Top 100 Greatest and Legendary Classical Composers
"Schopenhauer's claim that music is superior to all the other arts." - (from "Friedrich Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography" by Julian Young).
CLASSICAL COMPOSERS are those individuals who write/wrote music in the traditional forms, also known as classical music (not limited to the classical music era).
Classical Composers News, Reviews & Resources
- 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Classical Music - "We asked some of our favorite artists to tell us about the sounds they cherish. Listen to their choices. In the past we’ve chosen the five minutes or so we would play to make our friends fall in love with piano, opera, cello, Mozart, 21st-century composers, violin, Baroque music, sopranos, Beethoven, flute, string quartets, tenors, Brahms, choral music, percussion, symphonies, Stravinsky, trumpet, Maria Callas, Bach, the organ, mezzo-sopranos, music for dance and Wagner."
- 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Renaissance Music - "Here’s your introduction to the shining, stirring sounds of a revolutionary period in cultural history."
- Apple will launch its standalone classical music app on March 28th, 2023 - "Apple Music Classical will be available from the App Store, and the company says it will provide deeper search and composer metadata that help set it apart from mainstream music services. It’ll also do spatial audio, of course."
- Arseny Avraamov: The forgotten Soviet genius of modern music - "One hundred years ago today, the extraordinary Symphony of Sirens revolutionised the way we compose, perform and experience music. So why was its visionary composer forgotten for decades, asks Alex Sakalis."
- Arthur Schopenhauer thought music was the greatest of all artforms - "Music is often labelled a 'universal language,' and according to the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, there is a good reason for that."
- Beethoven: where to start with his music - "We begin our new series with Beethoven, the gruff uncompromising genius who changed music forever." The Guardian.
- Beethoven's nine symphonies ranked, from worst to greatest - "From the iconic knocks of fate in Beethoven’s Fifth, to the unbridled joy of the final moments of the Ninth, Beethoven’s symphonies unquestionably define the symphonic genre."
- Best Classical Composers - Ranker.
- Brahms: where to start with his music - "Our new series continues with Brahms - for some a reactionary, for others a radical, the highly wrought dramas of his symphonies and concertos and the quiet distinction of his chamber works have ensured his music endures." The Guardian.
- Chronological lists of classical composers - Wikipedia.
- Classical composers - Wikipedia.
- Classical music - Wikipedia.
- Daniel Barenboim: What Beethoven's Ninth Teaches Us - "The conductor Daniel Barenboim explores the political and spiritual power of what many consider the greatest symphony."
- ‘Deaf’ genius Beethoven was able to hear his final symphony after all - "Musicologist uncovers evidence that, contrary to established belief, the great composer retained some hearing in his final years."
- DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals a Surprise Some 200 Years Later - "One stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness."
- DNA From Beethoven’s Hair Unlocks Medical & Family Secret - "By analyzing seven samples of hair said to have come from Ludwig van Beethoven, researchers debunked myths about the revered composer while raising new questions about his life and death."
- From Bonn to Vienna, in Search of Beethoven, the Man - "It’s the composer’s 250th birthday, and a pilgrimage shines new light on his art and life."
- Handel: where to start with his music - "Hallelujah! This week, the composer whose music illuminated Georgian London, and who refined the art of bringing emotion alive in works that still resonate for us today."
- JS Bach: where to start with his music - "With religious music so involving he could inspire faith in non-believers, the German composer’s sense of harmony makes him a shared reference point for all classical composers."
- List of classical music composers by era - Wikipedia.
- List of composers - Wikipedia.
- List of composers by name - Wikipedia.
- List of historical sites associated with Ludwig van Beethoven - Wikipedia.
- List of major opera composers - Wikipedia.
- List of symphony composers - Wikipedia.
- Mozart childhood portrait sold for €4m at Paris auction - "A rare portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart aged 13 has fetched €4m at a Christie's auction in Paris - far more than had been expected."
- New analysis of Beethoven’s hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say - "High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research."
- 'The nearest to God we get': stars pick the Beethoven work they cherish - "Ali Smith does an opus a month, Tony Hall saw Fidelio on Robben Island, and Lady Brenda Hale used to march to his Grosse Fuge. As the Proms celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, stars reveal a favourite work"
- The Story of ‘the Most Underrated Composer in History’ - The New York Times.
- Top 15 Greatest Composers Of All Time - ListVerse.
- Vivaldi taught Venetian orphan girls - did they help write his music in return? - "A chance discovery introduced me to the composer’s work with abandoned children. The more I learned, the more I wondered about the creative role they played in his music."
- Why can’t more music apps be like Apple Music Classical? - "While it isn’t perfect, the app embraces metadata to a degree that a lot of other apps could learn from."
Top 100 Greatest Classical Composers: A-Z
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- A -
- Agostino Steffani - (1654-1728).
- ALBAN BERG - (1885-1935).
- ALEXANDER BORODIN - (1833-1887).
- Alexander Scriabin - (1872-1915).
- AndrÉ GrÉtry - (1741-1813).
- ANTON BRUCKNER - (1824-1896).
- Anton Reicha - (1770-1836).
- ANTON WEBERN - (1883-1945).
- ANTONIN DVOŘÁK - (1841-1904).
- ANTONIO SALIERI - (1750-1825).
- ANTONIO VIVALDI - (1678-1741).
- Arcangelo Corelli - (1653-1713).
- ARNOLD SCHÖNBERG - (1874-1951).
- Arseny Avraamov - (1886-1944).
- ARTURO TOSCANINI - (1867-1957).
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- B -
- BÉLA BARTÓK - (1881-1945).
- BENJAMIN BRITTEN - (1913-1976).
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- C -
- CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS - (1835-1921).
- CARL CZERNY - (1791-1857).
