Who was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era; Pietro Mascagni or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni (] ; 7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece "Cavalleria Rusticana" caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the "Verismo" movement in Italian dramatic music. While it was often held that Mascagni, like Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, "L'amico Fritz" and "Iris" have remained in the repertoire in Europe (especially Italy) since their premieres. Mascagni said that at one point, "Iris" was performed in Italy more often than "Cavalleria" (cf. Stivender).
Franz Asplmayr Franz Asplmayr (1 April 1728 – 29 July 1786) was an Austrian composer and violinist. There are many variants of his name, including Franz Aspelmayr, Franz Aschpellmayr and Franz Appelmeyer. He is best known for an opera on Greek myths, and for a few symphonies and string trios of his which were attributed to Joseph Haydn at one time. Among the few scholars who have studied his music, there are many differing opinions as to the quality. J. Murray Barbour, for one, deems Asplmayr's 80 minuets "scored mostly for oboes, horns, and strings, without violas," that "all are extremely boring, as if written between beers." Temperly, on the other hand, finds advances "with respect to harmony and developmental techniques."