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John Banner, who achieved television immortality for his portrayal of the Luftwaffe POW camp guard Sergeant Schultz in the TV series Hogan's Heroes (1965), was born on Tuesday, January 28th, 1910 in Vienna., which in 1938 was then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The 28-year-old Banner, who was Jewish, was forced to flee from his homeland to avoid being captured after the Anschluss (union) between Nazi Germany and Austria. This occurred while he was engaged in a tour of Switzerland with an acting company. Unable to return to Austria due to Hitler's anti-Semitic policies of persecution, Banner emigrated to the United States of America as a political refugee.

Soon after reaching the United States, John Banner, who knew nothing of the English language, was hired to be a Master of Ceremonies to a musical revue. He had to learn his lines phonetically. The total immersion paid off in that he rapidly picked up English. His accent and "Nordic" look ironically meant that Banner was typecast in several films as Nazis during the 1940s. He survived the war portraying the same villains who were murdering every member of his family, who had been left behind in Austria. All of them perished in concentration camps; his biological parents and all of his siblings perished.

At the time of his emigration to the US, John Banner weighed a trim 180 pounds. He eventually added another 100 pounds to become the chubby character actor America would come to know and love in regular appearances in movies and on TV. He specialized in foreign-official types, such the his role as Soviet Ambassador in Fred MacMurray's comedy movie, Kisses for My President (1964).

In 1965, Bing Crosby Productions cast Banner as "Sergeant Schultz", in the wartime comedy television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes (1965). The show debuted on Friday evening, September 17th, 1965, on CBS channels. The series was a take-off on Billy Wilder's Stalag 17 (1953), although with much more humor and less drama. The bumbling Dutch uncle who Banner portrayed was a continent apart from the wickedly evil Nazis he had portrayed during World War II. Spectacularly inept as a guard of Allied prisoners of war, Sergeant Schultz was prone to ignoring the irregularities that transpired in the fictional Stalag 13, bellowing firmly, "I know nothing! I see nothing! Nothing!!!"

John Banner enjoyed the role but demurred when accused of portraying a "cuddly" Nazi. He told TV Guide, "I see Schultz as the representative of some kind of goodness in every generation."

Banner and Werner Klemperer (who portrayed the equally comical and bumbling "Colonel Klink", and who, like Banner, was a Jewish refugee who had escaped Hitler's reach), co-starred with the series' leading actor, Bob Crane, in The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968), a bizarre movie "comedy" about a defecting East German athlete. The picture bombed and the trio went back to turning out the highly popular series without losing too much pride or momentum.

After the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes (1965) in 1971, Banner was signed for another TV show set in the past. The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971), which was set during the Prohibition era. Banner's "Uncle Latzi" was a close cousin of Schultz, but lightning did not strike twice and the series was canceled after only 13 episodes in a three month season.

John Banner died on his 63rd birthday, Sunday, January 28th, 1973, in his hometown and country of Vienna, Austria. His 63 year (including 16 Leap Days) lifespan consisted of 23,011 total days, equaling 3,287 weeks and 2 days.

Ben Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross on December 16, 1947, in London, England. He was the son of Catherine (O'Donovan), a cleaning woman, from Keelraheen, Dunmanway, Ireland, and Harry Cross, an English doorman and nurse. He began acting at a very young age and participated in grammar school plays -- most notably playing "Jesus" in a school pageant at age twelve.

Ben left home and school at age 15 and worked various jobs, including work as a window washer, waiter and carpenter. He was master carpenter for the Welsh National Opera and property master at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, England. Driven by his desire to be an actor, Ben accepted and overcame the enormous challenges and obstacles that came with the profession. In 1970, at age 22, he was accepted into London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) -- the alma mater of legendary actors such as Sir John Gielgud, Glenda Jackson and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Upon graduation from RADA, Ben performed in several stage plays at Duke's Playhouse where he was seen in "Macbeth", "The Importance of Being Earnest", and Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". He then joined the Prospect Theatre Company and played roles in "Pericles", "Twelfth Night" and "Royal Hunt of the Sun". Ben also joined the cast in the immensely popular musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and played leading roles in Peter Shaffer's "Equus", "Mind Your Head" and the musical "Irma La Douce" -- all at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre.

