Composer Timelines for Classical Music Periods

Introduction to the Composer Timeline Diagrams

Below you will see a small version of each of the Timeline Diagrams scaled to fit on the web page. You won't be able to read the composers' names at this scale, but you will see immediately that the early diagrams are wide and short while later diagrams and tall and thin. Although this is no doubt in part due to the poor quality of historical records for the early periods, there is no doubt that the numbers of composers are steadily increasing. It looks as though the pace of musical development is accelerating, though this trend can be attributed firstly to the increasing accessibility of music (as more people became better educated and music moved from churches to royal courts to concert halls and beyond), a growth in the technology allowing music to be shared (the development of printing and better channels of communication), and a growing demand for music (from the increasing number of these channels, from publishers and from film and other media).

Here then are our composer timelines for these 6 musical periods Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods. You can click on each diagram to show it enlarged in a separate window or tab, and most browsers will allow you to click again to see each chart full size allowing the composers' names and dates to be read. Further down this page you will find a complete listing of all the composers included on the diagrams.

Composers of the Medieval or Gothic Period

Medieval Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Medieval Period, approx. 800-1400. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Composers of the Renaissance Period

Renaissance Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Renaissance Period, approx. 1400-1600. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Composers of the Baroque Period

Baroque Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Baroque Period, approx. 1600-1750. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Composers of the Classical Period

Classical Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Classical Period, approx. 1750-1820. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Composers of the Romantic Period

Romantic Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Romantic Period, approx. 1820-1910. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Composers of the Modern Period

Modern Period composers:

The above diagram is a composer timeline for the Modern Period, approx. 1910 onwards. Click on the image to enlarge in a separate window.

Full List of Composers from all Music Periods

These diagrams have in part been generated from a database of composers. This is the full list of composers included in the digrams, together with references for further information or music examples. In later periods we have included a number of composers who are not usually associated with classical music. The details provided include the composers' dates of birth and death (as appropriate) although some dates are only known approximately. Composers listed on mfiles in some capacity have links through to their composer biographies and/or links to example music or articles which reference their music. Some composers are listed on more than one period diagram. We've used a simple rule to decide which period or periods a composer belongs to, rather than analysing the composer's style. This rule-based determination is fairly accurate in most cases.

