A child prodigy in music performance, Mozart was famous even before he began composing for a living. His father took him on tours of Europe--often lying about his age to make his skills seem even more impressive. Mozart composed his first piece at the age of 5 and his first opera, "La Finta Semplice" ("The Feigned Simpleton") at the age of 12. He is best known for his later operas, including "The Marriage of Figaro" (1786), "Don Giovanni" (1787) and "The Magic Flute" (1791). His final work, a Requiem (funeral mass), was left unfinished at his death; it was completed by his student, Franz Xaver Sussmayr.
Haydn was a prolific composer; 19 operas, 107 symphonies, 68 string quartets and 62 piano trios are included in his work. Though he struggled as a young musician, he found success in the court of the Esterházy princes, where he served as Kappelmeister (director of music) for more than 40 years. Several of his better-known pieces include the "Surprise" symphony (No. 94), the "Creation" oratorio (1798) and the "Kaiserhymne" or "Emperor's Hymn" (1797), which became the Austrian national anthem (and later the national anthem of Germany, "Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles"). Unlike Mozart and Beethoven, he died a rich man.
Beethoven is often cited as a Romantic composer, but while his work exemplifies the transition between the two musical periods, it is firmly anchored in the Classical tradition. Although Beethoven wrote one opera, "Fidelio," he is best known for his symphonies. His Ninth Symphony, which includes the well-known chorus "Ode to Joy," was revolutionary at the time; its implication that music required poetry to reach its full potential helped inspire the Romantic Opera composer Richard Wagner's theory of Gesamtkunstwerk (the complete integration of music, drama and poetry). Beethoven's work is also profoundly significant because of the deafness he developed later in life. He composed many of his pieces without the benefit of hearing them, simply from the memory of the instruments' sounds.