One of the leading guitar virtuosos of the 19th century was the Italian musician Mauro Giuliani. Guiliani elevated classical music to new levels by creating intricate compositions and using the guitar in ways others had not been capable of doing before.
Although the guitar is one of the most dominant instruments in modern popular music, it was relatively obscure during the 18th and 19th centuries. While the instrument has a long history, piano and other instruments were typically used to compose and perform classical music during that time period.
When Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most famous composers of all time, first heard Guiliani, he commented that the guitar was "a miniature orchestra in itself." Beethoven himself experimented with several different instruments throughout his lifetime, but he primarily composed on the piano.
