoted to his music. Many shops and streets in Salzburg are
named after him as well.
 Wrote "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (a little night music) in one day.
 Had a photographic memory, and could play an entire piece of music after hearing it only
once. Reports of his writing music without revisions were proven right. His sheet music have
no corrections or re-inclusions.
 Was so taken by the sound created by the "Glass Harmonica", a musical instrument invented
by Benjamin Franklin, that he composed several pieces of music for it.
 Described Constanze in a letter to his father: "She is not ugly, but at the same time, far from
beautiful. Her entire beauty consists of two little black eyes and a nice figure. She isn't witty,
but has enough common sense to enable her to fulfill her duties of wife and mother... she
understands housekeeping and has the kindest heart in the world. I love her and she loves
me."
 In 1809, Constanze married Danish diplomat Georg Nikolaus von Nissen (1761 - 1826). A
Mozart fanatic, he edited vulgar passages out of many of the composer's letters, and wrote a
Mozart biography.
 Began playing the harpsichord at the age of three.
 According to the 1783 laws, Mozart was not buried in a "mass grave", but in a regular
communal grave. The original grave site in St. Marx Cemetary has since been lost, but
memorial gravestones have been placed where he is thought to be buried.
 In honor of Mozart's 250th birthday, all the church bells in Salzburg were rung simultaneously
at the exact hour of his birth.
How Mozart's compositions are listed

The indication "K." or KV refers to "Köchel (Verzeichnis)", i.e. the (more or less) chronological (i.e. by
composition date) catalog of Mozart's works by Ludwig von Köchel. This catalog has been amended
several times, leading to ambiguity over some KV numbers.
Only relatively few of Mozart's compositions have Opus numbers, as not so many of his compositions
were published during his lifetime, so numbering by Opus number proves quite impractical for Mozart
compositions.
Symphonies
Mozart's symphonic production covers a 24 year interval, from 1764 to 1788. According to most
recent investigations, Mozart wrote not just the 41 symphonies reported in traditional editions, but up
to 68 complete works of this type. However, by convention, the original numbering has been retained,
and so his last symphony is still known as "No. 41". Some of the symphonies (K. 297, 385, 550) were
revised by the author after their first versions.
Childhood symphonies (1764–1771)
These are the numbered symphonies from Mozart's early childhood. It should be noted that there are
also a fair number of unnumbered symphonies from this time period.
 Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, K. 16
 Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, K. 17 (spurious, attributed to Leopold Mozart)
 Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, K. 18 (spurious, by Abel)
 Symphony No. 4 in D major, K. 19
 Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, K. 22
 Symphony No. 6 in F major, K. 43
 Symphony No. 9 in C major, K. 73
 Symphony No. 10 in G major, K. 74
 Symphony No. 12 in G major, K. 110
 Symphony No. 13 in F major, K. 112
Salzburg-era symphonies (1771–1781)
These symphonies are sometimes subcategorized as "Early" (1771–1773) and "Late" (1773–1775),
and sometimes subcategorized as "Germanic" (with minuet) or "Italian" (without minuet). None of
these were printed during Mozart's lifetime.
 Symphony No. 14 in A major, K. 114 (1771)
 Symphony No. 15 in G major, K. 124 (1772)
 Symphony No. 16 in C major, K. 128 (1772)
 Symphony No. 18 in F major, K. 130 (1772)
 Symphony No. 19 in E-flat major, K. 132 (1772)
 Symphony No. 20 in D major, K. 133 (1772)
 Symphony No. 24 in B-flat major, K. 182 (1773)
 Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183 (173d B) (1773)
Late symphonies (1781–1791)
 Symphony No. 31 "Paris" in D major, K. 297 (K. 300a) (1778)
 Symphony No. 32 "Overture in the Italian style" in G major, K. 318 (1779)
 Symphony No. 33 in B-flat major, K. 319 (1779)
 Symphony No. 35 "Haffner" in D major, K. 385 (1782)
 Symphony No. 36 "Linz" in C major, K. 425 (1783)
For years this was categorized as a Mozart symphony, but later scholarship determined that it was
actually composed by Michael Haydn and Mozart wrote only the slow introduction for it.
 Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major, K. 504 (1786)
 Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (1788)
 Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" in C major, K. 551 (1788)
Concertos
Piano concertos
 Piano Concerto No. 1 in F major, K. 37
 Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, K. 39
 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, K. 40
 Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, K. 41
 Piano Concerto No. 7 in F major for Three Pianos, K. 242
 Piano Concerto No. 8 "Lützow" in C major, K. 246
 Piano Concerto No. 9 "Jeunehomme" in E-flat major, K. 271
 Piano Concerto No. 10 in E-flat major for Two Pianos, K. 365
 Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413/387a
 Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414/385p
 Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415/387b
 Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat major, K. 449
 Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453
 Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459
 Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
 Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
 Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482
 Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
 Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
 Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503
 Piano Concerto No. 26 "Coronation" in D major, K. 537
Violin concertos
Mozart's five violin concertos were written in Salzburg around 1775. They are notable for the beauty
of their melodies and the skillful use of the expressive and technical characteristics of the instrument,
though Mozart probably never went through all the violin possibilities like others (e.g. Beethoven and
Brahms) did after him.
 Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, K. 207 (1775)
 Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 211 (1775)
 Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216 (1775)
 Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 (1775)
 Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 (1775)
 Violin Concerto in E-flat major, K. 268 (1780) (Doubtful)
 Violin Concerto in D major, K. 271a Kolb ("No. 7") (1777) (Doubtful)
 Rondo for violin and orchestra in B flat major, K. 269
 Rondo for violin and orchestra in C major, K. 373
Horn concertos
Arguably the most widely played concertos for horn, the four Horn Concertos are a major part of most
professional horn players' repertoire. They were written for Mozart's lifelong friend Joseph Leutgeb.
The concertos (especially the fourth) were written as virtuoso vehicles that allow the soloist to show a
variety of abilities on the valveless horns of Mozart's day.
 Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, K. 412 (1791)
 Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 417 (1783)
 Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K. 447 (c. 1784–87)
 Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495 (1786)
Other concertos
 Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191 (1774)
 Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, K. 299 (1778)
 Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 (has come down to us as the second flute concerto, but
was almost certainly an oboe concerto) (1777–78)
 Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, K. 622 (1791)
 Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K. 313 (1778)
 Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 314 (1778) (An arrangement of the above Oboe
Concerto).
 Andante for Flute and Orchestra in C major, K. 315 (1778)
 Concerto for Trumpet, K47a (lost)
 Concertante symphonies
 Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364 in E-flat major (1779)
 Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon K. 297b in E-flat major Anh.9 and
later Anh. C 14.01 (1778)
Piano music
Mozart's earliest composition attempts begin with piano sonatas and other piano pieces, as this is the
instrument on which his musical education took place. Almost everything that he wrote for piano was
intended to be played by himself (or by his sister, also a proficient piano player). Examples of his
earliest works are those found in Nannerl's Music Book. Between 1782 and 1786 he wrote 20 works
for piano solo (including sonatas, variations, fantasias, suites, fugues, rondo) and works for piano four
hands and two pianos.
Solo piano works
Sonatas
 Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, K. 279 (Munich, Summer 1774)
 Piano Sonata No. 2 in F major, K. 280 (Munich, Summer 1774)
 Piano Sonata No. 3 in B-flat major, K. 281 (Munich, Summer 1774)
 Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 282 (Munich, Summer 1774)
 Piano Sonata No. 5 in G major, K. 283 (Munich, Summer 1774)
 Piano Sonata No. 6 in D major, K. 284 (Munich, February–March 1775)
 Piano Sonata No. 7 in C major, K. 309 (Mannheim, Nov. 8 1777)
 Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310 (Paris, Summer 1778)
 Piano Sonata No. 9 in D major, K. 311 (Mannheim, Nov 1777)
 Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (Summer 1778)
 Piano Sonata No. 11 "Turkish March" in A major, K. 331 (Summer 1778)
 Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332 (Summer 1778)
 Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat major, K. 333 (Summer 1778)
 Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457 (Vienna, Oct. 14, 1784)
 Piano Sonata No. 15 in F major, K. 533/494 (Vienna, Jan. 3, 1788)
 Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545 (Vienna, Jun. 26, 1788)
 Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-flat major, K. 570 (Vienna, February, 1789)
 Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major, K. 576 (Vienna, July 1789)
Miscellaneous pieces
Nannerl's Music Book
 Andante in C, K. 1a
 Allegro in C, K. 1b
 Allegro in F, K. 1c
 Minuet in F, K. 1d
 Minuet in G, K. 1e
 Minuet in C, K. 1f
 Minuet in F, K. 2
 Allegro in B-flat, K. 3
 Allegro in C, K. 5a
 Andante in B-flat, K. 5b
 Klavierstück in F, K. 33b (Zurich, 30 September 1766)
 Fantasy No. 1 with Fugue in C major, K. 394 (Vienna, 1782)
 Fantasy No. 2 in C minor, K. 396 (Vienna, 1782)
 Fantasy No. 3 in D minor, K. 397 (Vienna, 1782)
 Fantasy No. 4 in C minor, K. 475 (Vienna, May 20, 1785)
 Rondo No. 1 in D major, K. 485
 Rondo No. 2 in F major, K. 494 (finale to K. 533 above initially published alone)
 Rondo No. 3 in A minor, K. 511
 Adagio for Piano in B minor, K. 540 (Vienna, 1788)
 Allegro and Rondo for piano in F major, K. 547a (Vienna, Summer 1788) (adapted from K.
