The author of the book is the oldest Austrian musicologist and composer, known mainly for his studies of the works of the Viennese classics. Talking about the life path of each of his heroes, G. Gal dwells in detail on the vicissitudes of his personal life, accompanying the narrative with a historical excursion into the era when the composer created. The author widely draws on the epistolary heritage of musicians and their autobiographical notes. The second part of each essay contains a musicological analysis of the composer's main works. G. Gal presents his assessment of the musical style and manner of the artist in a very intelligible form in a lively, figurative language. The book opens with an introductory article by one of the largest Soviet musicologists I. F. Belza. Recommended for musicologists and a wide range of readers.