Switzerland
Michael McCooe breeds, trains and sells sports and working horses internationally. He is based on the Swiss-German border, near Schaffhausen.
McCooe has over 40 years' experience working with sports and working horses, specialising in Warmblood sports horse, mostly German. He also handles Thoroughbreds, Irish horses and Cross-breeds.
From Xenophon to Podhajsky, Michael has studied horse training and horse psychology intensely in all of its forms, working and training with some of the most famous and respected trainers and riders - of all disciplines - of the past 100 years.
Dressage training is top of the list for all his horses, no matter what job they will ultimately carry out. Plus all of them are turned out to graze daily and are ridden out regularly through the beautiful pine forests surrounding his home. As a result all his horses are relaxed, well-schooled and easy to manage.
When not working with horses Michael likes to spend time reading and listening to Opera and classical music.
E.M Forster published his masterpiece, A Passage to India, in 1924. Set in the British Raj, it centres around four characters - Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. After Adela accuses Aziz of sexual assault, the prejudices of the time are brought to light...
Heinrich Schütz was a 17 th Century German composer and organist. Today, Schütz is considered to be one of the key composers of the era and the most important one before Johann Sebastian Bach. Heinrich Schütz was born in 1585, in Saxony. After being discovered by the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, he became choir boy in 1599.
Girolamo Frescobaldi was a 17 th Century Italian composer. Frescobaldi is regarded as one of the most important keyboard composers of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Girolamo Frescobaldi, born in Ferrarra, Italy, came from a musical family, as his father Filippo was a prominent organist.
Arcangelo Corelli (17 th February 1653 - 8 th January 1713) was an Italian violinist and composer. His music during the Baroque era was key to the development of modern classical music, including sonata and concerto while he also helped to establish the preeminence of the violin.
German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 - 5 October 1880) completed nearly 100 operettas of the Romantic era between 1850s-1870s. His uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann is one of his most famous works and remains part of the standard opera repertory.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 - 2 February 1594) was an Italian renaissance composer of sacred music. He is the best-known 16 th Century representative of the Roman School of musical composition following his influence on the development of church music.
Johann Strauss II (October 25, 1825 - June 3, 1899), often referred to as Johann Strauss Jr., was the first son of famous composer Johann Strauss I. Born in St Ulrich near Vienna, Strauss' father initially encouraged him to become a banker rather than a composer.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period who made a lasting impression internationally. Appearing as a guest composer in Europe and the USA, Tchaikovsky's reputation was worldwide by the time he retired and was rewarded with a lifetime pension.
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer of the 18 th Century whose work is still often performed today. He's most famous for his Ave Maria, based on a work by Bach, as well as his opera Faust. The piece Roméo et Juliette is also often played across the world.
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer whose work during the 19th Century has had a lasting effect on pianists to present day. Liszt was famous around Europe during the early 19th Century; renowned as the greatest pianist of all time in the 1840s. The likes of Richard Wagner and Alexander Borodin took Liszt's work as...
Frédéric Chopin is one of the world's most revered composers, living from 1810 to 1849. Born in Warsaw, Poland, Chopin was of the Romantic era and primarily wrote for the solo piano. Development A natural poetic genius, he was highly professional, methodical and well educated. This was evident from an early age, as he was...
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the 19th Century, who spent most of his professional career working in Austria. Along with Bach and Beethoven, Brahms was a member of the Three B's who are great composers from this era. Brahms' Work Both a traditionalist and an innovator, Brahms combined the traditional compositional...
Giuseppe Verdi: "To copy the truth can be a good thing, but to invent the truth is better, much better." Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi may have been born over 200 years ago, but his music still has an impact on opera today.
Giacomo Puccini is often referred to as the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi. Puccini's family were always involved in music; his great grandfather played the organ at a cathedral in his hometown, Lucca. This role was passed down to his grandfather, followed by his father.
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most revered classical composers of all time. The German became famous in the early 18 th Century, and his ground-breaking work continues to influence composers to this day. From birth, Bach was destined for music as his father was the director of the town musicians, and all of his uncles were professional musicians.
Manuel De Falla is one of the most esteemed musicians of the 20th century. Born in 1876 in Cadiz, the historical seaport town at the southern-most tip of Andalucia, Manuel de Falla is the greatest Spanish composer of this century.