Who has more best-known compositions, Hans Pfitzner or Ludwig van Beethoven?
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven ( , ; ] ; baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the "Missa solemnis", and one opera, "Fidelio".
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (German: "Nussknacker und Mausekönig" ) is a story written in 1816 by German author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls. In 1892, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story into the ballet "The Nutcracker", which became one of Tchaikovsky's most famous compositions, and perhaps the most popular ballet in the world.