In 1976, Ben's debut screen appearance came when he went on location to Deventer, Holland, to play Trooper Binns in Joseph E. Levine's World War II epic A Bridge Too Far (1977), which starred a very famous international cast -- namely Dirk Bogarde, Sir Sean Connery, Sir Michael Caine and James Caan. In 1977, Ben became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed in the premier of "Privates on Parade" as Kevin Cartwright and played Rover in a revival of a Restoration play titled "Wild Oats".

Ben's path to international stardom began in 1978 with his extraordinary performance in the musical "Chicago" in which he played Billy Flynn, the slick lawyer of murderess Roxie Hart. During his performance in this musical, he was recognized and recommended for a leading role in the multiple Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire (1981). The major success of Chariots of Fire (1981) opened the doors to the international film market. Ben followed up Chariots of Fire (1981) with strong and successful performances, most notably in the Masterpiece Theatre miniseries The Citadel (1983), in which he played a Scottish physician, Dr. Andrew Manson, struggling with the politics of the British medical system during the 1920s, and his performance as Ash Pelham-Martyn, a British cavalry officer torn between two cultures in the Home Box Office miniseries The Far Pavilions (1984). During the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Ben appeared in a commercial for American Express with Jackson Scholz, a sprinter for the 1924 American Olympic team whose character was featured in the film Chariots of Fire (1981). In 1986, he subsequently replaced James Garner as the featured actor endorsing the Polaroid Spectra camera. Ben was also featured in GQ Magazine as one of the annual "Manstyle" winners in January 1985, followed by a featured photo shoot in March 1985.

Having stuck by his desire to choose quality roles over monetary potential, Ben enjoyed long-term success in the film industry, for over 40 years. He played several outstanding roles including his portrayal of Solomon, one of the most fascinatingly complex characters of the Bible, in the Trimark Pictures production Solomon (1997). Other outstanding roles included his Barnabus in the MGM remake of the miniseries Dark Shadows (1991); Sir Harold Pearson in the Italian production Honey Sweet Love... (1994); Ikey Solomon in the Australian production The Potato Factory (2000); and his role as Rudolf Hess in the BBC production Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial (2006).

Ben was a director, writer and musician, as well. Among many of his original works is the musical "Rage" about Ruth Ellis, which was performed in various regional towns in the London area. He also starred in it and played the role of the hangman. Ben's first single as a lyricist was released by Polydor Records in the late 1970s and was titled "Mickey Moonshine". Other works include "The Best We've Ever Had" and "Nearly Midnight", both written by Ben and directed by his son, Theo Cross. In addition, the original soundtrack for "Nearly Midnight" was written, produced and performed by his daughter, Lauren Cross. These works were performed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2002 and 2003, respectively. "Square One", directed by Ben, was performed at the Etcetera Theatre in London in 2004.

Ben resided all over the world, including London, Los Angeles, New York, Southern Spain, Vienna and Sofia. He was familiar with the Spanish, Italian and German languages and enrolled in a course studying Bulgarian. When he was not filming, he wrote music, screenplays and articles for English language publications. Ben Cross died at age 72 of cancer on August 18, 2020 in Vienna, Austria.

Curd Jürgens (commonly billed as "Curt Jurgens" in anglophone countries) was one of the most successful European film actors of the 20th Century. He was born Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens on December 13, 1915, in Solln, Bavaria, in Hohenzollern Imperial Germany, a subject of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Of Franco-German parentage, Jürgens -- who was born during the closing days of the second year of the First World War -- would abandon the country of his birth after the end of World War II: Jürgens became an Austrian citizen in 1945 and lived part-time in France.

Jürgens entered the journalism profession after receiving his education, and married Louise Basler, an actress. Basler, the first of his five wives, encouraged him to switch careers and become an actor. He learned his new profession on the Vienna stage, which retained his loyalty even after he became an global film star. Jürgens was sent to a concentration camp for "political unreliables" in 1944, due to his anti-Nazi opinions. It was this experience in Nazi Germany that led him to become an Austrian citizen after the war.

