The Best Classical Music Composers of All Time

A list of the best classical music composers of all time, including Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a renowned German composer, keyboardist, and violinist who lived in the late 1600s and early 1700s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest classical music composers of all time. Bach’s work timelessly stands the test of time and continues to influence composers today.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (/ˈlʊdwɪɡ væn ˈbeɪt(h)oʊvən/ (listen); German: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːt(h)oːfn̩] (listen); baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist, who is arguably the defining figure in the history of Western music.[2][3]

Born in Bonn during the reign of Emperor Joseph II, Beethoven was a virtuoso pianist by age 12 and had composed several works for piano and orchestra. He studied with Joseph Haydn and gained a reputation as a skillful improviser. At 22 he embarked on his first grand tour of Europe; then he settled in Vienna and began studying with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, quickly gaining notoriety as a challenging student and virtuoso performer. He moved in with Mozart, and for the next decade remainedVienna’s foremost piano virtuoso.

During these formative years he also composed some of his most celebrated works: his first six string quartets, five piano concertos, three violin concertos, two piano sonatas (the “Pathétique” and the “Moonlight”), as well as many other important solo works for piano, including his 32 piano sonatas. His only opera—Fidelio—was first performed in 1805 when Napoleon’s blockade of Vienna deprived him of audiences for his concerts; it gained popularity only after several more performances in 1814–15.

As Napoleon’s armies advanced on Vienna in late 1805, Beethoven considered leaving the city permanently; however, the sudden arrival of troops near his lodgings led him to stay another five years. Following the composer’s return fromGrätz (now Grodzisk Wielkopolski), Beethoven became increasingly frustrated over living conditions that denied him regular access to his nephew Karl van Beethoven (1774–1848). In addition to childcare concerns that included finding an appropriate school for KarlThayer suggests that Napoleon’s triumphant entry into Austria on 28 May 1809, following victory at Wagram resulted not only in street celebrations but “also an intensification” of these feelings.[21] Consequently, on 6 July 1809Beethoven signed away most of his rights to Carl’s future earnings from guardianship established by Karl Marx van Beethovenand Johann Adam Schindler van Beethoven.[22] Upon hearing regarding Schindler’s doubts about some provisions within this document,[23] including possible fraud,[24] on 9 July 1809Beethoven stated “Schindler is not a man with whom one can work.”[25] This feeling was mutual: Schindler viewedBeethoven as temperamental; subsequently he ceased working with both Schindler and Marx.[26][27] According to Thayer-Forbes: “[…] an indignant Ludwig sent Schindler packing”.[28][29 see primary sourcesThereafter he maintained correspondence exclusively with Karl regarding business matters.[30][31See primary sourcesThe situation became further complicated when Johann van Beethoven sued Johann Peter Salomon—promoter of the successful Prince Louis Ferdinand concert series[32 see below)—stating that Salomon should have chosen him as lead violinistiberally : Most roasters have specialized names for their favored roasts ,and there is very little industry standardization . This can cause some confusion when you’re buying , but in general , roasts fall into one pointer four color categories — light , mediumdesignated , medium-darklocation and dark .

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.

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 in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem; unfinished at the time of his early death at the age of 35.

The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He is reputed to have been a victim of poison administered by Antonio Salieri, a contemporary and rival composer.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky was born into a family of five children in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate (present-day Udmurt Republic) in the Russian Empire. His father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, had served as a lieutenant colonel and engineer in the Department of Mines, and would manage the Kamsko-Votkinsk Ironworks. His grandfather, Pyotr Fedorovich Tchaikovsky, served first as a physician’s assistant in the army and later as city governor of Glazov in Vyatka.

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel is widely considered one of the greatest classical music composers of all time. Born in Germany in 1685, he later moved to London where he composed some of his most famous works, including the oratorio Messiah. Handel was a master of the Baroque style of music, and his influential compositions helped to shape the course of Western classical music. He died in London in 1759.