Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose actual name is Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a composer, pianist, violinist and conductor from the classical period, born in Salzburg. Mozart was a child prodigy. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart is considered to be one of the most influential composers of all of music's history. Within the classical tradition, he was able to develop new musical concepts which left an everlasting impression on all the composers that came after him. Together with Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven he is part of the First Viennese School. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. From 1763 he traveled with his family through all of Europe for three years and from 1769 he traveled to Italy and France with his father Leopold after which he took residence in Paris. On July 3rd, 1778, his mother passed away and after a short stay in Munich with the Weber family, his father urged him to return to Salzburg, where he was once again hired by the Bishop. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death.

The German composer Johann Christian Bach was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Wilcken. His father and his half-brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach instructed him in music, and he consequently enjoyed a promising career as a composer and performer. He is referred to as both ‘the Italian Bach’ and ‘the London Bach’.
From 1754 till 1762 Johann Christian lived and studied in Italy, where he became organist of the Milan cathedral and devoted much time to the composition of sacred music. He also became familiar with the Italian operas, which incited him to compose his own operas, amongst others Artaserse, Catone in Utica and Alessandro nell’India.
In 1762 Johann Christian established himself in London, the center of European opera, where three of his operas premiered that year. He was one of the first to found public concerts there, together with the gamba player and composer Karl Friedrich Abel. These so-called Bach-Abel concerts continued to took place until 1781. He also met Mozart in London, who was then eight years old. Mozart admired his music and arranged three of his sonatas into keyboard concertos. For a duration of twenty years Johann Christian was the most popular musician of London. However, at the end of his life the popularity of his music began to fade.
Just like his father, Johann Christian left a considerable oeuvre, comprising of more than 90 symphonies, some 30 sonatas, about 40 concerti and 14 operas.