外研社高中英语必修2module3music原文.doc

Module3 Music
Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) was an Austrian composer and is known as "the father of the symphony". Other composers had written symphonies before Haydn, but he changed the symphony into a long piece for a large orchestra.
He was born in a village in Austria, the son of a peasant. He had a beautiful singing voice. After studying music in Vienna, Haydn went to work at the court of a prince in eastern Austria, where he became director of music. Having worked there for 30 years, Haydn moved to London, where he was very successful.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) was a composer, possibly the greatest musical genius of all time. He only lived 35 years and he composed more than 600 pieces of music.
Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. His father Leopold was a musician and orchestra conductor. Wolfgang had musical talent from a very early age. He learned to play the harpsichord when he was four, he started composing music when he was five, and when he was six, he played the harpsichord in a concert for the Empress of Austria.
By the time he was 14, Mozart had composed many pieces for the harpsichord, piano and violin, as well as for orchestras. While he was still a teenager, Mozart was already a big star and toured Europe giving concerts. Haydn met Mozart in 1781 and was very impressed with him. "He is the greatest composer the world has known," he said the two were friends until Mozart's death in 1791.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) was born in Bonn, Germany（1770-1827）He showed musical talent when he was very young, and learned to play the violin and piano from his father, who was a singer. Mozart met Beethoven and was impressed by him. "He will give something wonderful to the world," he said.
Beethoven met Haydn in 1791, but was not impressed by the older man. After they had known each other for many years, Beethoven said, "He is a good composer, but he has taught me nothing." However, it was Haydn who encouraged Beethoven to move to Vienna.
Beethoven became very popular in the Austrian capital and stayed there for the rest of his life. As he grew older, he began to go deaf. He became completely deaf during the last years of his life, but he continued composing.