His appearance in The Devil's General (1955) ("The Devil's General" (1955)), established him as a star of German cinema, and his role as Brigitte Bardot's older lover in Roger Vadim's ...And God Created Woman (1956) (And God Created Woman (1956)) made him an international star. Always interested in multilingual European actors with good looks and talent, Hollywood beckoned the 6' 4" Jürgens, casting him in The Enemy Below (1957) as a WWII German U-boat commander in a duel with American destroyer commander Robert Mitchum. He constantly was in demand to play Germany military officers (e.g., The Longest Day (1962), the most expensive black-and-white film ever made) -- indeed, his last role was as "The General" in the miniseries Smiley's People (1982) -- and Germanic villains (e.g., "Cornelius", the cowardly and treacherous trading company representative, in Lord Jim (1965)) for the rest of his life. One of his most famous roles in the English-language cinema was as the James Bond villain, "Karl Stromberg", in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); it was Moore's favorite Bond film.

Jürgens considered himself primarily a stage actor and often performed on the Vienna stage. Though the world knew him as a cinema actor, he also directed several films and wrote several screenplays and an autobiography, "Sixty and Not Yet Wise" (1975). His death from a heart attack in 1982 in Vienna was front-page news across Austria and Germany.

As a nine-year-old boy, Leon Askin recited a 17-stanza eulogy for Emperor Franz Josef in front of the city hall in Vienna's 9th District. Little did the son of a salesman know then that he would one day be the student of Max Reinhardt and Louise Dumont, and discover Jura Soyfer while directing the political cabaret "ABC". Emigration brought him into contact with even more 20th-century luminaries: in 1938 he met Erwin Piscator, the founder of the school of Epic Realism, and worked with him for the next 30 years. On the set of Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961), Wilder once exclaimed, "Here comes my professional!" Askin, who was often cast as the "funny villain", performed alongside Richard Burton, Doris Day and James Cagney. It is not merely exposure to big stars that distinguishes Leon Askin, though. He captured the hearts of critics and audiences with his impressive stage performances of "Faust" and "Shylock" on Broadway, which he also directed, and "Othello" in Hamburg. In addition, Askin made TV history as Gen. Burkhalter in the series Hogan's Heroes (1965).

Marisa Mell was born on 24 February 1939 in Graz, Austria. She was an actress, known for Danger: Diabolik (1968), Under Siege (1980) and The Great Swindle (1971). She was married to Henri Tucci. She died on 16 May 1992 in Vienna, Austria.

Gorgeous and appealing brunette knockout Herta-Maria Perschy was born on September 23, 1938, in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria. Maria moved to Vienna at age 17 to study acting at the prestigious Max Reinhardt Seminar. After finishing her education in Vienna, Perschy moved to Germany for further training and began her career acting in German comedies in the mid-'50s (her teacher, 'Suzi Nicoletta', helped Perschy get a contract at Bavaria Film Studios). She went on to act in an eclectic array of movies in such genres as drama, horror, Western and action/adventure, made in Europe and the US. Maria was usually cast in sexpot roles in her English-language films. She was nominated for the Golden Laurel Award for Top Female New Face in 1964. In 1971 she suffered a burn injury while filming a movie in Spain; she underwent several operations and then resumed her career. In 1977 she moved to Los Angeles and was married to a writer, who committed suicide in 1983. In 1985 she moved back to her native Austria and continued to act in both plays and TV series.

Maria Perschy died from cancer at age 66 on December 3, 2004; she was married twice and was survived by a daughter.

Popular leading man in 1940's Hollywood who, with his suave demeanor, exotically handsome looks and well-modulated voice, was first called upon to portray mysterious or villainous characters. Soon he would be teamed with other "exotics" (e.g. Maria Montez and Sabu) in a series of escapist adventures, filmed in glorious Technicolor and set in lands of fable, which proved most popular with movie audiences of the World War II years. But with the end of the war, his career (like that of Montez) would decline. He ultimately returned to his city of birth to pursue opportunities in commercial photography.