547 and K. 545)
Variations
 8 Variations in G major on the Dutch song "Laat ons Juichen, Batavieren!" by Christian Ernst
Graaf, K. 24
 7 Variations in D major on the Dutch song "Willem van Nassau"", K. 25
 6 Variations in F major, K 54 (Anh 138a)
 12 Variations in C major on a Menuet by Johann Christian Fischer, K 179
 6 Variations in G major on "Mio car Adone" from the opera "La fiera di Venezia" by Antonio
Salieri, K. 180
 9 Variations in C major on the arietta "Lison dormait" from the opera "Julie" by Nicolas
Dezède(Fr.), K 264
 12 Variations in C major on the French song "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman", K. 265
 8 Variations in F major on the choir "Dieu d´amour" from the opera "Les mariages samnites"
by Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry, K. 352
 12 Variations in E-flat major on the French song "La belle Françoise", K. 353
 12 Variations in E-flat major on the Romance "Je suis Lindor" from "Le Barbier de Seville" by
Pierre Beaumarchais, music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron, K. 354
 6 Variations in F major on the aria "Salve tu, Domine" from the opera "I filosofi immaginarii" by
Giovanni Paisiello, K 398
 10 Variations in G major on the aria "Unser dummer Pöbel meint" from "La rencontre
imprévue" by Christophe Willibald Gluck, K 455
 8 Variations in A major on "Come un'agnello" from "Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode" by
Giuseppe Sarti, K 460
 12 Variations on an Allegretto in B major, K 500
 9 Variations in D major on a Menuet by Jean-Pierre Duport, K 573
 8 Variations in F major on the song "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding" from the Singspiel "Der
dumme Gartner" by Benedikt Schack, K 613
Dual piano/performer works

Piano Four-Hands
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in C major, K. 19d (London, May 1765)
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in D major, K. 381 / 123a
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in B-flat major, K. 358 / 186c
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in F major, K. 497
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in C major, K. 521
 Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in G major, K. 357 (incompleted)
 Fugue in G minor, K. 401
 Andante and Variations in G major, K. 501
 Adagio and Allegro (Fantasia) in F minor, K. 594 (organ, composer's transcription)
 Fantasia in F minor, K. 608 (organ, composer's transcription)
Two Pianos
 Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 448 / 375a
 Fugue for Two Pianos in C minor, K. 426
Chamber music
Violin music
He also wrote for piano and violin (16 complete sonatas, plus several fragments and two variation
sets), where —mainly in the more mature years— the piano does not play just a support to the other
solo instrument, but builds a dialogue with it.
