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German classical music comprises works by some of the world's most well-known composers. Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel from the Baroque period were very influential. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music. Franz Schubert is known for his secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, and chamber and piano music.
Carl Maria von Weber was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. Felix Mendelssohn was an important figure in the early Romantic period. Robert Schumann was a composer and influential music critic. Johannes Brahms advanced his music into a Romantic idiom. Richard Wagner was known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Richard Strauss was a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. Karlheinz Stockhausen was a composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important (Barrett 1988, 45; Harvey 1975b, 705; Hopkins 1972, 33; Klein 1968, 117) but also controversial (Power 1990, 30) composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Carl Orff used colorful, unusual combinations of instruments in his orchestration. His most popular work is Carmina Burana.