Composer Gallery

Here are quick and easy reference guides to the all-time great composers, a roster that we're always expanding. For each composer, you'll find vital statistics (birth, death, nationality), a short biographical sketch and a few fun facts, plus a basic guide to the music and a list of weblinks and resources, plus a few of the most famous tunes and one or two videos. Whether you're heading off to a concert, writing a research paper, looking for reliable, current information, or just want to explore some cool music and video, this is the first stop on your web search.

Baroque

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Bach was a formidable intellectual and technical composer, but his music is also uplifting and spiritual, melodic, and rhythmically irresistible. Few names in music are as revered as Bach’s.

20th-Century

Barber, Samuel

American composer noted for craft and emotional power. His Adagio for Strings is one of the more popular classical works of the mid-20th century.
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20th Century

Bartók, Béla

One of the most celebrated early 20th-century composers. He collected and studied Eastern European folk music, which became the basis of his mature compositions.

Classical

Beethoven, Ludwig van

The most famous and influential composer in music history. His life and music provided the template for musical Romanticism.

20th Century

Berg, Alban

A Viennese composer whose romantic modernism is unique and multifaceted. His music communicates with audiences despite his adoption of "atonal" musical techniques.
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Romantic

Berlioz, Hector

His heart on his sleeve, fanatically dedicated, disillusioned, bushy-haired—Berlioz was the archetypal Romantic composer. He composed mostly large-scale orchestral and choral works.

20th Century

Bernstein, Leonard

American composer of everything from popular musicals to symphonies. He was also the most eminent and successful conductor born in the United States.

Romantic

Bizet, Georges

Composer of the opera Carmen and a handful of other popular works.

Romantic

Borodin, Alexander Porfir′yevich

Full-time chemist, part time genius composer.
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Romantic

Brahms, Johannes

Often called the successor to Beethoven, Brahms achieved greatness in a wide variety of genres. Despite his intellectual rigor, he is one of the most popular Romantic composers.