10 Classical Music Composers to Know

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more.","publisher":{"name":"Encyclopedia Britannica","@type":"Organization","logo":{"url":"https://corporate.britannica.com/wp-content/themes/eb-corporate/_img/logo.png","@type":"ImageObject"}},"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"article"} </script> <div class="list-content"> <div class="md-article-container list-container qa-content" data-feature-id="6496"> <div class="feature-container container-lg p-0 pb-40 p-md-20"> <aside class="d-none d-lg-block feature-left-rail p-20 pb-60 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="feature-section"> <div class="label mb-15 font-serif">Discover</div> <div class="mobile-carousel-items"> <ul class="pl-0 lr-image-list font-14 m-0 mb-30 d-flex flex-md-column slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden discover"> <li class="mb-10 mr-10 mr-md-0 d-inline-flex"> <a href="/story/did-mozart-write-twinkle-twinkle-little-star" class="d-block mr-10"> <img loading="lazy" 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Before joining Encyclopædia Britannica in 2017, she worked at the Art...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Alicja Zelazko</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> </div> <article class="topic-content content"><div class="topic-paragraph font-serif md-list-intro pt-15 pb-20"><figure class="md-assembly md-feature-assembly print-false" data-type="1" data-descid="1"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/199840-131-F5176574/Macro-sheet-music.jpg" target="_blank" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center " data-href="*0"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/199840-131-F5176574/Macro-sheet-music.jpg?w=1000" alt="Macro of sheet music" data-width="900" data-height="675" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class=""><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif "><span></span></div><cite class="credit d-block mt-5">© SunnyGraph/iStock.com</cite></figcaption></figure><p class="topic-paragraph">They differed in style, skill, innovation, and popularity, and nothing incites more heated debate among classical music scholars and fans than determining which of these composers of Western <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">classical music</a> are the most essential. The three composers that consistently appear in the top spots are Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. Scholars and fans vary on the rest, but those listed below are often regarded as some of the most significant.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><ul class="list-unstyled md-mendel-list"><li><h2>Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">The German composer and pianist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ludwig van Beethoven</a> is widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He expanded the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn, one of his teachers, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and experimented with personal expression, a characteristic that influenced the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Romantic</a> composers who succeeded him. His life and career were marked by progressive deafness, yet the malady did not prevent him from composing some of his most important works during the last 10 years of his life when he was nearly unable to hear. Widening the scope of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sonata" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sonata</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/symphony-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">symphony</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">concerto</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/quartet-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">quartet</a>, Beethoven’s notable works include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Symphony-No-9-in-D-Minor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Symphony-No-5-in-C-Minor-Op-67" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Moonlight-Sonata" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Moonlight Sonata</em></a>, and <em>Für Elise</em>. </p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-1"></span></li><li><h2>Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Johann Sebastian Bach</a> was a German composer and organist of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baroque</a> period. His contemporaries admired him for his talent as a musician but thought his compositions were old-fashioned. A rediscovery of his work in the early 19th century led to the so-called Bach revival, in which he came to be seen as one of the greatest composers of all time. His most-celebrated compositions include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brandenburg-Concertos" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Brandenburg Concertos</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Well-Tempered-Clavier-BWV-846-893" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Suites-for-Unaccompanied-Cello-BWV-1007-1012" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007–1012</em></a>, <em>Orchestral Suites, BWV 1066–1069</em>, and <em>Mass in B Minor, BWV 232</em>.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-2"></span></li><li><h2>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">An Austrian composer of the Classical period, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a> is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers of Western music. He is the only composer to write and excel in all of the musical genres of his time. Rumored to have had the ability to play music at age three and to write music at age five, Mozart began his career as a child prodigy. Notable compositions include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Marriage-of-Figaro-opera-by-Mozart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Marriage of Figaro</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Elvira-Madigan-by-Mozart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Elvira Madigan</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clarinet-Quintet-in-A-Major-K-581" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K 581</em></a>.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-3"></span></li><li><h2>Johannes Brahms (1833–97)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Brahms" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Johannes Brahms</a> was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period, but he was more a disciple of the Classical tradition. He wrote in many genres, including symphonies, concerti, chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions, many of which reveal the influence of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">folk music</a>. Some of his best-known works include <em>Symphony No. 3 in F Major</em>, <em>Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4</em>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hungarian-Dances" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Hungarian Dances</em></a>.