Ulla Jacobsson was an International Swedish Actress and became world-famous with the film One Summer of Happiness (1951) (English title: "One Summer of Happiness", German title: "Sie tanzte nur einen Sommer") and Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) ("Smiles of a Summer Night"), which Zarah Leander made as a musical in Vienna and also the Swedish version in Stockholm. She became better known in the UK for her part of the daughter of a missionary (played by Jack Hawkins) in Zulu (1964). She married an Austrian doctor and lived in Vienna, where she died of cancer in 1982.

Georg Wilhelm Pabst is considered by many to be the greatest director of German cinema, in his era. He was especially appreciated by actors and actresses for the humane way in which he treated them. This was in contrast to some of his contemporaries, such as Arnold Fanck, who have been characterized as martinets.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grew up in Salzburg under the regulation of his strict father Leopold who also was a famous composer of his time. His abilities in music were obvious even when Mozart was still young so that in 1762 at the age of six, his father took him with his elder sister on a concert tour to Munich and Vienna and a second one from 1763-66 through the south of Germany, Paris and London. Mozart was celebrated as a wonder child everywhere because of his excellent piano playing and his improvisations.

In 1769 he became the concertmaster of the Archbishop and was knighted by the Pope in Rome. Working in Salzburg he nevertheless travelled around Europe to meet other composers and orchestras. But in 1781 after a dispute with the Archbishop he left Salzburg and went to Vienna where he married Constanze Weber from Mannheim. In Vienna he also started his friendship with Joseph Haydn and a time of many work pieces. In the last year of his life, for example, he wrote one of his masterpieces, "Die Zauberflöte". Although some of his operas were successful he could not make money from this and died in poverty at the age of 35, having even on his last day worked on a "Requiem". He was buried in a communal grave which could not be precisely identified years later.

Hungarian-born Karoly Vidor spent the First World War as a lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian infantry. Following the armistice, he made his way to Berlin and worked for the German film company Ufa, as editor and assistant director. In 1924, he emigrated to the U.S. and, for several years, earned his living as a singer in Broadway choruses and (at one time) with a Wagnerian troupe. While little detail is extant of this period in his career, it enabled him to accumulate the means with which to finance his own project: an experimental short film entitled The Bridge (1929). On the strength of this, he was signed by MGM to co-direct his first feature film The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932). For the remainder of the decade, Vidor worked with relatively undistinguished material at various studios, notably RKO (1935) and Paramount (1936-37). In 1939, he joined Columbia, where he remained under contract until 1948.

Vidor's career is something of an enigma. Never a particularly prolific filmmaker, his output has been variable. It includes a good-looking, but decidedly stodgy romance, The Swan (1956) (starring Grace Kelly in her penultimate screen role); and the interminably dull remake of A Farewell to Arms (1957). On the other side of the ledger is the lavish showbiz biopic of singer Ruth Etting, Love Me or Leave Me (1955), for which Vidor elicited powerhouse performances from his stars Doris Day and James Cagney. Frank Sinatra, also, gave one of his best performances as nightclub entertainer Joe E. Lewis, descending into alcoholism in The Joker Is Wild (1957). Other Vidor standouts are Ladies in Retirement (1941), a gothic Victorian thriller, tautly directed and maintaining its suspense, despite a relatively claustrophobic setting (among the cast, as Lucy the maid, was actress Evelyn Keyes, who became Vidor's third wife in 1944). Finally, two Rita Hayworth vehicles, the breezy musical Cover Girl (1944), and Vidor's principal masterpiece, the archetypal film noir Gilda (1946). This cleverly plotted, morally ambiguous tale of intrigue and ménage-a-trois was one of Columbia's biggest money-earners to date.

Some of the wittier dialogue in "Gilda" was voiced in re-takes, long after primary filming had been completed. The same applies to the two main musical numbers, the show-stopping "Put the Blame on Mame", and "Amado Mio". Yet, under Vidor's direction, all the dramatic and musical elements blended perfectly. The film has an undeniably electric atmosphere, largely due to the chemistry between the three leads. When the same material was later re-worked as Affair in Trinidad (1952) (with a bigger budget), that chemistry was notably absent.

