Juan Crisostomo Arriaga

Fact Sheet

Musical genre:	Classical
Birthday	27 January 1806
Sign	Aquarius
Date of death	January 17, 1826 (age 19)

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (January 27, 1806 - January 17, 1826) was a Spanish composer.

He was born in Bilbao, and was a notable child prodigy--some later caled him the "Spanish Mozart". He studied the violin under Pierre Baillot, and counterpoint and harmony under François-Joseph Fétis at the Paris Conservatoire. Arriaga died in Paris at the age of nineteen.

The amount of music by Arriaga which has survived to the present day is quite small, but despite his early death includes an opera (Los esclavos felices (The Happy Slaves), 1820), a symphony and three string quartets. He is remembered today as much for his potential as for his completed work.

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