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Stories, oddities and little-known episodes from musicians' lives.
A biographical encyclopedia
Who's who in classical music
22,432 biographies of composers, performers, conductors, luthiers, librettists, publishers, impresarios and patrons, from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Try: Bach · violin makers · zarzuela · Classical Vienna
On this day
Great names of each period
Middle Ages
- Guillaume Du Fay1397–1474
Guillaume de Machaut1300–1377
Philippe de Vitry1291–1361- Johannes Ciconia1370–1412
- Johannes de Muris1290–1344
- Aristotle384–322
- John Dunstaple1390–1453
- Francesco Landini1325–1397
Renaissance
- Josquin des Prez1450–1521
Claudio Monteverdi1567–1643
Jacob Obrecht1457–1505
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina1525–1594- Orlande de Lassus1530–1594
- William Byrd1540–1623
- Jean de Ockeghem1410–1497
- Henricus Isaac1450–1517
Baroque
Johann Sebastian Bach1685–1750
George Frideric Handel1685–1759
Jean-Philippe Rameau1683–1764
Heinrich Schütz1585–1672
François Couperin1668–1733
Alessandro Scarlatti1660–1725
Georg Philipp Telemann1681–1767
Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi1583–1643
Classical
Ludwig van Beethoven1770–1827
Joseph Haydn1732–1809
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756–1791
Christoph Willibald, Ritter von Gluck1714–1787
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach1714–1788
Luigi Cherubini1760–1842
Johann Christian Bach1735–1782
Luigi Boccherini1743–1805
Romantic
Franz Schubert1797–1828
Robert Schumann1810–1856
Hugo Wolf1860–1903
Carl Maria von Weber1786–1826
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky1840–1893
Giuseppe Verdi1813–1901
Hector Berlioz1803–1869
Richard Wagner1813–1883
20th century
Igor Stravinsky1882–1971
Benjamin Britten1913–1976
Dmitry Shostakovich1906–1975
Arnold Schoenberg1874–1951
Béla Bartók1881–1945
Jean Sibelius1865–1957
Richard Strauss1864–1949
Sergey Prokofiev1891–1953
Contemporary
Karlheinz Stockhausenb. 1928
Hans Werner Henzeb. 1926
Pierre Boulezb. 1925
Luciano Beriob. 1925
Peter Maxwell Daviesb. 1934
Sir Harrison Birtwistleb. 1934
Carl Dahlhaus1928–1989
Steve Reichb. 1936
By activity
Not just composers: the whole world of musicComposers13,608Conductors2,167Singers2,499Pianists, organists and harpsichordists3,411String players2,026Wind and brass players505Theorists, musicologists and critics3,369Teachers1,671Librettists and writers1,632Instrument makers608Publishers and printers780Impresarios, patrons and managers401Dance and choreography112Other activities1,097
The instruments of the orchestra
See all 64 instruments →The orchestraThe orchestraBowed stringsViolin, Viola, Cello, Double bass, Viola da gambaPlucked stringsLute, Theorbo, Archlute, Guitar, MandolinWoodwindFlute, Piccolo, Recorder, Oboe, Oboe d'amoreBrassHorn, Trumpet, Renaissance cornett (cornetto), Cornet, TrombonePercussionTimpani, Side drum, Bass drum, Cymbals, TriangleKeyboardHarpsichord (clavecin), Clavichord, Fortepiano, Piano, OrganElectronicOndes Martenot
By region of the world
From Italy and the German-speaking lands to the Americas and AsiaIberian Peninsula874 biographiesTomás Luis de Victoria, Manuel de Falla, Roberto Gerhard, Cristóbal de MoralesItaly3,328 biographiesGiuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Claudio Monteverdi, Gaetano DonizettiFrance and the Low Countries3,265 biographiesJosquin des Prez, Hector Berlioz, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Claude DebussyGerman-speaking lands4,018 biographiesLudwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Joseph HaydnBritish Isles2,795 biographiesGeorge Frideric Handel, Benjamin Britten, Sir Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan WilliamsCentral Europe and the Balkans2,064 biographiesChristoph Willibald, Ritter von Gluck, Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, Antonín DvořákRussia and the former Soviet world1,053 biographiesPyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergey Prokofiev, Modest Petrovich MusorgskyNordic countries656 biographiesJean Sibelius, Edvard Grieg, Carl Nielsen, Franz BerwaldNorth America2,300 biographiesIgor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, Kurt Weill, Aaron CoplandLatin America and the Caribbean561 biographiesHeitor Villa-Lobos, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Chávez, Mauricio KagelAsia and Oceania539 biographiesPercy Grainger, Tōru Takemitsu, Richard Meale, Peter SculthorpeAfrica and the Middle East164 biographiesEdith Gerson-Kiwi, Amnon Shiloah, Israel Adler, Hanoch Avenary
Anecdotes and curiosities
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