Whose Music Defined the Classical Era?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) composed in virtually every genre of his time — symphonies, operas, concertos, chamber music, and choral works — with a fluency and inventiveness that set the standard for the Classical period (roughly 1750-1820). A child prodigy who performed for European royalty at age 6, Mozart went on to write masterpieces including The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter"), and the Requiem. His music combines formal elegance with deep emotional expression. He died at 35, leaving an unfinished Requiem, yet his catalogue of over 600 compositions is among the most performed in history.