Now it’s time for the second of our educational articles focused on ‘rounding out the edges’ of the average schooling your little one is likely to receive in your standard school. The aim here is for you and your little scholar to listen to the pieces I’ve suggested for you after discussing where and when this composer was born. This is a great activity to set up for listening during travel or mealtimes, a sort of ambient educational activity, if you will. After the piece or pieces are finished, have a short chat about how the music made you both (or all, this is a great activity for the whole family) feel, and which parts of it you liked. Because this activity takes so much longer than the artist focus, I’ve only included ten for now, but if you want more let me know and I’ll compile more!
- Johann Sebastian Bach:
Date of Birth: March 31, 1685
Country of Birth: Germany
Date of Death: July 28, 1750
Age at Time of Death: 65
Greatest Work: “Mass in B Minor,” “Brandenburg Concertos,” “The Well-Tempered Clavier”
- Igor Stravinsky:
Date of Birth: June 17, 1882
Country of Birth: Russia
Date of Death: April 6, 1971
Age at Time of Death: 88
Greatest Work: “The Rite of Spring,” “The Firebird,” “Petrushka”
- Ludwig van Beethoven:
Date of Birth: December 16, 1770
Country of Birth: Germany
Date of Death: March 26, 1827
Age at Time of Death: 56
Greatest Work: “Symphony No. 9” (Choral Symphony), “Piano Sonata No. 14” (Moonlight Sonata), “Symphony No. 5”
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Date of Birth: January 27, 1756
Country of Birth: Austria
Date of Death: December 5, 1791
Age at Time of Death: 35
Greatest Work: “Don Giovanni – Là ci darem la mano”, “The Magic Flute – Queen of the Night aria”, “Requiem Mass in D minor”
- Claude Debussy:
Date of Birth: August 22, 1862
Country of Birth: France
Date of Death: March 25, 1918
Age at Time of Death: 55
Greatest Work: “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” “Clair de Lune,” “La Mer”
- György Ligeti:
Date of Birth: May 28, 1923
Country of Birth: Transylvania (now part of Romania)
Date of Death: June 12, 2006
Age at Time of Death: 83
Greatest Work: “Atmosphères,” “Requiem,” “Lux Aeterna”
- Gustav Mahler:
Date of Birth: July 7, 1860
Country of Birth: Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic)
Date of Death: May 18, 1911
Age at Time of Death: 50
Greatest Work: “Symphony No. 2” (Resurrection Symphony), “Symphony No. 5,” “Das Lied von der Erde”
- Richard Wagner:
Date of Birth: May 22, 1813
Country of Birth: Germany
Date of Death: February 13, 1883
Age at Time of Death: 70
Greatest Work: “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (The Ring of the Nibelung), “Tristan und Isolde,” “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”
- Maurice Ravel:
Date of Birth: March 7, 1875
Country of Birth: France
Date of Death: December 28, 1937
Age at Time of Death: 62
Greatest Work: “Boléro,” “Daphnis et Chloé,” “Pavane pour une infante défunte”
- Claudio Monteverdi:
Date of Birth: May 15, 1567
Country of Birth: Italy
Date of Death: November 29, 1643
Age at Time of Death: 76
Greatest Work: “L’Orfeo,” “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria,” “L’incoronazione di Poppea”