• Notker Balbulus (c.840-912) - Medieval Period
• Odo of Cluny (c.878-942) - Medieval Period
• Guido da Arezzo (c.991-c.1033) - Medieval Period
• Hermann of Reichenau (1013-1054) - Medieval Period
• Guillaume d'Aquitaine (1071-1126) - Medieval Period
• Petrus Abaelardus (1079-1142) - Medieval Period
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) - Medieval Period, see Church Music and Hymns (article reference)
• Bernart de Ventadorn (c.1130-a.1230) - Medieval Period
• Léonin (1135-1201) - Medieval Period
• Pérotin (1160-1225) - Medieval Period, see Music Notation History (article reference)
• Philippe le Chancelier (c.1160-1236) - Medieval Period
• Pierre de Molins (1170-c.1220) - Medieval Period
• Walther von der Vogelwide (c.1170-c.1230) - Medieval Period
• Alfonso el Sabio (1221-1284) - Medieval Period
• Adam de la Halle (c.1235-1288) - Medieval Period
• Petrus de Cruce (c.1260-a.1302) - Medieval Period
• Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361) - Medieval Period
• Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377) - Medieval Period
• Francesco Landini (c.1325-1397) - Medieval Period
• Johannes Ciconia (c.1335-1412) - Medieval/Renaissance Periods
• Jacopo da Bologna Bologna (c.1340-c.1386) - Medieval Period
• Zacara da Teramo (c.1350-c.1413) - Medieval/Renaissance Periods
• Leonel Power (c.1370-1445) - Medieval/Renaissance Periods
• Oswald von Wolkenstein (c.1376-1445) - Medieval/Renaissance Periods
• John Dunstaple (c.1390-1453) - Renaissance Period
• Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474) - Renaissance Period
• Gilles Binchois (c.1400-1460) - Renaissance Period
• Johannes Ockeghem (c.1410-1497) - Renaissance Period
• Gilles Joye (c.1424-1483) - Renaissance Period
• Antoine Busnois (c.1430-1492) - Renaissance Period
• Alexander Agricola (c.1446-1506) - Renaissance Period
• Heinrich Isaac (c.1450-1517) - Renaissance Period
• Loyset Compère (c.1450-1518) - Renaissance Period
• Josquin des Prez (c.1450-1521) - Renaissance Period
• Jacob Obrecht (c.1457-1505) - Renaissance Period
• Jean Mouton (c.1459-1522) - Renaissance Period
• Antoine Brumel (c.1460-c.1513) - Renaissance Period
• Pierre de la Rue (c.1460-1518) - Renaissance Period
• Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521) - Renaissance Period
• William Cornysh (1465-1523) - Renaissance Period
• Francisco de Penalosa (c.1470-1528) - Renaissance Period
• Philippe Verdelot (c.1475-c.1550) - Renaissance Period
• Martin Luther (1483-1546) - Renaissance Period
• Jacquet of Mantua (1483-1559) - Renaissance Period
• Clément Janequin (c.1485-1558) - Renaissance Period
• Robert Carver (c.1485-c.1570) - Renaissance Period
• Ludwig Senfl (c.1486-1543) - Renaissance Period
• John Taverner (c.1490-1545) - Renaissance Period
• Claudinde Sermisy (c.1490-1562) - Renaissance Period
• Adrian Willaert (c.1490-1562) - Renaissance Period
• Constanzo Festa (c.1495-1545) - Renaissance Period
• Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560) - Renaissance Period
• Francesco Canova da Milano (1497-1543) - Renaissance Period
• Cristóbal de Morales (c.1500-1553) - Renaissance Period
• Jacques Arcadelt (1505-1568) - Renaissance Period
• Christopher Tye (c.1505-1572) - Renaissance Period
• Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) - Renaissance Period, see Third Mode Melody (hymn)
• Balint Bakfark (c.1507-1576) - Renaissance Period
• Jacob Clemens non papa (c.1510-c.1555) - Renaissance Period
• Antonio de Cabezon (1510-1566) - Renaissance Period
• Jean Maillard (c.1510-c.1570) - Renaissance Period
• Diego Ortiz (c.1510-c.1570) - Renaissance Period
• John Sheppard (c.1515-1559) - Renaissance Period
• Cypriano de Rore (c.1516-1565) - Renaissance Period
• Philippe de Monte (1521-1603) - Renaissance Period
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) - Renaissance Period
• Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) - Renaissance Period
• William Mundy (c.1529-1591) - Renaissance Period
• David Peebles (1530-1579) - Renaissance Period
• Claude Le Jeune (1530-1600) - Renaissance Period
• Guillaume Costeley (c.1530-1606) - Renaissance Period
• Andrea Gabrieli (c.1532-1585) - Renaissance Period
• Orlande de Lassus (c.1532-1594) - Renaissance Period
• Giaches de Wert (1535-1596) - Renaissance Period
• William Byrd (c.1540-1623) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods, see Pavan: The Earle of Salisbury (keyboard)
• Hernando de Cabezon (1541-1602) - Renaissance Period
• Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c.1545-1607) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Eustache du Caurroy (c.1549-1609) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Emilio de'Cavalieri (c.1550-1602) - Renaissance Period
• Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605) - Renaissance Period
• Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Luca Marenzio (c.1553-1599) - Renaissance Period
• Alonso Lobo (c.1555-1617) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Thomas Morley (1557-1603) - Renaissance Period
• Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1557-1612) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Carlo Gesualdo (1560-1613) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Peter Philips (1560-1628) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Jean Titelouze (c.1562-1633) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• John Bull (c.1562-1628) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• John Dowland (1563-1626) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods, see O Sacred Head Now Wounded (hymn)
• Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Michael Praetorius (c.1571-1621) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• John Wilbye (1574-1638) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) - Renaissance/Baroque Periods
• Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652) - Baroque Period
• Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - Baroque Period
• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) - Baroque Period
• Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) - Baroque Period
• Alessandro Grandi (1586-1630) - Baroque Period
• Johann Schein (1586-1630) - Baroque Period
• Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) - Baroque Period
• John Jenkins (1592-1678) - Baroque Period
• Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres (c.1601-1672) - Baroque Period
• William Lawes (1602-1645) - Baroque Period
• Christopher Simpson (c.1602-1669) - Baroque Period
• Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) - Baroque Period
• Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) - Baroque Period
• Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) - Baroque Period
• Matthias Weckmann (c.1616-1674) - Baroque Period
• Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) - Baroque Period
• Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680) - Baroque Period
• Matthew Locke (c.1621-1677) - Baroque Period
• Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) - Baroque Period
• Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) - Baroque Period
• Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629-1691) - Baroque Period
• Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) - Baroque Period
• Dieterich Buxtehude (1639-1707) - Baroque Period
• Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (c.1640-1700) - Baroque Period
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) - Baroque Period, see Prelude from the Te Deum (piano arrangement)
• Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704) - Baroque Period
• John Blow (1649-1708) - Baroque Period
• Johann Jakob Walther (1650-1717) - Baroque Period
• Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) - Baroque Period, see Pachelbel's Canon in D (piano arrangement)
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) - Baroque Period
• Georg Phillipp Muffat (1653-1704) - Baroque Period
• Marin Marais (1656-1728) - Baroque Period
• Michel Richard Delalande (1657-1726) - Baroque Period
• Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) - Baroque Period
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695) - Baroque Period, see Funeral Music for Queen Mary (piano arrangement)
• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) - Baroque Period
• Francois Couperin (1668-1733) - Baroque Period
• Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751) - Baroque Period
• Jeremiah Clarke (c.1674-1707) - Baroque Period
• Christian Petzold (1677-1733) - Baroque Period, see Minuet from the A.M.Bach notebooks (keyboard)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Baroque Period, see Autumn from The Four Seasons (Violin Concerto)
• Georg Phillipp Telemann (1681-1767) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann David Heinichen (1683-1729) - Baroque Period
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Baroque Period, see Prelude No.1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier (keyboard)
• Guiseppe Matteo Alberti (1685-1751) - Baroque Period
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - Baroque/Classical Periods, see Hornpipe from the Water Music (orchestral)
• Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755) - Baroque Period
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c.1700-1775) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Pietro Domenico Paradisi (1707-1791) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Charles Avison (b.1709-1770) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Michel Correte (1709-1795) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) - Baroque Period
• Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) - Baroque/Classical Periods, see The song "Rule, Britannia!" (piano arrangement)
• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• William Boyce (1711-1779) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Charles John Stanley (1712-1786) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Niccolò Jommelli (1714-1774) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) - Baroque/Classical Periods, see March from the A.M.Bach notebooks (keyboard)
• Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (1717-1757) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Giuseppe Scarlatti (c.1718-1777) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) - Baroque/Classical Periods, see Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (son)
• Johann Ernst Bach II (1722-1777) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1767) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727-1756) - Baroque Period
• Armand-Louis Couperin (1727-1789) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Niccolo Piccini (1728-1800) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Antonio Soler (b.1729-1783) - Baroque/Classical Periods
• Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-1795) - Classical Period
• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) - Classical Period, see Piano Sonata No.31 (1st movement) (piano)
• Francois Joseph Gossec (1734-1829) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782) - Classical Period, see Johann Sebastian Bach (father)
• Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809) - Classical Period
• Josef Myslivecek (1737-1781) - Classical Period
• Michael Haydn (1737-1806) - Classical Period, see Joseph Haydn (brother)
• Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) - Classical Period
• Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) - Classical Period
• André Ernest Modeste Grétry (1741-1813) - Classical Period
• Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - Classical Period, see Minuet from his String Quintet in E (String Quintet)
• Carl Stamitz (1745-1801) - Classical Period
• William Billings (1746-1826) - Classical Period
• Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) - Classical Period
• Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) - Classical Period
• Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Classical Period, see Eine Kleine Nachtmusic (1st movement) (string orchestra)
• Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) - Classical Period
• Francois Devienne (1759-1803) - Classical Period
• Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) - Classical Period
• Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Franz William Tausch (1762-1817) - Classical Period
• Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) - Classical Period
• Franz Ignaz Danzi (1763-1826) - Classical Period
• Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766-1803) - Classical Period
• Carlos Baguer (1768-1808) - Classical Period
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Classical/Romantic Periods, see 5th Symphony (1st movement) (orchestral)
• Anton Reicha (1770-1836) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Gaspare Spontini (1774-1837) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Vaclav Tomasek (1774-1850) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman (1776-1822) - Classical Period
• Fernando Sor (1778-1839) - Classical/Romantic Periods, see Mazurka in D, Op32 No.3 (guitar piece)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1851) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Antonio Diabelli (1781-1858) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• John Field (1782-1837) - Romantic Period, see Nocturne No.5
• Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) - Classical/Romantic Periods, see Franz Liszt
• Louis Spohr (1784-1859) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) - Classical Period
• Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Jan Vaclav Vorisek (1791-1825) - Classical Period
• Carl Czerny (1791-1857) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Lowell Mason (1792-1872) - Classical/Romantic Periods, see Joy to the World (Christmas Carol)
• Franz Berwald (1796-1868) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) - Classical/Romantic Periods, see Scherzo from "Death and the Maiden" (String Quartet)
• Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) - Classical/Romantic Periods
• Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) - Romantic Period, see Horror in Music (article reference)
• Johann Strauss I (1804-1849) - Romantic Period
• Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) - Romantic Period
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) - Romantic Period, see Venetian Boat Song No.1 (piano work)
• Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) - Romantic Period, see The Minute Waltz (piano work)
• Robert Schumann (1810-1856) - Romantic Period, see Traumerei from "Scenes of Childhood" (piano work)
• Ole Bull (1810-1880) - Romantic Period, see Edvard Grieg (relative by marriage)
• Franz Liszt (1811-1886) - Romantic Period
• Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) - Romantic Period
• Richard Wagner (1813-1883) - Romantic Period, see The "Bridal Chorus" (piano arrangement)
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) - Romantic Period
• Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890) - Romantic Period
• Louis James Alfred Lefebure-Wely (1817-1896) - Romantic Period
• Charles Gounod (1818-1893) - Romantic Period, see Brenard Herrmann
• Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) - Romantic Period, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) - Romantic Period
• Clara Schumann (1819-1896) - Romantic Period, see Robert Schumann (husband)
• Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) - Romantic Period
• César Franck (1822-1890) - Romantic Period
• Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) - Romantic Period
• Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) - Romantic Period, see Antonin Dvorak
• Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) - Romantic Period, see Gustav Mahler
• Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) - Romantic Period, see The Blue Danube Waltz (piano arrangement)
• Stephen Foster (1826-1864) - Romantic Period
• Josef Strauss (1827-1870) - Romantic Period
• Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) - Romantic Period
• Hans von Bulow (1829-1894) - Romantic Period
• Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) - Romantic Period
• Karl Goldmark (1830-1915) - Romantic Period
• Joseph Joachin (1831-1907) - Romantic Period
• Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) - Romantic Period, see Modest Mussorgsky
• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) - Romantic Period, see Intermezzo in A Op.118 No.2 (piano piece)
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) - Romantic Period
• Eduard Strauss (1835-1916) - Romantic Period
• César Cui (1835-1918) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see The Swan from "Carnival of the Animals" (cello and 2 pianos)
• Léo Delibes (1836-1891) - Romantic Period
• Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) - Romantic Period, see Modest Mussorgsky
• Georges Bizet (1838-1875) - Romantic Period, see The Top from "Children's Games" (piano duet)
• Max Bruch (1838-1920) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) - Romantic Period, see Promenade from "Pictures at an Exhibition" (piano suite)
• John Knowles Paine (1839-1906) - Romantic Period
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - Romantic Period, see The Sugar Plum Fairy from "The Nutcracker" (ballet music)