Childhood violin sonatas (1763–66)
 Violin Sonata No. 1 in C major, K. 6
 Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, K. 7
 Violin Sonata No. 3 in B-flat major, K. 8
 Violin Sonata No. 4 in G major, K. 9
 Violin Sonata No. 7 in A major, K. 12
 Violin Sonata No. 8 in F major, K. 13
 Violin Sonata No. 11 in E-flat major, K. 26
Mature violin sonatas (1778–88)
 Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304
 Violin Sonata No. 29 in A major, K. 402 (completed by M. Stadler)
Variations for violin and piano
 Variations in G major, K. 359, "La bergere Celimene"
 6 Variations in G minor on Helas, j'ai perdu mon amant, K. 360
String duos and trios
 Duo for Violin & Viola in G major, K. 423 (1783)
 Duo for Violin & Viola in B-flat major, K. 424 (1783)
 Trio for Violin, Viola & Cello in E-flat major, K. 563 (1788)
 Trio for 2 Violins & Cello in B-flat major, K. 266
 Preludes and Fugues for Violin, Viola & Cello, K. 404a
String quartets
Quartetti Milanesi, K. 80 and K. 155–160 (1770–1773)
 String Quartet No. 1 in G major, K. 80/73f (1770)
 String Quartet No. 2 in D major, K. 155/134a (1772)
 String Quartet No. 3 in G major, K. 156/134b (1772)
 String Quartet No. 4 in C major, K. 157 (1772–73)
 String Quartet No. 5 in F major, K. 158 (1772–73)
 String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, K. 159 (1773)
 String Quartet No. 7 in E-flat major, K. 160/159a (1773)
Vienna Quartets, K. 168–173 (1773)
Much more stylistically developed. In Vienna Mozart is believed to have heard the op. 17 and op. 20
quartets of Joseph Haydn, and had received from them a deep impression.
 String Quartet No. 8 in F major, K. 168 (1773)
 String Quartet No. 9 in A major, K. 169 (1773)
 String Quartet No. 10 in C major, K. 170 (1773)
 String Quartet No. 11 in E-flat major, K. 171 (1773)
 String Quartet No. 13 in D minor, K. 173 (1773)
Haydn Quartets K. 387, 421, 428, 458, 464, 465, Opus 10 (1782–1785)
Mozart returned to the quartet in the early 1780s after he had moved to Vienna, met Haydn in person,
and developed a friendship with the older composer. Haydn had just published his set of six quartets
Opus 33, which are thought to have been a stimulus to Mozart in returning to the genre.
 String Quartet No. 14 in G major, ("Spring") K. 387 (1782)
 String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421/417b (1783)
 String Quartet No. 16 in E-flat major, K. 428/421b (1783)
 String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major ("Hunt"), K. 458 (1784)
 String Quartet No. 18 in A major, K. 464 (1785)
 String Quartet No. 19 in C major ("Dissonance"), K. 465 (1785)
 String Quartet No. 20 in D major ("Hoffmeister"), K. 499 (1786)
 Prussian Quartets K. 575, 589, 590 (1789–1790)
 String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575 (1789)
 String Quartet No. 23 in F major, K. 590 (1790)
String quintets
The string quintets (K. 174, 406, 515, 516, 593, 614), for two violins, two violas and cello. Charles
Rosen wrote that "by general consent, Mozart's greatest achievement in chamber music is the group
of string quintets with two violas."[1].
 String Quintet in B-flat major, K. 174
 String Quintet in C major, K. 515
 String Quintet in G minor, K. 516
 String Quintet in C minor, K. 406 (516b)
 String Quintet in D major, K. 593
 String Quintet in E-flat major, K. 614
Piano trios
 Divertimento à 3 in B-flat for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 254
 Trio (Sonata) in G for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 496
 Trio in B-flat for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 502
 Trio in E for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 542
 Trio in C for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 548
 Trio in G for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 564
Other chamber music
 Flute Quartets K. 285, 285a, 285b, 298 (1777–1778)
 Sonata for Bassoon and Violoncello in B-flat major, K. 292
 Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370
 Horn Quintet In E-flat, K. 407
 Quintet for piano and winds (oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon) K. 452 (1784)
 Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor K. 478 (1785)
 12 Duets — For Two Basset Horns, K. 487
 Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major K. 493 (1786)
 Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano in E-flat major, K. 498 "Kegelstatt" (1786)
 Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 (1789)
 Adagio and Rondo for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello, K6. 617 (1791)
 Adagio in C for Glass Harmonica, K6. 617a (1791)
Serenades, divertimenti, and other instrumental works

Serenades
 Serenade No. 1 in D major, K. 100
 Serenade No. 3 ("Antretter") in D major, K. 185
 Serenade No. 4 ("Colleredo") in D major, K. 203
 Serenade No. 5 in D major, K. 204
 Serenade No. 6 ("Serenata Notturna") in D major, K. 239
 Serenade No. 7 ("Haffner") in D major, K. 250
 Serenade No. 9 ("Posthorn") in D major, K. 320
 Serenade No. 10 for winds (Serenade for Thirteen Wind Instruments or "Gran Partita") in B-
flat major, K. 361
 Serenade No. 11 for winds in E-flat major, K. 375
 Serenade No. 12 for winds in C minor, K. 388
 Serenade No. 13, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" for String Quartet & Bass in G major, K. 525
Divertimenti
 Galimathias Musicum (Quodlibet), K. 32 (1766)
 Cassation in G, K. 63 (1769)
 Cassation in B-flat, K. 99 (1769)
 Divertimento in E-flat, K. 113 (1771)
 Divertimento in D, K. 131 (1772)
 Divertimenti, K. 136–138 (1772)
 Divertimento in F "Lodron", K. 247 (1776)
 Notturno in D for Four Orchestras, K. 286 (1776–77)
 Divertimento in B-flat "Lodron", K. 287 (1777)
 Divertimento in D, K. 334 (1779–80)
 Divertimento for two horns and strings, A Musical Joke, (Ein Musikalischer Spaß,) K. 522
Dances
In his production of minuets, Mozart generally followed Haydn's example, preferring the slow
character of the dance. Allemandes (56 between 1787 and 1791) were written mainly for public balls
in Vienna.
