Where did famous composers get there inspiration from?

Answer 1

Composers would often get their inspiration from inside or outside themselves. Some would look at the world around them, and respond to it (ex. some Realism/ Impressionism). Some would compose based of how they were feeling at the moment, or how they felt about their life. That's like subjectivity, where you put your feeling into the music. Objectivity is when you make music in a certain way, and don't mind your emotions as you create it (you could be depressed, but still create a really happy song). Many composers made music that they dedicated to other composers, and would often imitate that other composer's style in it. Some would took ordinary things, like pictures, places, animals, etc. and write songs about/portraying them.

Examples:

Mussorgsky - Realism

Ravel - Impressionism

Debussy - Impressionism (although he didn't like to be called that)

Tchaikovsky- Objective/Subjective

Rachmaninoff- Subjective

Most Classical/ Baroque composers - Objective

Many composers were blurs of all these styles, since they would often be inspired by more than one thing.

Answer 2

Well, if what you mean is: How do composers start a song or write a song? Sometimes if they are just playing their instrument and find something they like they may build off of that. There are many different ways.

Answer 3

This is what he says about his inspirations

"I carry my thoughts for a long, often very long with me around before I write it down. It remains for me my memory is so faithful that I am sure, a topic that I have once grasped, even after years of not forgetting.

I change some things, reject and try again until I'm satisfied, then in my head, the processing begins in width, into a corner, height and depth, and as I'm aware of what I want, leaving I have the basic idea ever, it rises, it grows up, I hear and see the picture in its full extent in one mold in my mind, and it only remains for me the work of writing down, the proceeds rapidly, depending on I spared the time, because I sometimes take several things at once in work, but am sure, none to confuse with the other.

This came from a German source - Beethoven's Persönlichkeit: Urteile der Zeitgenossen, Volume 2