In 1948, Vidor fell out with studio boss Harry Cohn, taking him to court for alleged verbal abuse and exploitation. He wanted out of his contract. Having just married Doris Warner, daughter of Warner Brothers president Harry M. Warner, Vidor sensed opportunities in working at a more prestigious studio. Cohn wasn't going to let him go quietly. It was pretty much all over, when actor Steven Geray testified, that he had himself been on the receiving end of invective at the hands of Vidor on the set of "Gilda". Glenn Ford, who thought Vidor opportunistic, then went on the stand, relating, that Cohn routinely used foul language on everyone around him, rather than aiming at any individual in particular. The fact that Vidor was not the easiest man to get along with, became evident during filming of the Liszt biopic Song Without End (1960). Both his stars (Dirk Bogarde and Capucine) found him to be ill-tempered and erratic. However, since Vidor died before the film was completed (George Cukor taking over), other factors may have played a part. In the final analysis, for "Gilda" alone, Charles Vidor deserves a niche in Hollywood heaven.

Hedwig Bleibtreu was born on 23 December 1868 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for The Third Man (1949), Der Spieler (1938) and Pygmalion (1935). She was married to Alexander Roempler and Peter Petersen. She died on 24 January 1958 in Vienna, Austria.

Sieghardt Rupp was born on 14 June 1931 in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria. He was an actor, known for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Weininger's Last Night (1990) and Das Feuerschiff (1963). He was married to Gotlinde Rupp. He died on 20 July 2015 in Vienna, Austria.

Leopoldine Konstantin was born on 12 March 1886 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Notorious (1946), Lola Montez (1918) and Die Insel der Seligen (1913). She was married to Geza Herczeg and Alexander Strakosch. She died on 14 December 1965 in Hietzing, Vienna, Austria.

Beethoven was the child of a Flamian musician family and became a member of the electoral orchestra of Bonn in 1783. In 1787 he studied at Mozart's in Vienna and in 1792 he moved all to Vienna becoming a student of Joseph Haydn. The Vienna High Society loved him as a piano player as well as as composer. In 1802 his deafness became serious making Beethoven a real eccentric until his death in 1827.

Paul Hörbiger was born on 29 April 1894 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor and producer, known for The Third Man (1949), Three Girls Around Schubert (1936) and Königswalzer (1935). He was married to Josefa Gettke. He died on 5 March 1981 in Vienna, Austria.

Helmut Qualtinger was born on 8 October 1928 in Vienna, Austria. He was an actor and writer, known for The Name of the Rose (1986), Der Paukenspieler (1971) and Das falsche Gewicht (1971). He was married to Vera Borek and Seidler, Leomare. He died on 29 September 1986 in Vienna, Austria.

Christiane Hörbiger descended from a famous dynasty of thespians, one of three siblings born to the Austrian acting couple Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger. She was also a niece of the equally renowned character actor Paul Hörbiger. Educated in Vienna, Christiane graduated from a commercial school with a diploma and seemed to be destined for an apprenticeship as a confectioner. When that fell through, her parents had little choice but to grant her wish to become an actress. She duly made her film debut at the age of 16, billed as Christel Wessely-Hörbiger, co-starring with her father in the bucolic Heimatfilm Der Major und die Stiere (1955). A brief attendance at the Max Reinhardt Academy then followed and was rounded off with dance and singing tuition under the auspices of Alma Seidler. From 1959 to 1966, Hörbiger developed her acting skills on the classical stage, first in Heidelberg and later as an ensemble member of the famed Vienna Burgtheater. In addition to guest appearances in Munich and Salzburg, she had regular engagements at the Pfauenbühne in Zurich between 1967 and 1985, in plays by, among others, Schiller, Molières and Shakespeare. Her wide repertoire on stage and screen included anything from unhappy lovers to prim widows, from careworn or depressed mothers to elegant, wealthy dowagers or down-to-earth spouses, and, latterly, grandmothers.

Hörbiger's first breakthrough on the screen came via television, co-starring with Willy Millowitsch in the series Donaug'schichten (1965) (as the daughter of a cook and amateur sleuth involved in various criminal cases). Her role as a countess in Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (1987), a sprawling family saga sometimes described as Germany's answer to Dallas (1978), introduced her to an even wider audience. She was also the eponymous heroine of Julia - Eine ungewöhnliche Frau (1999), as a Viennese barrister who takes a job as a provincial district judge with resulting consequences to both her professional and private life. Her few big screen appearances included the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated satire Schtonk (1992), which lampooned the Hitler Diaries hoax of 1983 and was a nod to Charles Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940). For her role as Herman Goering's willful (but fictitious) grandniece Freya von Hepp, Hörbiger was awarded a Bambi Film Prize in 1992.

