The Top 5 Famous Classical Music Composers

We all know the greats like Beethoven and Bach, but there are other classical music composers who are just as famous. Here are the top 5 most famous classical music composers of all time.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Jakobus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Mozart is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, with his music being performed more often than that of any other composer.

Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician by the Archbishop of Salzburg. In 1781 he was dismissed by the Archbishop for reasons that are not fully known; they may have included a strained relationship with the Archbishop’s nephew Leopold or a satirical composition that offended aristocracy while at Venice.

Mozart then set out on an ambitious series of concerts in which he performed as both soloist and conductor before seeking a position in Vienna that would give him greater scope to compose opera and symphonies. Although unsuccessful in this endeavour, he found work composing for orchestras and individuals throughout Europe such concerts keeping him in touch with many important figures in music from whom he gained first-hand knowledge of contemporary trends. During this period his income came principally from teaching (he gave lessons both to private pupils at home and to larger classes) Nevertheless, Mozart managed to visit England for performances during this period; his letters record that he planned further visits but circumstances always intervened to thwart these projects. In later life illness curtailed both his composing activity and concert performances although he continued to find joy both in teaching younger composers such asHummel (to whom he dedicated his last piano concerto) and continuing to refine his own works up until shortly before his death which came unexpectedly while he was working on The Magic Flute.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in the city of Bonn in the Electorate of Cologne, a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized the day after his birth at St. Remigius Church. His grandfather-and godfather- Kapellmeister Ludwig van Beethoven (1712–73) had served as Electoral Court conductor and since 1733 as Vice-Kapellmeister; his father, Johann van Beethoven (1740–92), was an financially unsuccessful singer and tenor in the same establishment. Ludwig had five younger siblings: two brothers- Caspar Anton Carl (born 1774) and Nikolaus Johann Baptist (1776–1848)- who died in childhood; and three sisters: Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia (1779–1809), known as “Marianne”, who was born deaf and became a pianist; Elise Hélène Félicité (1784–1811), known as “Bettina”, who married prince Lichnowsky; and Johanna Christiane Clementine Fanny Henrica (1787– 1847), known as “Fanny”.

The family lived in a rented house on the north side of Bonn’s marketplace, on subpremises at pasmal 11A. The Van Beethovens’ lodgings were eleventh-century cellars that had once housed a wine shop next door at no. 13 Bonngasse; street numbers were not mandatory until 1811, when Bonngasse became no. 25. As space was so limited, Beethoven’s grandfather Carl Wilhelm often took him to music concerts while they lived there.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque period. He is known for his masterful and complex compositions such as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Mass in B minor, and Brandenburg Concertos. Bach’s music had a profound impact on the development of Western classical music and he is revered as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular classical composers of all time. His music is known for its emotional content and for its operatic and orchestral works.

Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840. He studied music at the Moscow Conservatory and later worked as a professor there. Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake was first performed in 1877, and his opera Eugene Onegin premiered in 1879. His orchestral work The Nutcracker Suite was first performed in 1892, and his Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique,” was first performed in 1893.

Tchaikovsky died in 1893 at the age of 53. His cause of death is unknown, but it is believed that he may have committed suicide.

George Frederic Handel

George Frederic Handel is a well-known classical music composer who is most famous for his composition of operas, oratorios, and anthems. He was born on February 23, 1685 in Halle-upon-Saale, Germany and died on April 14, 1759 in London, England. Although he composed music in many genres, he is most remembered for his contributions to the development of opera and oratorio. In his lifetime, he wrote approximately 40 operas and 30 oratorios. Many of his works were premiered at the King’s Theatre in London. His most famous works include Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks.