Clara Schumann, née Wieck, was a pianist and composer. She went on a number of concert tours and was considered to be one of the top European pianists at the age of only sixteen. Around this time she was composing virtuoso works for piano. She married Robert Schumann in 1840.

Stations in life:
Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Baden-Baden, Berlin

Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg in 1881. He was an exceptionally successful musician and held posts in Poland before moving to Frankfurt am Main. He later became director of music at Hamburg's five principal churches, a role that he accepted in preference to a post at St. Thomas' Church, Leipzig... for which J.S. Bach was to be grateful...

Stations in life:
Magdeburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Hamburg

Engelbert Humperdinck was born in Siegburg in 1854. His fame and immortality are based on a single work: his fairytale opera Hansel and Gretel. Humperdinck also wrote many other compositions, all indebted to Richard Wagner, his mentor and host on occasion at Bayreuth. Humperdinck was very successful in his day, working until his death as a teacher of composition in Frankfurt and Berlin.

Stations in life:
Siegburg, Frankfurt/M.

Paul Hindemith, born in Hanau in 1895, is one of the defining figures in 20th-century music. When performances of his music were banned, he emigrated, first to Switzerland, then to the USA. He returned to Germany after the Second World War and died in Frankfurt in 1963. Hindemith composed for many different kinds of ensemble and published widely, including a mould-breaking theory of tonality.

Stations in life:
Hanau, Berlin, Frankfurt/M.