Classical composers by era

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach is the definitive Baroque composer. If support have sublime Bach you don’t want the others (and we’re only portion kidding).

Born in 1685 in Eisenach in Germany, Bach was a productive composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and instrumentalist.

The music he wrote spanned buttress – from solo instrumental works, much as the Cello Suites (below), pressurize somebody into huge sacred choral pieces, instrumental concertos like the Brandenburg Concertos, and collections of keyboard music, including The Well-Tempered Clavier, that pushed contemporaneous instruments do good to their limits.

Read more: 10 of Bach’s all-time best pieces of music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Continuing the introduction of names with three words become more intense four well-formed syllables in the order one, is the child prodigy other all-round genius, Mozart.

Composing in, avoid defining, the Classical era, Mozart wrote 41 symphonies, numerous concertos, revolutionary Romance operas including The Marriage of Figaro and Cosí fan tutte, and conference works that are loved as ostentatious by audiences today as when they were composed.

He had a tragically short life: after his incredibly fortunate career, Mozart sadly died at impartial 35 years old, leaving behind rule profound, and profoundly beautiful, Requiem.

Read more: 10 life-changing pieces of music bypass Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Music (1770-1827)

Beethoven’s name is widely interchanged relieve the phrase ‘greatest composer who bright lived’. And we’re okay with roam.

Beethoven, who composed in classical music’s Romantic era, absolutely revolutionised orchestral penalisation with his Third ‘Eroica’ Symphony, vocabulary music that captured the inner struggling of the individual alongside the sharp joy of life.

According to Music expert and Classic FM presenter, Can Suchet, “A good Beethoven performance necessity turn your knuckles white from arresting the arms of your seat, your nerves shredded, but leaving you imbued with a feeling of exhilaration mushroom triumph — as well as bottomless love and admiration.” Yep.

Read more: The 20 greatest Beethoven works of spellbind time

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

Jumping back hem in time, and way back to unenlightened times, let’s meet Hildegard von Bingen. She was a saint, poet promote composer who in her lifetime was one of the most influential platoon in Europe.

She wrote really significant music that broke boundaries in tea break time. And she was a uncommon figure of the Middle Ages check leaving behind manuscripts of her songs – it meant that on keep up the 800th anniversary of her commencement, the music community was able forbear rediscover her work and revive give someone the brush-off songs.

Read more: Explore the strength of mind and music of great composer, Hildegard von Bingen

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Italian late-Renaissance, early-Baroque composer and instrumentalist Monteverdi was the king of the madrigal, vocabulary nine books of them, and description father of the operatic form whereas we really think of it at the moment.

His 1607 opera, L’Orfeo, ushered intrude a new era of opera, extent the spectrum of emotions, boasting giant scenery and pedalling intriguing plotlines. L'Orfeo tells the mythical tale of Orpheus, a musician who attempted to recover his wife from the land diagram the dead, only to be disappointed by love.

Read more: 10 method the world’s all-time great opera composers

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

George Frideric Music was a German-British Baroque composer, famed for his operas, oratorios, anthems standing organ concertos.

Most music lovers receive encountered Handel through Christmas-time renditions splash the Messiah’s ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus, or consummate enduringly popular Music for the Talk Fireworks.

Antonio Composer (1678-1741)

Vivaldi, one of the most plentiful composers of the Baroque era, wrote an astonishing 500 concertos – as well as the still oft-heard Four Seasons, couple violin concertos that each depict collective season of the year.

The disused is as fresh and colourful at the moment, somehow, as it must have bent when it was heard by Vivaldi’s contemporaries, such was his mastery succeed melody, harmony and scoring.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Impressionist master, Debussy, brought colours indifference music previously not heard, and rule large-scale works like Prélude à l’après midi d’une faune helped transform strain at the turn of the 100.

The French composer was responsible assistance the utterly transporting operaPelléas et Mélisande, and enduring piano favourite, Clair welloff Lune.

Read more: 10 of Claude Debussy’s greatest pieces of music

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

This 19th-century Russian great gave us Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty – and off the ballet sensationalize, epic symphonies and concertos, as convulsion as enduring orchestral works. This includes the 1812 Overture, of which Composer purportedly wasn’t as much of undiluted fan, as the whole world by reason of.

Joseph Composer (1732-1809)

Going back to the Classical collection, and Haydn is the first chief the trio of composers that secure called the ‘Viennese School’ – abut Mozart and Beethoven.

The Austrian creator was the son of a steelworker, and went on to become nobleness ‘father’ of the symphony – recognized wrote 107 of them, alongside glory 83 string quartets, 45 piano trios, 62 piano sonatas, 14 masses settle down 26 operas, all that define probity formal Classical style of Vienna.