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) - Romantic Period
• Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) - Romantic Period, see Slow Movement from the "New World Symphony" (orchestral)
• Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) - Romantic Period, see Onward Christian Soldiers (hymn)
• Edvard Grieg (1842-1907) - Romantic Period, see Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (piano piece)
• Jules Massenet (1842-1912) - Romantic Period
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) - Romantic Period
• Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) - Romantic Period
• Carl Bohm (1844-1920) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Robert Fuchs (1847-1927) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Hubert Parry (1848-1918) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Jerusalem (song)
• Henri Duparc (1848-1933) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Alexander Taneyev (1850-1918) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) - Romantic Period
• Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Andre Charles Messager (1853-1929) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Leos Janacek (1854-1928) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) - Romantic Period
• Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914) - Romantic Period
• Julius Röntgen (1855-1932) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) - Romantic Period
• Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Edward Elgar (1857-1934) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Nimrod from "The Enigma Variations" (piano arrangement)
• Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Victor Herbert (1859-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) - Romantic Period
• Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) - Romantic Period
• Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) - Romantic Period, see Asturias (Leyenda) (piano)
• Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) - Romantic Period, see Extract from Symphony No.1 (2nd movement) (orchestral)
• Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Anton Arensky (1861-1906) - Romantic Period
• Felipe de Jesus Villanueva (1862-1893) - Romantic Period
• Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Clair de Lune from "Suite Bergamasque" (piano work)
• Frederick Delius (1862-1934) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Richard Strauss (1864-1949) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see 2001: A Space Odyssey (film soundtrack review)
• Theophile Ysaye (1865-1918) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Paul Dukas (1865-1935) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Vasily Kalinnikov (1866-1901) - Romantic Period
• Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Erik Satie (1866-1925) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Gymnopedie No.1 (piano piece)
• Enrique Granados (1867-1916) - Romantic Period
• Scott Joplin (1868-1917) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see The Entertainer (piano rag)
• Albert Roussel (1869-1937) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Franz Lehár (1870-1948) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) - Romantic Period
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Max Reger (1873-1916) - Romantic Period
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Prelude in Gm (piano work)
• Gustav Holst (1874-1934) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see I Vow to Thee My Country (hymn)
• Josef Suk (1874-1935) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Sergei Koussevitzky (1874-1951) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Charles Ives (1874-1954) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) - Romantic Period
• Walter Courvoisier (1875-1931) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Claude Debussy
• Reinhold Gliere (1875-1956) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Pablo Casals (1876-1973) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Erno Dohnanyi (1877-1960) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Frank Bridge (1879-1941) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• John Ireland (1879-1962) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Kenneth J. Alford (1881-1945) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Bela Bartok (1881-1945) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Folk Music and Songs (article reference)
• Nikolai Miaskovsky (1881-1950) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• George Enescu (1881-1955) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Arthur Marshall (1881-1968) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Swipesy (piano rag)
• Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Arthur Schnabel (1882-1951) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Percy Grainger (1882-1961) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Recording of the Grieg Piano Concerto (pianist)
• Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Horror in Music (article reference)
• Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Anton Webern (1883-1945) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Arnold Bax (1883-1953) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Malcolm Arnold
• Edgard Varese (1883-1965) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• George Butterworth (1885-1916) - Romantic Period
• Alban Berg (1885-1935) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Alexander Albrecht (1885-1958) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Heinrich Kaminski (1886-1946) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Eric Coates (1886-1957) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Marcel Dupre (1886-1971) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Bernard van Dieren (1887-1936) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Enrnst Toch (1887-1964) - Romantic/Modern Periods
• Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Gabriel Faure article (photograph)
• Max Steiner (1888-1971) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Gone with the Wind Collection (album review)
• Irving Berlin (1888-1989) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Ragtime Music (article reference)
• Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) - Romantic/Modern Periods, see Film Music History (article reference)
• Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) - Modern Period
• Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) - Modern Period
• Frank Martin (1890-1974) - Modern Period
• Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) - Modern Period
• Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) - Modern Period
• Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) - Modern Period
• Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) - Modern Period
• Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) - Modern Period
• Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) - Modern Period
• Ivor Novello (1893-1951) - Modern Period
• Arthur Benjamini (1893-1960) - Modern Period
• Douglas Moore (1893-1969) - Modern Period
• Alois Haba (1893-1973) - Modern Period
• Frederico Mompou (1893-1987) - Modern Period
• Andres Segovia (1893-1987) - Modern Period
• Peter Warlock (1894-1930) - Modern Period
• Walter Piston (1894-1976) - Modern Period
• Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981) - Modern Period
• Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) - Modern Period
• Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) - Modern Period
• William Grant Still (1895-1978) - Modern Period
• Carl Orff (1895-1982) - Modern Period, see Horror in Music (article reference)
• Jaromir Weinberger (1896-1967) - Modern Period
• Howard Hanson (1896-1981) - Modern Period
• Roger Sessions (1896-1985) - Modern Period
• Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) - Modern Period
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) - Modern Period, see The Sea Hawk and Deception (film scores – review)
• Henry Cowell (1897-1965) - Modern Period
• Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) - Modern Period
• George Gershwin (1898-1937) - Modern Period, see Andre Previn
• Hanns Eisler (1898-1962) - Modern Period
• Roy Harris (1898-1979) - Modern Period
• Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) - Modern Period
• Victor Young (1899-1956) - Modern Period, see Around the World in 80 Days (film score review)
• Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) - Modern Period
• Carlos Chavez (1899-1978) - Modern Period
• Dimitri Tiomkin (1899-1979) - Modern Period, see The Alamo
• Georges Auric (1899-1983) - Modern Period
• Randall Thompson (1899-1984) - Modern Period
• Kurt Weill (1900-1950) - Modern Period
• George Antheil (1900-1959) - Modern Period
• Aaron Copland (1900-1990) - Modern Period
• Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) - Modern Period
• Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) - Modern Period
• Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - Modern Period
• Alfred Newman (1901-1970) - Modern Period
• Hugo Friedhofer (1901-1981) - Modern Period
• Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) - Modern Period
• Joaquim Rodrigo (1901-1999) - Modern Period
• Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) - Modern Period, see Stephen Sondheim
• Bronislau Kaper (1902-1983) - Modern Period
• William Walton (1902-1983) - Modern Period, see Ron Goodwin
• Maurice Durufle (1902-1986) - Modern Period
• Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) - Modern Period, see 2001: A Space Odyssey (film soundtrack review)
• Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) - Modern Period
• Berthold Goldschmidt (1903-1996) - Modern Period
• Erik Chisholm (1904-1965) - Modern Period
• Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) - Modern Period
• Richard Addinsell (1904-1977) - Modern Period
• Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987) - Modern Period
• Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) - Modern Period
• Walter Leigh (1905-1942) - Modern Period
• Constant Lambert (1905-1951) - Modern Period
• Matyas Seiber (1905-1960) - Modern Period
• Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-1963) - Modern Period
• Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964) - Modern Period
• Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971) - Modern Period
• William Alwyn (1905-1985) - Modern Period
• Dag Ivar Wiren (1905-1986) - Modern Period
• Michael Tippett (1905-1998) - Modern Period
• Franz Waxman (1906-1967) - Modern Period
• Benjamin Frankel (1906-1973) - Modern Period
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) - Modern Period, see Symphonies Concert Series
• Elisabeth Lutyens (1906-1983) - Modern Period
• Imogen Holst (1907-1984) - Modern Period
• Henk Badings (1907-1987) - Modern Period
• Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) - Modern Period
• Miklos Rozsa (1907-1995) - Modern Period, see A Visit with Miklos Rozsa (photographs)
• Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) - Modern Period, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) - Modern Period
• Jean Coulthard (1908-2000) - Modern Period
• Elliott Carter (1908-2012) - Modern Period
• Miguel Bernal Jimenez (1910-1956) - Modern Period
• Ronald Binge (1910-1979) - Modern Period
• Samuel Barber (1910-1981) - Modern Period, see Georges Delerue
