Learn About the Composers
Learn About the Composers
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist and composer. He
toured Europe widely and helped develop new violin techniques, including left-hand
pizzicato, harmonics and fast virtuoso passagework. His works include the 24 Caprices
for solo violin, several violin concertos, and many chamber pieces for strings and guitar.
His music influenced composers such as Liszt, Schumann and Brahms.
Fedir Akymenko
Fedir Akymenko (1876–1945) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and teacher, also
known as Fyodor Akimenko. He studied with Mily Balakirev and Nikolai Rimsky-
Korsakov in St. Petersburg and was one of Igor Stravinsky’s first composition teachers.
He lived in France for some years before returning to Russia. His output includes piano
music, chamber works, songs and orchestral pieces, many of them lyrical miniatures.
Myroslav Skoryk
Myroslav Skoryk (1938–2020) was a Ukrainian composer and musicologist born in Lviv.
He studied at the Lviv and Moscow conservatories and taught composition in Lviv and
Kyiv. His works include concertos, chamber music, film scores and pieces drawing on
Ukrainian folk sources. His Melody, from the film score for The High Pass, is among his
most widely performed pieces. He was later artistic director of the National Opera of
Ukraine.
Agustín Barrios Mangoré
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885–1944) was a Paraguayan guitarist and composer who
toured widely in Latin America and Europe. He wrote more than one hundred works for
solo guitar, drawing on Baroque models, Romantic style and South American folk
music. He was among the first guitarists to make recordings. His pieces include La
Catedral, Las Abejas, Julia Florida and Un sueño en la floresta.
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787) was a German-born composer of the Classical
era who worked in Vienna and Paris. He is known for reforming opera seria, favoring
dramatic clarity and simplicity. His best-known works include the operas Orfeo ed
Euridice, Alceste and Iphigénie en Tauride.
Georges Barrère
Georges Barrère (1876–1944) was a French-born flutist who settled in the United States
in 1905. He played in the New York Symphony and founded ensembles such as the
Barrère Ensemble of Wind Instruments. He championed new flute music, commissioned
works from contemporary composers, and made arrangements for the instrument.
Oxana Krut
Oxana Krut (b. 1971) is a Ukrainian composer and pianist. Born in Zaporizhzhia, she
graduated with honors from the Music Academy in Odesa and has lived in Germany
with her family since 2002, working as a freelance piano teacher and composer. Her
piano works are popular worldwide and are regularly performed at German and
international piano competitions.
Warren Benson
Warren Benson (1924–2005) was an American composer, percussionist and teacher.
He taught at Ithaca College and later at the Eastman School of Music. He is known for
his works for wind ensemble, such as The Leaves Are Falling and The Solitary Dancer,
and for his music for percussion, including early pieces for percussion ensemble. His
Three Dances for solo snare drum is part of the standard percussion repertoire.
George Enescu
George Enescu (1881–1955) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor
and teacher. He trained in Vienna and Paris, where he studied with Jules Massenet and
Gabriel Fauré, and spent much of his career in France. His works include the opera
Œdipe, three symphonies, two Romanian Rhapsodies and much chamber music. His
Cantabile and Presto was written in 1904 as a test piece for the Paris Conservatoire.
H. C. L. Stocks
H. C. L. Stocks (1884–1956) was an English organist, choral conductor and composer.
He served for many years as organist and choirmaster of St Asaph Cathedral in Wales
and was involved in music festivals and music education in the region. His compositions
include church music, songs and instrumental pieces, among them works for wind
instruments and piano.
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer who lived and worked mostly in
Vienna. Although he died at thirty-one, he left more than six hundred songs, along with
symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, masses and other works. His sets of
Impromptus and Moments musicaux for piano are among his best-known short piano
pieces. His works are catalogued by Otto Erich Deutsch with the prefix D.
Pierre Baillot
Pierre Baillot (1771–1842) was a French violinist, composer and teacher. He taught for
many years at the Paris Conservatoire and co-wrote its official violin method. His own
treatise, L’art du violon (1834), became a standard text on violin playing. He also led a
series of public chamber music concerts in Paris. His compositions include violin
concertos, études, string quartets, and airs with variations.