 6 Menuets, K. 61h
 7 Menuets, K. 65a
 4 Contredanses, K. 101/250a
 20 Menuets, K. 103
 6 Menuets, K. 104/61e
 6 Menuets, K. 105/61f
 Menuet in E-flat, K. 122
 Contredanse in B-flat, K. 123
 4 Contredanses, K. 267/271c
 Gavotte in B-flat, K. 300
 6 Contredanses, K. 462/448b
 2 Quadrilles, K. 463/448c
 6 German Dances, K. 509
 Contredanse in D, "Das Donnerwetter", K. 534
 Contredanse in C, "La Bataille", K. 535
 Contredanse in C, "Der Sieg vom Helden Koburg", K. 587
 2 Contredanses, K. 603
 Contredanse in G, K. 610
Sacred music
Mozart's sacred music is mainly vocal, though also instrumental examples exist, like the Sonate da
Chiesa for 2 violins, double bass and organ, composed between 1767 and 1780.
Masses
 Mass No. 1 ("Missa brevis") in G major, K. 49
 Mass No. 2 ("Missa brevis") in D minor, K. 65
 Mass No. 3 in C major (Dominicusmesse), K. 66
 Mass No. 4 ("Missa solemnis") in C minor, K. 139
 Mass No. 5 ("Missa brevis") in G major, K. 140
 Mass No. 6 ("Missa brevis") in F major, K. 192
 Mass No. 7 in C major (Missa in honorem Sanctissimae Trinitatis), K. 167
 Mass No. 8 ("Missa brevis") in D major, K. 194
 Mass No. 9 ("Missa brevis") in C major (Spatzenmesse), K. 220
 Mass No. 10 ("Missa brevis") in C major ("Credo" Mass), K. 257
 Mass No. 11 in C major (Spaurmesse or Piccolomissa), K. 258
 Mass No. 12 ("Missa brevis") in C major ("Organ Solo"), K. 259
 Mass No. 13 ("Missa longa") in C major, K. 262
 Mass No. 14 ("Missa brevis") in B-flat major, K. 275
 Mass No. 15 in C major ("Coronation"), K. 317
 Mass No. 16 ("Missa solemnis") in C major (Missa aulica), K. 337
 Mass No. 17 in C minor ("Great"), K. 427
 Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626 (completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr after Mozart's death)
Other sacred music
 Kyrie in D minor for soprano, alto, tenor and bass, K. 90
 Regina Coeli for soprano, chorus and orchestra, K. 108
 Regina Coeli for soprano, chorus and orchestra, K. 127
 Te Deum, K. 141
 Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
 Regina Coeli for soloists, chorus and orchestra, K. 276
 Vesperae de Dominica in C, K. 321
 Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339 (1780)
 Kyrie in D minor, K. 341
 Ave verum corpus, K. 618
Church sonatas
 Church Sonata No. 1 in E-flat, K. 41h (1772)
 Church Sonata No. 2 in B, K. 68 (1772)
 Church Sonata No. 3 in D, K. 69 (1772)
 Church Sonata No. 5 in F, K. 145 (1772)
 Church Sonata No. 6 in B, K. 212 (1775)
 Church Sonata No. 7 in F, K. 241a (1776)
 Church Sonata No. 8 in A, K. 241b (1776)
 Church Sonata No. 9 in G, K. 241 (1776)
 Church Sonata No. 10 in F, K. 244 (1776)
 Church Sonata No. 12 in C, K. 263 (1776)
 Church Sonata No. 13 in G, K. 274 (1777)
Organ music
Fugue in E-flat major, K. 153 (375f)
Fugue in G minor, K. 154 (385k)
Ouverture in C major, K. 399 (385i)
Fugue in G minor, K. 401 (375e)
Eine Kleine Gigue, K. 574
Adagio and Allegro in F minor for a Mechanical Organ, K. 594 (1790)
Fantasia in F minor for a Mechanical Organ, K. 608 (1791)
Andante in F for a Small Mechanical Organ, K. 616 (1791)
Operas
 Mozart, at Vienna, playing his Opera "Don Juan" for the first time
 Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes, K. 35 (1767)
 Apollo et Hyacinthus, K. 38 (1767)
 Bastien und Bastienne, K. 50=46b (1768)
 La finta semplice, K. 51 (1768)
 Mitridate, rè di Ponto, K. 87 (1770)
 Ascanio in Alba, K. 111 (1771)
 Betulia Liberata, an oratorio, K. 118=74c (1771)
 Il sogno di Scipione, K. 126 (1772)
 Lucio Silla, K. 135 (1772)
 Thamos, König in Ägypten (1773, 1775)
 La finta giardiniera, K. 196 (1774–75)
 Il rè pastore, K. 208 (1775)
 Zaide, K. 344 (1779)
 Idomeneo, K. 366 (1781)
 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K. 384 (1782)
 L'oca del Cairo, K. 422 (1783)
 Lo sposo deluso, K. 430
 Der Schauspieldirektor, K. 486 (1786)
 Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (1786)
 Don Giovanni, K. 527 (1787)
 Così fan tutte, K. 588 (1789)
 Die Zauberflöte, K. 620 (1791)
 La clemenza di Tito, K. 621 (1791)
Franz Liszt
Date of Birth
22 October, 1811, Raiding (then Doborján), Hungary
Date of Death
31 July, 1886, Bayreuth, Germany
Franz Liszt was handsome, magnetic, irresistible to women and an incredible showman, and a
pacesetter in musical history. During the 1840s, he performed superhuman feats at the piano,
overwhelming the European public and impressing musicians as much as concertgoers.
Chopin wished that he could play his own piano etudes the way Liszt did. Schumann wrote that Liszt
"enmeshed every member of the audience with his art and did with them as he willed." Brahms later
said, "Whoever has not heard Liszt cannot speak of piano playing."
Liszt was born in Hungary; his father was an administrator for the Esterhazy family (which Haydn had
also served). At age eleven, Liszt studied in Vienna, where he met Schubert and Beethoven; during
his teens and twenties, he lived in Paris, a city where romanticism flourished. When he was nineteen
and already acclaimed, Liszt was awed by the great violinist Paganini, who drove audiences into
frenzy and was half suspected of being in league with the devil. Young Liszt was determined to
become the Paganini of the piano. He withdrew from the concert stage for a few years, practiced from
eight to twelve hours a day, and emerged as probably the greatest pianist of his time.
To display his incomparable mastery, Liszt composed his Transcendental Etudes and made piano
transcriptions of Paganini's violin pieces. 'My piano,' he wrote, 'is my very self. . . .Ten fingers have
the power to reproduce the harmonies which are created by hundreds of performers.' Once, after an
orchestral performance of a movement from Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony, Liszt played his own piano
arrangement and made a more powerful effect than the entire orchestra. He toured Europe tirelessly
between 1839 and 1847, playing mainly his own piano music and receiving unprecedented adulation.
But Liszt also wanted recognition as a serious composer. At thirty-six, he abandoned his career as a
traveling virtuoso to become court conductor in Weimar, where he composed many orchestral pieces
(developing a new and influential form of program music) and conducted works by such
contemporaries as Berlioz, Schumann, and Wagner. Unselfish and generous, he taught hundreds of
gifted pianists free of charge and provided musical and financial support crucial to Wagner's success.