• Alex North (1910-1991) - Modern Period, see A Streetcar Named Desire (film score review)
• William Schuman (1910-1992) - Modern Period, see Franz Waxman overview (article reference)
• Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999) - Modern Period
• Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) - Modern Period, see Psycho (film score review)
• Nino Rota (1911-1979) - Modern Period
• Gustaf Allan Pettersson (1911-1980) - Modern Period
• Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) - Modern Period
• Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) - Modern Period
• John Cage (1912-1992) - Modern Period, see Mike Batt
• David Raksin (1912-2004) - Modern Period
• Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) - Modern Period, see Shostakovich and Britten (album review)
• Peggy Stuart Coolidge (1913-1981) - Modern Period
• Jerome Moross (1913-1983) - Modern Period
• Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) - Modern Period
• Morton Gould (1913-1996) - Modern Period
• Henry Brant (1913-2008) - Modern Period
• William Lloyd Webber (1914-1982) - Modern Period, see Andrew Lloyd Webber (son)
• Gail Thompson Kubik (1914-1984) - Modern Period
• Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991) - Modern Period
• Humphrey Searle (1915-1982) - Modern Period
• Earl Wild (1915-2010) - Modern Period
• Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916-1968) - Modern Period
• Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) - Modern Period
• Lionel Newman (1916-1989) - Modern Period
• Vic Mizzy (1916-2009) - Modern Period
• Milton Babbitt (1916-2011) - Modern Period
• Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) - Modern Period
• Anthony Burgess (1917-1993) - Modern Period
• Robert Farnon (1917-2005) - Modern Period
• Robert Ward (1917-2013) - Modern Period
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918-1970) - Modern Period
• Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) - Modern Period, see West Side Story (film musical score review)
• Bruno Maderna (1920-1973) - Modern Period
• Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) - Modern Period
• Robert Simpson (1921-1997) - Modern Period
• Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) - Modern Period
• Jerry Fielding (1922-1980) - Modern Period
• Ron Grainer (1922-1981) - Modern Period, see Doctor Who Music (article reference)
• Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) - Modern Period
• Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) - Modern Period
• Neal Hefti (1922-2008) - Modern Period
• Dudley Simpson (1922-) - Modern Period, see Doctor Who Music (article reference)
• Jarel Goeyvaerts (1923-1993) - Modern Period
• Mel Powell (1923-1998) - Modern Period
• Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006) - Modern Period, see 2001: A Space Odyssey (film soundtrack review)
• Arthur Butterworth (1923-) - Modern Period
• Ned Rorem (1923-) - Modern Period
• Luigi Nono (1924-1990) - Modern Period
• Lejaren Hiller (1924-1994) - Modern Period
• Henry Mancini (1924-1994) - Modern Period, see The Ultimate Pink Panther (album review)
• Laurence Rosenman (1924-2008) - Modern Period
• Maurice Jarre (1924-2009) - Modern Period, see Lawrence of Arabia (film score review)
• Georges Delerue (1925-1992) - Modern Period
• Boris Tchaikovsky (1925-1996) - Modern Period
• James Bernard (1925-2001) - Modern Period
• Luciano Berio (1925-2003) - Modern Period
• Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) - Modern Period
• Marius Constant (1925-2004) - Modern Period, see Bernard Herrmann
• Louis Barron (1925-2008) - Modern Period, see Forbidden Planet (film score review)
• Tristram Cary (1925-2008) - Modern Period, see Electronic Music (article reference)
• Pierre Boulez (1925-) - Modern Period, see Richard Rodney Bennett
• Mikis Theodorakis (1925-) - Modern Period
• Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012) - Modern Period
• George Martin (1926-) - Modern Period, see Live and Let Die (film score review)
• John Morris (1926-) - Modern Period, see The Elephant Man (film score review)
• Laurence Rosenthal (1926-) - Modern Period
• Dominick Argento (1927-) - Modern Period
• Laurie Johnson (1927-) - Modern Period, see The New Avengers (television score – review)
• Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) - Modern Period
• Burt Bacharach (1928-) - Modern Period, see The Blob (theme song – review)
• Ennio Morricone (1928-) - Modern Period, see The Mission (film score review)
• Thea Musgrave (1928-) - Modern Period
• Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-) - Modern Period
• Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) - Modern Period
• Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004) - Modern Period, see The Omen (film score review)
• George Crumb (1929-) - Modern Period
• Henri Pousseur (1929-) - Modern Period
• Andre Previn (1929-) - Modern Period
• Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) - Modern Period
• Robert Ashley (1930-) - Modern Period
• Stephen Sondheim (1930-) - Modern Period, see West Side Story (film musical score review)
• Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003) - Modern Period
• Wojciech Kilar (1932-) - Modern Period
• Francis Lai (1932-) - Modern Period
• Michel Legrand (1932-) - Modern Period
• Lalo Schifrin (1932-) - Modern Period
• Rodion Shchedrin (1932-) - Modern Period, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• John Williams (1932-) - Modern Period, see Jaws (film score review)
• Paul Giovanni (1933-1990) - Modern Period, see The Wicker Man (film score review)
• Henryk Gorecki (1933-2010) - Modern Period
• Luis Bacalov (1933-) - Modern Period, see Le Juge and Le Transfuge (film scores – review)
• John Barry (1933-2011) - Modern Period, see Out of Africa (film score review)
