Baroque Composers

Georg Philipp Telemann (14th March 1681–25th June 1767) was a German Baroque composer, born in Magdeburg. Self-taught in music, he studied law at the University of Leipzig. The most prolific composer of his era, he was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach and a life-long friend of Georg Friedrich Händel. While in the present day Bach is generally thought of as the greater composer, Telemann was more widely renowned for his musical abilities during his lifetime.

Claudio Monteverdi ("Green Mountain") (Cremona May 15, 1567 – November 29, 1643) was an Italian composer, violinist and singer. His work marks the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music. During his long life he produced work that can be classified in both categories, and he was one of the most significant revolutionaries that brought about the change in style. Monteverdi wrote the earliest dramatically viable opera, Orfeo, and was fortunate enough to enjoy fame during his lifetime.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (b. 3 February 1525 – 2 February 1526; d. 2 February 1594) was an Italian Renaissance composer and the most well-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. Palestrina became famous through his output of sacred music. He had an enormous influence on the development of Roman Catholic church music, and his work has often been seen as the culmination of Renaissance polyphony.