- CARL MARIA F. E. VON WEBER - (1786-1826).
- Carl Michael Bellman - (1740-1795).
- CARL NIELSEN - (1865-1931).
- CARL ORFF - (1895-1982).
- CÉSAR FRANCK - (1822-1890).
- Charles Gounod - (1818-1893).
- CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK - (1714-1787).
- CLAUDE DEBUSSY - (1862-1918).
- CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI - (1567-1643).
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- D -
- Daniel Auber - (1782-1871).
- Daniel Steibelt - (1765-1823).
- DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE - (1637-1707).
- Dmitri Shostakovich - (1906-1975).
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- E -
- EDVARD GRIEG - (1843-1907).
- EDWARD ELGAR - (1857-1934).
- Emanuel Aloys FÖrster - (1748-1823).
- ERIK SATIE - (1866-1925).
- Étienne MÉhul - (1763-1817).
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- F -
- FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY - (1809-1847).
- Ferdinand Ries - (1784-1838).
- FranÇois-Adrien Boieldieu - (1775-1834).
- FranÇois Couperin - (1688-1733).
- FranÇois-Joseph Gossec - (1734-1829).
- FRÉDÉRIC / FRYDERYK CHOPIN - (1810-1849).
- Franz Anton Hoffmeister - (1754-1812).
- Franz Clement - (1780-1842).
- Franz LehÁr - (1870-1948).
- FRANZ LISZT - (1811-1886).
- Franz Schreker - (1878-1934).
- FRANZ SCHUBERT - (1797-1828).
- Friedrich von Flotow - (1812-1883).
- FROMENTHAL HALÉVY - (1799-1862).
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- G -
- GABRIEL FAURÉ - (1845-1924).
- GAETANO DONIZETTI - (1797-1848).
- Gaspare Spontini - (1774-1851).
- GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN - (1681-1767).
- GEORGE FRIDERIC HÄNDEL - (1685-1759).
- Giacomo Meyerbeer - (1791-1864).
- GIACOMO PUCCINI - (1858-1924).
- Gian Carlo Menotti - (1911-2007).
- GIOACHINO A. ROSSINI - (1792-1868).
- Giovanni Battista Pergolesi - (1710-1736).
- Giovanni Battista Viotti - (1755-1824).
- Giovanni Maria Ruggieri - (1665-1725).
- Giovanni Paisiello - (1740-1816).
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - (c. 1525-1594).
- GIUSEPPE F. F.VERDI - (1813-1901).
- GUSTAV MAHLER - (1860-1911).
- GYÖRGY LIGETI - (1923-2006).
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- H -
- Hans Rott - (1858-1884). His music is little-known today, though he received high praise in his time from Gustav Mahler & Anton Bruckner.
- HECTOR BERLIOZ - (1803-1869).
- Hubert Parry - (1848-1918).
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- I -
- Ignaz von Seyfried - (1776-1841).
- IGNAZ PLEYEL - (1751-1831).
- Igor Markevitch - (1912-1983).
- Igor Stravinsky - (1882-1971).
- ILDEBRANDO PIZZETTI - (1880-1968).
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- J -
- JEAN SIBELIUS - (1865-1957).
- Jean-Philippe Rameau - (1683-1764).
- Johann Joseph Fux - (c. 1660-1741).
- Johann Nepomuk Hummel - (1778-1837).
- JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - (1685-1750).
- JOHANN STRAUSS THE ELDER - (1804-1849).
- JOHANN STRAUSS THE YOUNGER - (1825-1899).
- JOHANNES BRAHMS - (1833-1897).
- Johannes Ockeghem - (1410/25-1497).
- JOHN PHILIP SOUSA - (1854-1932).
- JOSEPH HAYDN - (1732-1809).
- JOSEPH WEIGL - (1766-1846).
- Joseph WÖlfl - (1773-1812).
- JULES MASSENET - (1842-1912).
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- K -
- KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN - (1928-2007).
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- L -
- LÉo Delibes - (1836-1891).
- Les Six - name given to a group of six French composers who worked in Montparnasse. Their music is often seen as a reaction against the musical style of Richard Wagner and the impressionist music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The members were Georges Auric (1899–1983), Louis Durey (1888–1979), Arthur Honegger (1892–1955), Darius Milhaud (1892–1974), Francis Poulenc (1899–1963), and Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983).
- Louis Spohr - (1784-1859).
- LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - (1770-1827).
- LUIGI CHERUBINI - (1760-1842).
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- M -
- Maurice DuruflÉ - (1902-1986).
- MAURICE RAVEL - (1875-1937).
- MODEST MUSSORGSKY - (1839-1881).
- Muzio Clementi - (1752-1832).
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- N -
- NICCOLÒ PAGANINI - (1782-1840).
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - (1844-1908).
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- P -
- PAUL DUKAS - (1865-1935).
- PAUL HINDEMITH - (1895-1963).
- PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY - (1840-1893).
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- R -
- Reinhard Keiser - (1674-1739).
- Reynaldo Hahn - (1874-1947).
- RICHARD STRAUSS - (1864-1949).
- RICHARD WAGNER - (1813-1883).
- ROBERT SCHUMANN - (1810-1856).
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- S -
- SERGEI PROKOFIEV - (1891-1953).
- SERGEI RACHMANINOFF - (1873-1943).
- SILVIUS LEOPOLD WEISS - (1687-1750).
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- T -
- The Five - (also known as The Mighty Handful & The New Russian School). Were five prominent, 19th-century Russian composers who worked together to create a distinctly Russian classical music. Mily Balakirev (the leader), César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin all lived in Saint Petersburg, and collaborated from 1856 to 1870.
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- V -
- VINCENZO BELLINI - (1801-1835).
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- W -
- WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART - (1756-1791).
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