7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7Austrian composer Joseph Haydn set to work on his
own compositions in this genre, eventually creating a
composition believed to be the first musical work written
for two languages, in this case, German and English.
Haydn also became good friends with musical genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the two composers finding
camaraderie in each other’s company and inspiration in
each other’s work. Mississippi native Robert Johnson,
who legend holds acquired his musical genius by way of
having made a deal with the devil, is known to have had a
major impact on musicians from Muddy Waters to the
Rolling Stones.
Some musicians were inspired by influences beyond
music. The art of English painter J. M. W. Turner and
French painter Claude Monet struck a chord with semi-
nal French composer Claude Debussy, prompting him to
create his orchestral seascape La Mer. Visits to Paris
prompted a young George Gershwin to create his famous
orchestral composition An American in Paris. And it was
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath that provided the
impetus for “Tom Joad,” Woody Guthrie’s classic entry in
the American songbook.
There are, of course, those musicians who, as child-
hood prodigies, seem not to have needed outside influence
to exert their own. Frédéric Chopin began playing piano
at age seven, gave his first concert a year later, and at age
eleven performed for the Russian tsar Alexander I. Mozart,
whose life was all too short although with an extra ordinary
influence, was composing from the age of five.
Little is known about Johann Sebastian Bach’s early
musical education, but in his prime he was recognized
by his peers as being a talented harpsichordist, organist,
violinist, and singer. He is now recognized as being one of
the greatest composers of all time. By bringing together