He also wrote music criticism and books on Chopin and on Gypsy music. His literary efforts were
aided by two aristocratic women writers: Countess Marie d'Agoult and, later the Russian Princess
Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein. (Marie d'Agoult left her husband to live with Liszt; she and Liszt had
three children, one of whom, Cosima, later left her own husband to marry Richard Wagner.)
Liszt went to Rome for religious studies in 1861, and in 1865 he took minor holy orders, becoming
Abbe Liszt. In Rome, he composed oratorios and masses.
During his last years, Liszt traveled between Rome, Weimar, and Budapest, where he was president
of the new Academy of Music. Now he began to write curious, experimental piano pieces that
foreshadowed some features of twentieth-century music. Though these late works went
unappreciated, Liszt had become a living legend. The grand duke of Weimar said, 'Liszt was what a
prince ought to be.'
Liszt's Music
Liszt's music is controversial. Some consider it vulgar and bombastic; others revel in his extroverted
romantic rhetoric. Yet few would deny Liszt's originality, his influence, or his importance as the creator
of the symphonic poem.
Liszt found new ways to exploit the piano; his melodies are sometimes surrounded by arpeggios that
create the impression of three hands playing; and in the Hungarian Rhapsodies, which influenced a
generation of nationalist composers, he makes the piano sound at times like an entire Gypsy band.
His piano works contain daring leaps, rapid octaves and runs, and an unprecedented range of
dynamics. Before the age of recordings and frequent concerts, Liszt's transcriptions made it possible
for people to play operas and symphonies on their own pianos.
Breaking away from classical sonata form and the standard four-movement-symphony, Liszt created
the symphonic poem, or tone poem, a one movement orchestral composition based to some extent
on literary or pictorial ideas. Among his favorite inspirations were the works of Goethe, on which he
based his Faust Symphony (1854); and those of Dante, which inspired the Dante Symphony (1856).
Many of his compositions are concerned with the devil or death and bear titles like Mephisto Waltz,
Totentanz (Dance of Death), and Funerailles. Constant changes of tempo and mood and alternations
between diabolical fury and semi religious meditation contribute to a feeling of improvisation; but in his
symphonic poems and other orchestral works, contrasting moods are often unified through thematic
transformations of a single, recurring musical idea. Liszt's music influenced many composers,
including Wagner.
He originated a type of composition based on 'transformation of themes' which went against the
established dogmas and influenced dozens of composers after him. He was the first to give solo
piano recitals (in fact, the term 'recital' probably was his coinage), and the first to perform at the piano
in 'profile position. 'Despite his many notorious liaisons with high-titled women (accompanied by duels,
attempted poisonings, and grotesque adventures outlandish enough to fill a dozen purple novels),
Liszt's significance to history is principally as a pianist. He was said by everyone who heard him--and
that was half of Europe--to be the greatest pianist who ever lived. With his long hair and demonic
good looks, he had women swooning at his concerts, but despite an excess of showmanship, there
was real substance to his musical style. He was apparently able to sight-read almost anything, playing
it on a read-through with a mixture of spontaneity and depth, chatting all the while with ladies right and
left of the piano.
Miriam Hyde
Date of Birth
15 January 1913, Adelaide, AUS
Date of Death
11 January 2005
Hyde said of her music: I feel my music can be a refuge for what beauty and peace can still be
omnipresent...the triumph of good over evil. I make no apologies for writing from the heart
Miriam Hyde was born in 1913 in Adelaide, studied first with her mother and then with William Silver
at the Elder Conservatorium. After the University's diploma (AMUA) and winning the South Australian
prize for the LAB in 1928, she graduated as Mus.Bac. in 1931 and won the Elder Scholarship to the
Royal College of Music, London. During three years there, her professors were Howard Hadley and
Arthur Benjamin (piano), R.O. Morris and Gordon Jacob (composition). She won three composition
prizes and was soloist in her two piano concerti with the major London orchestras, including the BBC.
She also made broadcasts, on what was then called "short wave", to countries of the existing Empire,
including Australia. In 1935 she added to her diplomas the ARCM and LRAM.
