Beethoven Ludwig van

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827), German composer, generally considered one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. Born in Bonn, Beethoven was reared in stimulating, although unhappy, surroundings. His early signs of musical talent were subjected to the capricious discipline of his father, a singer in the court chapel. In 1789, because of his father’s alcoholism, the young Beethoven became a court musician in order to support his family. His early compositions under the tutelage of German composer Christian Gottlob Neefe-particularly the funeral cantata on the death of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in 1790-signaled an important talent, and it was planned that Beethoven study in Vienna, Austria, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart’s death in 1791 prevented this, Beethoven went to Vienna in 1792 and became a pupil of Austrian composer Joseph Haydn.
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John Winston Ono Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer, writer, songwriter, artist, actor and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. Lennon along with Paul McCartney formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships and “wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history”.
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Zappa Frank

Zappa, Frank (1940-1993), American composer and rock musician, recognized as a master of a wide variety of musical styles. Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His family moved often throughout his childhood. During his teenage years, his musical development was shaped by two divergent musical influences: 20th-century classical music (especially the works of French composer Edgard Varèse) and 1950s rhythm and blues. At the age of 14, Zappa joined a band as a drummer. When he was 18 years old, he began playing the guitar instead. In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked at a variety of jobs while writing music and playing in bands.
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Fiedler Arthur

Fiedler, Arthur (1894-1979), American conductor, who as director of the Boston Pops Orchestra became a nationally beloved figure. Born in Boston, he studied violin first with his father and later in Berlin; in 1915 he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. He began conducting in Boston in 1924 and in 1930 was appointed director of the Boston Pops. His programs, a mixture of light classics and arrangements of popular tunes, along with his buoyant personality, made him an American institution.

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a Zanzibar-born British musician, best known as the lead singer, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). As a performer, he was known for his four-octave vocal range and onstage theatricality. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Killer Queen”, “Somebody to Love”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “We Are the Champions”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, and “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”. In addition to his work with Queen, he also led a solo career with moderate success, and was occasionally a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. Mercury, who was of Indian Parsi descent and grew up in India, has been referred to as “Britain’s first Asian rock star.” He died of bronchopneumonia induced by HIV (AIDS) on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease. In 2006, Time Asia named Mercury as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years.
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Sax Adolphe

Sax, Adolphe (1814-94), Belgian inventor of musical instruments. He was born Antoine Joseph Sax in Dinant. His father, the Belgian instrument maker Charles Joseph Sax, sent him to the Brussels Conservatory, where he studied flute and clarinet. Adolphe Sax is chiefly known for the invention of the saxophone (circa 1840; patented 1846). Among his other inventions were the saxotrompa and saxhorn (Tuba). Sax became an instructor in the saxophone at the Paris Conservatoire in 1857.