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.

Romantic

Saint-Saëns, Camille

The leading French composer of his generation, he was considered the “French Beethoven” in his lifetime, and was often compared to Mozart.
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Modern

Satie, Erik

A stinging gadfly in the dead white male club, Satie rejected most ideas of “great” music he inherited, and struck out on his own to discover a modern, un-Romantic style.
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Classical

Schubert, Franz

Seminal composer of the early Romantic era. His original harmonies and his affinity for homely genres like the art-song (lieder) and short piano pieces were hugely influential.

Romantic

Schumann, Robert

Early standard-bearer for German musical Romanticism in mid-19th century, and a powerful influence on Romantic musicians.

20th Century

Known as “The Waltz King,” Strauss wrote many of the world’s most famous waltzes (“The Blue Danube,” “The Emperor”), as well as the operetta “Die Fledermaus” (The bat).

20th century

Strauss, Richard

Initially famous as a composer of symphonic poems (notably “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” which contains the theme made famous in “2001: Space Odyssey”), he later concentrated on writing operas. Strauss is an important link between Romanticism and 20th-century modernism.