The three great classical composers, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, are commonly referred to as the First Viennese School. They never really worked together as a group, though especially Mozart and Haydn knew each other well, and have most certainly influenced each other. For example, Mozart dedicated some string quartets to Haydn, because he valued Haydn's string quartets so much. In general they valued each other very much as composers, and as persons. For Beethoven, who was the "youngest" of the three, the other two were his big examples, especially Mozart. Beethoven was also the most romantic of the classical composers.
- Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732–1809)
- Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [Amadé] (1756–1791)
- van Beethoven, Ludwig (1770–1827)