• Quincy Jones (1933-) - Modern Period, see Q on producing (book review)
• Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) - Modern Period, see Jonny Greenwood
• Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) - Modern Period
• Harrison Birtwistle (1934-) - Modern Period
• Mario Davidovsky (1934-) - Modern Period
• Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-) - Modern Period
• Dave Grusin (1934-) - Modern Period
• Christian Wolff (1934-) - Modern Period
• Arvo Part (1935-) - Modern Period
• Terry Riley (1935-) - Modern Period
• Peter Schickele (1935-) - Modern Period, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• La Monte Young (1935-) - Modern Period
• Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) - Modern Period
• Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012) - Modern Period, see Doctor Who Music (article reference)
• Carl Davis (1936-) - Modern Period, see The Best of Bond (conductor, album review)
• Anthony Payne (1936-) - Modern Period, see Edward Elgar
• Steve Reich (1936-) - Modern Period, see Humour in Music (article reference)
• Jack Nitzsche (1937-2000) - Modern Period
• Angelo Badalamenti (1937-) - Modern Period
• Philip Glass (1937-) - Modern Period, see Koyaanisqatsi (film score review)
• David Shire (1937-) - Modern Period
• David del Tredici (1937-) - Modern Period
• Howard Blake (1938-) - Modern Period
• John Corigliano (1938-) - Modern Period
• Charles Wuorinen (1938-) - Modern Period
• Michael Small (1939-2003) - Modern Period
• Wendy Carlos (1939-) - Modern Period, see Electronic Music (article reference)
• Heinz Holliger (1939-) - Modern Period
• John McCabe (1939-) - Modern Period
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (1939-) - Modern Period
• Frank Zappa (1940-1993) - Modern Period
• Giorgio Moroder (1940-) - Modern Period
• Geoffrey Burgon (1941-2010) - Modern Period, see Doctor Who Music (article reference)
• Emmanuel Nunes (1941-2012) - Modern Period
• Pino Donaggio (1941-) - Modern Period
• Paul Alan Levi (1941-) - Modern Period
• Bill Conti (1942-) - Modern Period
• Paul McCartney (1942-) - Modern Period, see Live and Let Die (soundtrack review)
• Marco Tomas (1942-) - Modern Period
• Eric Idle (1943-) - Modern Period
• Ilaiyaraaja (1943-) - Modern Period
• Morten Lauridsen (1943-) - Modern Period
• Bill McGlaughlin (1943-) - Modern Period
• Randy Newman (1943-) - Modern Period, see Toy Story 3 (film score review)
• Jean-Claude Petit (1943-) - Modern Period
• Joanna Bruzdowicz (1943-) - Modern Period
• Gavin Bryars (1943-) - Modern Period
• Vangelis (1943-) - Modern Period, see Blade Runner (film score review)
• Jeff Wayne (1943-) - Modern Period, see The War of the Worlds (musical album review)
• Udo Zimmermann (1943-) - Modern Period
• Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012) - Modern Period, see The Sting (film soundtrack review)
• Peter Eotvos (1944-) - Modern Period
• Christopher Gunning (1944-) - Modern Period
• Karl Jenkins (1944-) - Modern Period, see Horror in Music (article reference)
• Michael Nyman (1944-) - Modern Period, see The Piano (film score review)
• Mike Post (1944-) - Modern Period
• John Tavener (1944-2013) - Modern Period, see Nicola Benedetti (album review)
• Basil Poledouris (1945-2006) - Modern Period, see Conan the Barbarian (film score review)
• Shirley Walker (1945-2006) - Modern Period
• Bruce Broughton (1945-) - Modern Period, see Young Sherlock Holmes (film score review)
• John Rutter (1945-) - Modern Period
• Howard Shore (1946-) - Modern Period, see The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film score review)
• Mark Snow (1946-) - Modern Period
• John Adams (1947-) - Modern Period
• Roy Budd (1947-1993) - Modern Period, see Mama Dracula (film score review)
• Ry Cooder (1947-) - Modern Period
• Randy Edelman (1947-) - Modern Period
• Michael Kamen (1948-2003) - Modern Period, see Open Range (film score review)
• Michael Berkeley (1948-) - Modern Period
• John Carpenter (1948-) - Modern Period
• Brian Eno (1948-) - Modern Period
• Jean Michel Jarre (1948-) - Modern Period, see Maurice Jarre (father)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-) - Modern Period, see The Phantom of the Operan (film musical score review)
• Mike Batt (1949-) - Modern Period
• Trevor Jones (1949-) - Modern Period
• Mark Knopfler (1949-) - Modern Period
• Alan Menken (1949-) - Modern Period
• Ira Newborn (1949-) - Modern Period
• Christopher Rouse (1949-) - Modern Period
• Gabriel Yared (1949-) - Modern Period, see Music by Gabriel Yared (DVD documentary review)
• George Fenton (1950-) - Modern Period, see Deep Blue (film score review)
• Brad Fiedel (1951-) - Modern Period
• James Newton Howard (1951-) - Modern Period, see The Village (film score review)
• Mark Isham (1951-) - Modern Period, see Crash (film score review)
• Gustavo Santaolalla (1951-) - Modern Period, see Brokeback Mountain (film score review)
• Harold Faltermeyer (1952-) - Modern Period
• Joe Hisaishi (1952-) - Modern Period, see Ni No Kuni (video game score review)
• Oliver Knussen (1952-) - Modern Period
• Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-) - Modern Period

More Information about Composer Timelines

The information about composers and their dates has been taken from a number of different references sources, including the Classical Composers Poster illustrated alongside and available to buy from www.Carissimi.com. Other sources include a number of reference books about classical composers and several online reference sources, particularly Wikipedia which has several huge lists of composers. Rather than attempting to be fully comprehensive I have aimed to included the main composers of each era. If you find any errors please let me know, and I will include a correction in the next release.

Author: Jim Paterson