Returning to Adelaide in South Australia's centenary year, 1936, Hyde wrote much of the orchestral
music for the pageant Heritage, produced in the Tivoli Theatre. Of this music her Fantasia on
Waltzing Matilda, an overture to one of the scenes, has become well-known as an independent piece
in her various arrangements of it. Also in that year her Adelaide Overture was first performed and
conducted by (then Dr) Malcolm Sargent.
Seeking the wider scope of Sydney, she taught for several years at Kambala School and lived in
Sydney for most of the remainder of her life, active as composer, recitalist, teacher, examiner, lecturer
and writer of numerous articles for music journals. For a period during the War, however, when her
husband, Marcus Edwards, was a POW in Germany, she returned to Adelaide and taught piano and
musical perception at the Conservatorium. It was during that stressful time that she wrote her
dramatic Piano Sonata in g minor.
Hyde's works include many for piano, from Preliminary to Diploma standards, more than fifty songs
(several of which, set to her own poems, have won prizes, e.g. Elfin Fantasy, Winter Willow Music,
Sunrise by the Sea), chamber music, sonatas for viola, clarinet and flute, four overtures and other
orchestral works. Her Happy Occasion Overture was performed in the inaugural concert of the
Australian Youth Orchestra, at the Sydney Town Hall in 1957.
She performed concerti with all the major Australian orchestras (except Brisbane), and with
conductors of eminence, including Sir Malcolm Sargent, Constant Lambert, Georg Schneevoigt, Sir
Bernard Heinze, Dr Edgar Bainton, Joseph Post, and Geoffrey Simon, with whom, in 1975, she
recorded her two concerti with the ABC's West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
Miriam Hyde was Patron of the Music Teachers' Associations of NSW and SA, also of the Blue
Mountains Eisteddfod and the Australian Musicians' Academy, and Honorary Life Member of the
Fellowship of Australian Composers, the Victorian Music Teachers' Association, and the Strathfield
Symphony Orchestra, with whom, in April 1996, she played the solo part of her Fantasy Romantic for
the first time since 1963, when she had performed it during an Australasian Composers' Seminar in
Hobart.
Her literary indefatigability (which has yielded nearly 500 poems) culminated in 1991 when Sydney's
Currency Press published her autobiography, Complete Accord. The royalties from this publication
are to go to the scholarship that she won in 1931, the value of which, needless to say, has been
reduced by years of inflation.
During the 1990s Hyde recorded two CDs of her own piano works, for the National Anthology (CSM
No.16) and Southern Cross (No.1027). The ABC, in 1996, produced a CD of her two concerti and the
orchestral work Village Fair. Her Clarinet Sonata is included on a CD on the Tall Poppies label, and
the Macquarie Trio has recorded for the ABC her Fantasy Trio. Her 1992 piece Valley of Rocks has
become her best-known piano work since its exposure in the 1988 Sydney International Piano
Competition, in which it was by far the favourite choice among the seven Australian works submitted.
Miriam's special awards included the OBE (1981), AO (1991), International Woman of the Year (1991-
92) for service to music, bestowed by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, and Hon.
F.Mus.A. (1995). A gracious compliment was paid her by Macquarie University in the form of an
Honorary Doctorate.
In 2002 Hyde accepted the Award for Long-Term Contribution to the Advancement of Australian
Music at the APRA/Australian Music Centre Classical Awards. The award preceded Miriam's 90th
birthday celebrations in 2003, which included a concert of her works presented at Eugene Goossens
Hall in Sydney. Miriam received a further APRA/Australian Music Centre Award in 2004, the Special
Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music.
Miriam Hyde died in January 2005, a few days short of her 92nd birthday.
Music
Miriam Hyde's compositions include works for orchestra, piano concertos, chamber music, many
piano solos, flute solos and more. She wrote in an early 20th-century pastoral style, achieving a highly
effective combination of impressionism with post-romanticism.
One of her best known pieces is the piano solo Valley of Rocks.
Writing
She wrote two books of poetry, The Bliss of Solitude (1941, Economy Press) and A Few Poems
(1942, Economy Press). She also wrote her autobiography, Complete Accord (1991, Currency Press)
and donated the royalties to the Elder Scholarship that she won in 1931.

Piano Composers

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Piano Composers

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Johann Sebastian Bach

Other keyboard works

Orchestral and chamber music

Vocal and choral works

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

How Mozart's compositions are listed

Dual piano/performer works

Serenades, divertimenti, and other instrumental works

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