Recognized as one of the most innovative composers of the Classical period, Ludwig _____ a Viennese musician who pioneered the...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• Recognized as one of the most innovative composers of the Classical period,
  • Ludwig Fischer [?]
    • a Viennese musician
      • who pioneered the integration of folk melodies into symphonic structures,
  • influenced generations of later composers
    • including Brahms and Dvořák.

Understanding the Meaning

The sentence opens with a description:

• 'Recognized as one of the most innovative composers of the Classical period'
  • This is telling us how Ludwig Fischer is viewed/regarded

Now we meet the subject:

• 'Ludwig Fischer'
  • This is who the sentence is about

This is where we have the blank.

Let's look at the choices:

• A colon, a comma, nothing, or a dash after Fischer's name

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence continues with more information about Fischer:

• 'a Viennese musician who pioneered the integration of folk melodies into symphonic structures'
  • This is giving us additional descriptive details about who Fischer was
  • He was from Vienna
  • He did something innovative with folk melodies in symphonies

Then we get the main action:

• 'influenced generations of later composers including Brahms and Dvořák'
  • This tells us what Fischer DID - his impact
  • He influenced other famous composers

Now let's understand what this structure is doing:

• 'Ludwig Fischer' = the subject (who the sentence is about)
• 'a Viennese musician who pioneered...' = extra descriptive information about Fischer
  • This phrase is giving us bonus details about who he was
  • It's inserted between the subject and the main action
• 'influenced' = the main verb (what Fischer did)

What do we notice about the structure here?

• The descriptive phrase 'a Viennese musician...' sits between the subject and its verb
  • If we removed it, we'd have: 'Ludwig Fischer influenced generations of later composers'
  • That's a complete sentence!
• This means the descriptive phrase is interrupting information - adding extra details in the middle
• When you insert a descriptive noun phrase like this between a subject and its verb, it needs to be set off by commas on BOTH sides
  • One comma to open it
  • One comma to close it

Looking at the sentence again:

• We need a comma after 'Fischer' to begin the descriptive phrase
• There's already a comma after 'structures' to close the phrase
• Then the sentence can continue to its main verb 'influenced'

So we need Fischer, - the comma creates the proper opening for this interrupting descriptive phrase.

The correct answer is B.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using Commas with Descriptive Noun Phrases That Interrupt

When you add a descriptive noun phrase (called an appositive in grammar terms) that provides extra, non-essential information about a noun, and this phrase appears in the middle of a sentence - interrupting the flow from subject to verb - it must be set off by commas on both sides.

The pattern:

• Subject, [descriptive noun phrase], verb...
• The descriptive phrase can be removed and you still have a complete sentence
• The commas signal: 'Here's bonus information, then we'll get back to the main point'

Example 1:

• Without the descriptive phrase: My sister graduated from Yale.
• With the descriptive phrase: My sister, a talented engineer, graduated from Yale.
• 'a talented engineer' = descriptive noun phrase
• Set off by commas because it interrupts the subject-verb flow
• Remove it and you still have: 'My sister graduated from Yale'

Example 2:

• Without the descriptive phrase: The discovery changed the field forever.
• With the descriptive phrase: The discovery, a breakthrough in quantum physics, changed the field forever.
• 'a breakthrough in quantum physics' = descriptive noun phrase
• Interrupts between subject and verb
• Needs commas on both sides

In our question:

• Subject: Ludwig Fischer
• Descriptive phrase: a Viennese musician who pioneered the integration of folk melodies into symphonic structures
• Verb: influenced
• The descriptive phrase interrupts between subject and verb, so it needs commas on both sides
• The comma after 'Fischer' opens this interrupting phrase
• The comma after 'structures' closes it
• Then the sentence continues to its main verb