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-4"></span></li><li><h2>Richard Wagner (1813–83)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">The German composer and theorist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Wagner-German-composer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richard Wagner</a> extended the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/opera-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">opera</a> tradition and revolutionized Western music. His dramatic compositions are particularly known for the use of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/leitmotif" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">leitmotifs</a>, brief musical motifs for a character, place, or event, which he skillfully transformed throughout a piece. Among his major works are the operas <em>The Flying Dutchman</em>, <em>Tannhäuser</em>, <em>Lohengrin</em>, <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tristan-and-Isolde" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tristan and Isolde</a></em>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parsifal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Parsifal</em></a>, and the tetralogy <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Der-Ring-des-Nibelungen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Ring of the Nibelung</em></a>, which includes <em>The Valkyrie</em>. One of the most controversial figures in classical music, his work transcends his character, which was defined by megalomaniac tendencies and anti-Semitic views.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-5"></span></li><li><h2>Claude Debussy (1862–1918)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">The French composer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Debussy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Claude Debussy</a> is often regarded as the father of modern classical music. Debussy developed new and complex harmonies and musical structures that evoke comparisons to the art of his contemporary <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Impressionism-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Impressionist</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Symbolism-literary-and-artistic-movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Symbolist</a> painters and writers. His major works include <em>Clair de lune</em>, <em>La Mer</em>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Prelude-to-the-Afternoon-of-a-Faun" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun</em></a>, and the opera <em>Pelléas et Mélisande</em>. </p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-6"></span></li><li><h2>Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">Writing music with broad emotional appeal during the Romantic period, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pyotr-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky</a> became one of the most popular Russian composers of all time. He was schooled in the western European tradition and assimilated elements from French, Italian, and German music with a personal and Russian style. Some of his best-known works were composed for the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/ballet" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ballet</a>, including <em>Swan Lake</em>, <em>The Sleeping Beauty</em>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Nutcracker" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Nutcracker, Op. 71</em></a>, but they also include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Piano-Concerto-No-1-in-B-flat-Minor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23</em></a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marche-Slave-Op-31" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Marche Slave, Op. 31</em></a>.</p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-7"></span></li><li><h2>Frédéric Chopin (1810–49) </h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederic-Chopin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Frédéric Chopin</a> was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period. He was one of few composers to devote himself to a single instrument, and his sensitive approach to the keyboard allowed him to exploit all the resources of the piano, including innovations in fingering and pedaling. He is thus primarily known for writing music for the piano, notably <em>Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat Major</em>, <em>Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, B. 49</em>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heroic-Polonaise" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Heroic Polonaise</em></a>. </p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-8"></span></li><li><h2>Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) </h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph">The Austrian composer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Haydn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Joseph Haydn</a> was one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style of music during the 18th century. He helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and symphony. Haydn was a prolific composer, and some of his most well-known works are <em>Symphony No. 92 in G Major</em>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Emperor-Quartet" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Emperor Quartet</em></a>, and <em>Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major</em>. His compositions are often characterized as light, witty, and elegant. </p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-9"></span></li><li><h2>Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)</h2><div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Vivaldi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Antonio Vivaldi</a> was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque period. He wrote music for operas, solo instruments, and small ensembles, but he is often celebrated for his concerti, in which virtuoso solo passages alternate with passages for the whole <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/orchestra-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">orchestra</a>. He wrote about 500 concerti, of which his best-known work is the group of four violin concerti titled <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Four-Seasons-by-Vivaldi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Four Seasons</em></a>. His <em>Mandolin Concerto in C Major, RV 425</em>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Concerto-for-Four-Violins-and-Cello-in-B-Minor-Op-3-No-10" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Concerto for Four Violins and Cello in B Minor, Op. 3, No.10</em></a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Concerto-for-Two-Trumpets-in-C-Major" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major</em></a> are equally playful and complex. </p><span class="MOD"></span></div><span class="LIST-ITEM-10"></span></li></ul><span class="AM-END-OF-ARTICLE am-inline"></span></article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="cm-rightrail d-none d-md-block ad-rail"></aside> </div> </div> </div> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-loading hidden display-4 font-weight-normal"></div> <div class="text-center my-20 mb-100"> <button class="md-infinite-load-next btn btn-blue" data-value="next-page">Load More</button> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-da-320 hidden-xs"> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"List","templateName":null,"pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":11,"pageId":6496,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/list-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"List","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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10 Classical Music Composers to Know | Britannica