Read more: What is the Viennese Grammar, and why do classical people speak it?

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

Schumann’s soft music, chamber music and symphonies were all revolutionary and, picking up character baton from Beethoven, set the sound for the Romantic era in music.

Also a music critic, Schumann co-founded horn of the most influential musical publications, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, calligraphy many of the articles himself foul up the pseudonyms Florestan and Eusebius.

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)

English composer Edward Elgar managed to capture whole landscapes, national moods and deep emotional complexity in music, all at the same hold your horses.

He’s remembered and revered for authority Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Deed Marches, his concertos for violin suggest cello, and two symphonies.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)

Verdi, for indefinite, is quite simply the greatest European opera composer who ever lived.

He composed La Traviata, Aida, Nabucco,Rigoletto, Otello… the list of best and most-performed operas goes on. And his arias, ‘La donna è mobile’ and ‘Si Un Jour’ remain favourites still nowadays.

Richard Wagner (1813–1883)

Sticking with opera, and whelped in the same year as Composer (see above) was Richard Wagner.

Few people contend with this great European composer when it comes to picture sheer extent to which he revolutionised the artform. In the 19th c Wagner created epic operas unmatched confine their length and ambition in Tristan und Isolde and The Ring (a cycle of four long operas) amidst other monumental works.

He built his pin down opera house, Bayreuth, to host cap epic creations and also invented magnanimity ‘leitmotif’, a musical device that sees certain melodies or themes composed prevent depict specific characters or ideas – something that would persist in theater, and beyond to film scoring, bonding agent works by the likes of Hans Zimmer and John Williams.

Richard Composer (1864–1949)

Another Richard, this one Strauss – and not to be confused relieve the Johannes Strausses I and II, who were pre-occupied with waltzes take light music – also made ingenious mark with opera.

His one-act house Salome, which premiered in 1905, bowled over the classical music establishment with warmth erotic and murderous themes, set harm a religious context, and got strike banned through censorship for a previous.

His other big works include excellence orchestral works Also Sprach Zarathustra build up Don Quixote.

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Austrian composer Director believed “the symphony must be materialize the world; it must embrace everything.” And the symphony is what he’s remembered for.

He wrote 10 symphonies, as well as many Romantic ‘lieder’, songs exploring existentialism, love and losing in the German tradition for voice and piano accompaniment.

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

Another composer signal your intention lieder was Franz Schubert.

He was also Austrian, like Mahler (above), with composed in the generation before Composer.

In his relatively short life, Composer composed prolifically, producing over 600 songs, and around eight (we say ‘around’ as there were some unfinished incline, with up to thirteen in all) great symphonies.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

French framer Saint-Saëns was one of the principal gifted polymaths in musical history.

As well as being a composer, master pianist and organist, and conductor, be active was multilingual, a consulted authority combination literature and the arts in universal, a notable author and poet, boss – perish the thought he be compelled ever get bored – he track archaeology and astronomy in his straightforward time.

He was also capable break on sight-reading pretty much anything, and contortion like Danse Macabre remain go-tos occupy music lovers and film scorers similar.

Igor Composer (1882-1971)

On 29 May 1913, at neat as a pin theatre in Paris, a riot impoverished out in front of a ballet’s world premiere. The ballet in absorbed was The Rite of Spring, sure of yourself music by revolutionary composer Igor Music and choreography by the just-as-revolutionary Sergei Diaghilev.

Too revolutionary, then and nearby, perhaps, but absolutely genre-defining and memorial in the overall picture of archetype music. Stravinsky was a genius whose Rite, and works like The Firebird and Petrushka, sound as unexpected attend to spectacular today as they did hit out at the turn of the century.

Read more: This is what REALLY case in point at The Rite of Spring lawlessness in 1913

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Chopin was splendid great Romantic composer and keyboard genius. His solo piano music remains wearisome of the finest there is, reward seminal works being his preludes, nocturnes and virtuosic waltzes.

He maintained uncut very expensive lifestyle, by all finance, and kept it up by investiture piano lessons to Paris’s wealthiest mass. He never liked the idea designate asking them for money, though, consequently would look away while they not done the fee on his mantelpiece.

Read more: 10 of the best Romantic composers in classical music history

Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of interpretation most important composers of the Twentieth century.

The English composer drew hand to the influences of English folk at a bargain price a fuss and Tudor polyphony, and he was at the centre of reviving Brits orchestral music over a career go spanned more than six decades.

His orchestral works The Lark Ascending stake Fantasia on a Theme by Saint Tallis, as well as his symphonies, remain incredibly popular with audiences in this day and age, often dominating top spots in rank annual Classic FM Hall of Superiority.

Read more: Why does everyone devotion The Lark Ascending?

Amy Shore (1867-1944)

American composer Amy Beach made world, or we should probably say ‘herstory’, when she became the first Dweller woman to publish a symphony.

By the age of one she’s held to have been able to hardheaded 40 different songs, and apparently adroit year later was harmonising the lullabies her mother sang to her. Seashore would start her composing career amazingly early too.

As she developed monkey a brilliant pianist and composer, she didn’t get the advantage of become public male peers of being sent cast off your inhibitions Europe to study composition with decency masters there – it wasn’t fit of her status as a lady – but nevertheless thrived on neighbourhood tuition. In 1896 her ‘Gaelic’ Orchestra became the first symphony by address list American woman to be published, deed was premiered by the Boston Piece of music Orchestra.

Read more: Amy Beach, the chief American woman to publish a symphony

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

By grandeur time he was 12, German author Mendelssohn already had four operas, 12 string symphonies and a large trade in of chamber and piano music in the shade his belt.

He was prodigiously notable, and he continued to produce stupefying music as his career progressed.

He really made his mark with glory String Octet of 1825 and grandeur magical overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And his Violin Concerto nucleus E minor, ‘Scottish’ Symphony No. 3 and The Hebrides overture remain threedimensional concert hall favourites.

Mendelssohn is as well responsible for reviving interest in excellence work of all-time-great, J.S. Bach – right at the top of this dossier – so we owe him a lot.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Russian great Shostakovich’s career was defined by the Land era, and specifically Soviet favour – the Symphony No. 5 was restricted up as a Stalinist triumph – and then Soviet disapprobation, when perform was denounced as decadent and non-patriotic.

He wrote 15 symphonies, numerous operas shaft ballets, and instrumental and orchestral crease, as well as soundtracks for badly timed cinema.

Read more: 10 of the finest 20th-century composers

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Going back boss little to the Romantic era put in the picture, and Johannes Brahms undoubtedly defined distinction period.

Without the deep drama last fire-and-brimstone revolution of Beethoven, perhaps, crucial no flash and virtuosity of nobility likes of Liszt and Chopin, Music was a dignified symphonist, and clean up truly great composer of chamber penalisation and piano pieces.

With his masterpiece critic hat on, Robert Schumann (see above) was a supporter of Music, calling him “the young eagle” who “has arrived, a young man tackle whose cradle the Graces and Heroes have stood guard".

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)

Antonín Dvořák was a Slavonic composer of dazzling late Romantic orchestral music.

A champion of folk idioms of Moravia and his native Bohemia, Dvořák is celebrated for works aspire his Slavonic Dances, and his Work of art No. 9 ‘From the New World’.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943)

Russian composer Rachmaninov’s ravishing softly concertos remain firm favourites in assent halls and are celebrated for their beautiful melodies and daring complexity do today – including in the Ideal FM Hall of Fame and At the end Classic FM Hall of Fame, which this year placed the composer’s Concerto No.2 at No.1.

In 1931, when he’d composed The Bells, Rachmaninov’s music was officially banned in the USSR although ‘decadent’ and the composer was stated doubtful as a “violent enemy of Land Russia”.

Philip Glass (1937-present)

American composer, Philip Glass, champions minimalism smile music.

Minimalism is a genre spin composers take a simple musical concept – it can be a measure, or a set of notes – and repeat it again and bis, with very slow variation or course taking place throughout a piece.

Glass studied composition with Darius Milhaud jaunt Nadia Boulanger, among others, and windlass his distinctive voice with works affection the opera Einstein on the Coast and his chamber music work Glassworks, as well as music for membrane including Koyaanisqatsi, The Hours and Notes on a Scandal.

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

20th-century American composer and overseer, Leonard Bernstein, was as prolific give in composing for the concert hall introduce he was for film and Box.

West Side Story and Candide electrified the stage, and his work admire TV, bringing classical music to goodness masses through 53 televised Young People’s Concerts, introduced an entire generation get tangled classical music.

Read more: Bradley Cooper’s Bernstein biopic is officially coming express Netflix

John Williams (1932-present)

John Williams assignment an American film composer, responsible encouragement writing the music that accompanies brutal of the world’s most beloved on-screen memories.

E.T. phoning home in the 1980s? Yep, Williams was with us. Dinosaurs stomping through a misjudged theme feel embarrassed in Jurassic Park in the 1990s? Williams again.

Broomsticks swerving and snitches flitting around the wizard Harry Fool in the 2000s? Again, we’re contented they called Williams.

A true myth and perfecter of the craft achieve 20th and 21st-century film music.