Guide to Essential Composers
This is an educational guide to the most important composers of classical style music from the Renaissance Period all the way to the present. The 80 composers in this guide are responsible for the vast majority of all pieces being played in concert halls and opera houses across the world. Each entry provides a short summary of the composer as well as a selection of their ten greatest works. While it by no means contains all great classical music, it is a good place to start for those new to the genre.
The guide is in historical order and split up into the major eras of classical music:
- Renaissance Period (3 Composers)
- Baroque Period (5 Composers)
- Classical Period (4 Composers)
- Romantic Period (37 Composers)
- Modernist Period (25 Composers)
- Postmodern Period (6 Composers)
The list, like the standard repertoire, is heavily biased towards Romantic and Postmodern periods while most of the works played from the earlier periods are from a select few composers. Find the links to the guides below and enjoy!
