Robert Schumann's music evokes the image of a child's dreams. iStock hide caption
Robert Kapilow
Mazurka Journal des Demoiselles/Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Chopin: Mazurka in A minor Op. 17, No. 4.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Czech composer Leos Janacek sent a non-stop stream of more than 700 love letters to a much younger, married woman; she inspired many of his best works. iStock hide caption
Aaron Copland captured the sound of America's wide open spaces with surprisingly simple techniques. iStock hide caption
Composer Steve Reich's Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ has a percussive motor that never stops. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
An attention-grabbing opening can be the key to a successful composition. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Verdi trumps Shakespeare by inserting a hauntingly beautiful "Ave Maria" into his operatic version of Othello. Universal Classics hide caption
Hear What Makes 'Ave Maria' From Verdi's 'Otello' Great
America's amber waves of grain inspired teacher Katharine Lee Bates to write the poem later used in the song "America the Beautiful." Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Hear What Makes 'America the Beautiful' So Great
Actress and singer Judy Garland wearing as Dorothy from director Victor Fleming's film, The Wizard of Oz. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Hear 'Over the Rainbow' And What Makes It So Great
Comparing Notes: Mozart and Haydn
Czech Composer Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904). Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption