Ludwig van Beethoven second child of the court musician and tenor singer Johann van Beethoven. At the age of eight Ludwig gave his first public performance as a pianist and continued his piano training with Christian Gottlob Neefe, organist.

Ludwig left his home in 1787 to continue his studies under Mozart in Vienna. By 1792 Ludwig decided to make Vienna his new place of residence and also took lessons from Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Schenck and Salieri.

By 1795 he had earned a name for himself as a pianist of great fantasy and brilliance.

By 1809 Ludwig was a freelance composer without financial worries. He also helped pave the way for the modern concert grand piano because of he work and interest in the development of the piano.

Johann Sebastian Bach...born into a gifted musical family in Eisenach, Germany in 1685. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a talented violinist, and taught his son to play the string instruments.

Orphaned at the age of 10, Johann Sebastian went to live with his older brother, Johann Christoph. His brother was a professional organist, and continued educating Johann Sebastian on the organ and harpsichord.

Bach became the greatest master of the art of counterpoint. Counterpoint is when several different musical lines (or melodies) are woven together into the musical fabric of a piece. Bach's supreme mastery of this difficult compositional skill can be heard throughout his work.

Today, Johann Sebastian Bach is the undisputed master of Baroque music, and among the greatest classical composers of all time.