composers

Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was an acclaimed Baroque composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque. Pachelbel's music was influenced by south German composers such as Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Kaspar Kerll, Italians such as Girolamo Frescobaldi and Alessandro Poglietti, French composers and the composers of the Nuremberg tradition.

George Frideric Handel (as he was known after his change of nationality, as he signed himself, and as he is known in the English-speaking world) (23rd February 1685–14th April 1759) was a German/English baroque composer who was a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas, and oratorios. Born Georg Friedrich Händel in Halle an der Saale (Germany), Handel lived most of his life in England, and became English by Act of Parliament in 1727.

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. Although he wrote only twelve operas, Puccini's works dominate the operatic stage, particularly in the United States, where, according to Opera America, Madama Butterfly and La Bohème are the two most frequently performed operas respectively, with Tosca being eighth and Turandot being twelfth on the same list.

George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer. He was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, the second of four children. George wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works together with his elder brother lyricist Ira Gershwin. Gershwin composed both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall. He also wrote popular songs with success.