1. Romantic
   Baroque
2. Rock

Bach lived in the late 1600s to the mid-1700s. As such, he was very much a major figure of classical music's Baroque period.

1. Joseph Haydn
   Johannes Brahms
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

He had the big name and the big personality -- he was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And before the age of five, he mastered the violin and keyboard, and then began making compositions that would capture the world's imagination.

1. He was an outcast.
   No one liked his music back then.
2. He was a legend.

George Frideric Handel was the 18th-century version of a rock star. He played to excited audiences, made a vast fortune and died famous.

1. Libya
   United States
2. Germany

Born in 1770 in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Beethoven became one of the world's legendary pianists and composers. He died at the age of 56, a true celebrity in Vienna.

1. Franz Liszt
   George Frideric Handel
2. Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi wrote his famous "Four Seasons," a collection of four violin concerti, in the early 1720s. Each of the pieces evokes one of seasons of the year.

1. Igor Stravinsky
   Johannes Brahms
2. Franz Schubert

Russian-born Igor Stravinsky was born in 1882 and created his most powerful works in the 20th century. His unique and adventurous sense of rhythm made him distinctive among classical composers.

1. 20
   600
2. 5,000

Franz Schubert died in his early 30s but made the most of his short lifetime. He created more than 600 pieces of music, many of which are highly regarded by musicologists.

1. Richard Wagner
   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Johann Sebastian Bach

In the Baroque era, few pieces stand quite so tall as the "Brandenburg Concertos" by Johann Sebastian Bach. These orchestral compositions are some Bach's most legendary works.

1. Romantic
   Baroque
2. Classical

Franz Schubert was a composer who worked during the end of the Classical era and the beginning of the Romantic period. The Baroque era was one of classical music's earlier periods.

1. leprosy
   drug abuse
2. hearing impairment

In his 20s, Ludwig van Beethoven began suffering from hearing impairment, a problem that grew worse as he aged. By the end of his life he was nearly deaf … but he still managed to compose masterpieces.

1. Johannes Brahms
   Franz Schubert
2. George Frideric Handel

Composed in 1742, "Messiah" is a truly iconic piece of classical music, based on passages from the Bible. The "Hallelujah" chorus might be Handel's best moment ever.

1. oboe
   piano
2. trumpet

Franz Liszt was an iconic Hungarian composer with virtuoso ability with the piano. His many diverse compositions made a major impact on the 20th-century composers who followed in his wake.

1. Poland
   France
2. Canada

The airport in Warsaw is named for this titan of classical music. Frederic Chopin is an icon of Poland, a composer and pianist for the ages.

1. Joseph Haydn
   Johannes Brahms
2. Franz Schubert

In 1796, when he was late in his career, Joseph Hadyn created the "Trumpet Concerto." It eventually became one of Haydn's best-known works.

1. cello
   piano
2. bass guitar

Robert Schumann wanted to be a lawyer … but then traded law for music, and the world will never be able to repay him for his wise choice. He was a fantastic pianist who eventually became a legendary composer.

1. Mexico
   Russia
2. Italy

Antonio Vivaldi was a famous Italian composer. He was also a devout religious man, and many of his works celebrated his faith.

1. Joseph Haydn
   Franz Schubert
2. Igor Stravinsky

Created for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company, Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird" was a smash hit from the get-go. The composition was inspired by Russian folk tales.

1. Johannes Brahms
   George Frideric Handel
2. Johann Sebastian Bach

The "Goldberg Variations" were written by Bach and published in the 1740s. They were some of the only compositions that actually saw publication during his lifetime.

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
   Richard Wagner
2. Franz Liszt

Mozart was incredibly prolific, in part because he started writing at such a young age. He wrote his first opera, "Mitridate Re di Ponto" when he was just 14 years old.

1. He got tired of it.
   His piano caught fire.
2. He suffered a hand injury.

In his formative years, Robert Schumann was a stellar pianist, but he suffered a hand injury that ended his playing days. He switched to composing and found that he was an excellent writer.

1. literature
   theatre
2. poetry

Wagner was a famous composer who also loved drama and theatre. Many of his compositions wound up in stage performances.

1. Frederic Chopin
   Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Ludwig van Beethoven

In the 1820s, Beethoven unveiled his "Late Quartets," the final major compositions of his life. Listeners were mostly puzzled (or even aghast) at the challenging music … but modern critics have taken a more positive view of the work.

1. Franz Schubert
   George Frideric Handel
2. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

In the lexicon of classical music, few composers have as many popular pieces as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He wrote "The Nutcracker," one of the world's best-loved compositions.

1. Joseph Haydn
   Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Leonard Bernstein

Joseph Haydn so loved his "Trauer" (Mourning) Symphony No. 44" that he wanted it to be played during his funeral. It is a four-movement piece that was completed in 1772.

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
   Johannes Brahms
2. Frédéric Chopin

Chopin made a great number of masterpieces in his life, and "Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15" is one of them. This heavy composition has the power and resonance of a sweeping thunderstorm.

1. Franz Liszt
   Igor Stravinsky
2. Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn, who lived in the 18th century, made contributions to the sonata form of chamber music. He was sometimes called the "Father of the String Quartet."

1. George Frideric Handel
   Johannes Brahms
2. Richard Wagner

Wagner designed the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, his very own opera house, which opened in 1876. The house features an orchestra pit that's designed to completely conceal the musicians, who play, of course, only Wagner pieces.

1. Franz Schubert
   Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
2. Claude Debussy

In 1899, Claude Debussy finished "Nocturnes," perhaps his best-known orchestral composition. The three movement of "Nocturnes" are called "Clouds," "Festivals" and "Sirens."

1. 35
   78
2. 95

He burned bright and died young. Mozart made one masterpiece after another and then died at age 35 of an illness that researchers have never been able to identify.

1. symphonies
   operas
2. early jazz

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer particularly well-regarded for his operas. "Otello" and "Requiem" are two of his most famous pieces.