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.
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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.
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Classical
Beethoven, Ludwig van
- The most famous and influential composer in music history. His life and music provided the template for musical Romanticism.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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