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist and composer. He toured Europe widely and helped develop new violin techniques, including left-hand pizzicato, harmonics and fast virtuoso passagework. His works include the 24 Caprices for solo violin, several violin concertos, and many chamber pieces for strings and guitar. His music influenced composers such as Liszt, Schumann and Brahms.
Fedir Akymenko
Fedir Akymenko (1876–1945) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and teacher, also known as Fyodor Akimenko. He studied with Mily Balakirev and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg and was one of Igor Stravinsky’s first composition teachers. He lived in France for some years before returning to Russia. His output includes piano music, chamber works, songs and orchestral pieces, many of them lyrical miniatures.
Myroslav Skoryk
Myroslav Skoryk (1938–2020) was a Ukrainian composer and musicologist born in Lviv. He studied at the Lviv and Moscow conservatories and taught composition in Lviv and Kyiv. His works include concertos, chamber music, film scores and pieces drawing on Ukrainian folk sources. His Melody, from the film score for The High Pass, is among his most widely performed pieces. He was later artistic director of the National Opera of Ukraine.
Agustín Barrios Mangoré
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885–1944) was a Paraguayan guitarist and composer who toured widely in Latin America and Europe. He wrote more than one hundred works for solo guitar, drawing on Baroque models, Romantic style and South American folk music. He was among the first guitarists to make recordings. His pieces include La Catedral, Las Abejas, Julia Florida and Un sueño en la floresta.
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787) was a German-born composer of the Classical era who worked in Vienna and Paris. He is known for reforming opera seria, favoring dramatic clarity and simplicity. His best-known works include the operas Orfeo ed Euridice, Alceste and Iphigénie en Tauride.
Georges Barrère
Georges Barrère (1876–1944) was a French-born flutist who settled in the United States in 1905. He played in the New York Symphony and founded ensembles such as the Barrère Ensemble of Wind Instruments. He championed new flute music, commissioned works from contemporary composers, and made arrangements for the instrument.
Oxana Krut
Oxana Krut (b. 1971) is a Ukrainian composer and pianist. Born in Zaporizhzhia, she graduated with honors from the Music Academy in Odesa and has lived in Germany with her family since 2002, working as a freelance piano teacher and composer. Her piano works are popular worldwide and are regularly performed at German and international piano competitions.
Warren Benson
Warren Benson (1924–2005) was an American composer, percussionist and teacher. He taught at Ithaca College and later at the Eastman School of Music. He is known for his works for wind ensemble, such as The Leaves Are Falling and The Solitary Dancer, and for his music for percussion, including early pieces for percussion ensemble. His Three Dances for solo snare drum is part of the standard percussion repertoire.
George Enescu
George Enescu (1881–1955) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher. He trained in Vienna and Paris, where he studied with Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré, and spent much of his career in France. His works include the opera Œdipe, three symphonies, two Romanian Rhapsodies and much chamber music. His Cantabile and Presto was written in 1904 as a test piece for the Paris Conservatoire.
H. C. L. Stocks
H. C. L. Stocks (1884–1956) was an English organist, choral conductor and composer. He served for many years as organist and choirmaster of St Asaph Cathedral in Wales and was involved in music festivals and music education in the region. His compositions include church music, songs and instrumental pieces, among them works for wind instruments and piano.
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer who lived and worked mostly in Vienna. Although he died at thirty-one, he left more than six hundred songs, along with symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, masses and other works. His sets of Impromptus and Moments musicaux for piano are among his best-known short piano pieces. His works are catalogued by Otto Erich Deutsch with the prefix D.
Pierre Baillot
Pierre Baillot (1771–1842) was a French violinist, composer and teacher. He taught for many years at the Paris Conservatoire and co-wrote its official violin method. His own treatise, L’art du violon (1834), became a standard text on violin playing. He also led a series of public chamber music concerts in Paris. His compositions include violin concertos, études, string quartets, and airs with variations.