Until her retirement in 2019, Christiane Hörbiger continued to make prolific appearances in TV films and as an occasional series guest star. She was often referred to as the preeminent Grand Dame of German television. In 2003, Hörbiger became a founding member of the Deutsche Filmakademie. A strong advocate of racial tolerance and equality, she was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to Austria that same year. Hörbiger was married twice: her first husband (divorced) was the director Wolfgang Glück, her second the Swiss journalist Rolf R. Bigler. Until her passing in November 2022, she had resided variously in Zurich and in the spa town of Baden bei Wien.

A portly, somewhat grubby and bohemian-looking character star, Hugo Haas was one of the most celebrated Czech actors back in the 30s, a comic star who only grew in stature as he delved creatively into writing, directing and producing. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and come to the United States. Like a fish out of water, he had to start small. Beginning as an announcer on US broadcasts to the Eastern Europe underground, he also offered his talents as a narrator of propaganda films.

After the war, Haas revitalized his acting career with flashy, thick-accented support roles, often as a slick, seedy villain in lavish costumers. He enjoyed a certain amount of popularity and with the money he made, he began financing his own independent films in the 50s, taking total creative control with almost a Svengali-like obsession.

This time around, however, there was little of the adulation he had reaped so easily back in his homeland. With such lurid titles as Pickup (1951), Thy Neighbor's Wife (1953), and Bait (1954), these vehicles smacked hard of sensationalism and he and his films were generally dismissed. Many were badly acted and obviously cheap and cheesy in production values. A recurring "Blue Angel"-styled theme appeared in many of Hugo's starring vehicle whereas an older respectable man was seduced and ruined by the charms of a much younger hussy (blonde, busty bombshells such as Cleo Moore, Beverly Michaels, and (former "Miss Universe") Carol Morris.

Haas' reputation was so tainted by these so-called vanity projects that he was quickly dubbed the "foreign Ed Wood", which was unfair given his earlier reputation. Haas was planning to return to his native land in 1968 when the Russians seized control. Profoundly disheartened and depressed by the current state of affairs in his country, the homesick actor, who also suffered from an asthmatic condition, died shortly after of heart failure. He should be better remembered today than he is. He is solid proof that Hollywood has a way of sometimes robbing a person of his artistic creativity or integrity.

Josefine Balluck was born on 9 September 1908 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress. She died in 1984 in Vienna, Austria.

Franz Balluck was born on 8 September 1913 in Vienna, Austria. He was an actor. He died on 24 January 1987 in Vienna, Austria.

Peter Simonischek was born on 6 August 1946 in Graz, Austria. He was an actor, known for Toni Erdmann (2016), The Interpreter (2018) and Sapphire Blue (2014). He was married to Brigitte Karner and Charlotte Schwab. He died on 29 May 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

Werner Krauss was born on 23 June 1884 in Gestungshausen, Sonnefeld, Bavaria, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Paracelsus (1943) and Robert Koch: The Battle Against Death (1939). He was married to Liselotte Graf, Maria Bard and Paula Saenger. He died on 20 October 1959 in Vienna, Austria.

Being the son of a violinist Vivaldi started playing the violin himself early in his life. In 1703 he became priest and in 1716 the director of a conservatory of the church in Venice. Being a famous violinist he gave concerts all over Europe also composing a lot of violin concerts and other string works. There is not much information about his life only that he died in poverty in Vienna.

German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833 and died in Vienna, Austria in 1897. A perfectionist, he often compared himself unfavorably to composers such as Beethoven and ended up destroying many compositions without their ever being heard. While basically conservative, he showed musical growth throughout his four symphonies and occasionally borrowed wilder folk themes, such as in his Hungarian Dances, and he explored a vast range of human emotion in his Violin Concerto.

Although he never married, much of his later life involved a seemingly unending devotion to Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann - both of whom were long-time friends to Brahms.