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Jul 17, 2024 · Table of Contents. 1. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Holding the #1 spot in our list has to be none other than Johann Sebastian Bach, who is highly regarded as one of the best composers of all time. He grew up in a musical family with parents who were composers, with many of his own children later going on to become musicians and composers too.
Discover the 50 greatest classical composers of all time - do you agree with our choices? Meet the great composers with BBC Music Magazine.
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Bach is the definitive Baroque composer. If you have sublime Bach you don’t need the others (and we’re only half kidding).
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Continuing the tradition of names with three words and four well-formed syllables in the middle one, is the child prodigy and all-round genius, Mozart.
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven’s name is widely interchanged with the phrase ‘greatest composer who ever lived’. And we’re okay with that.
- Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Jumping back in time, and way back to medieval times, let’s meet Hildegard von Bingen. She was a saint, poet and composer who in her lifetime was one of the most influential women in Europe.
From the hundreds of classical music composers working in the Western tradition during the last 600 years, we list 10 that are generally regarded as the most essential composers to know, including Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Wagner, and more.
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) Music poured out of Bach, all for the greater glory of God and, in Bach’s words, “the refreshment of the soul.” Organ music, church cantatas and incidental music for his employers were his daily bread.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Forget all that stuff about taking dictation from God. Mozart was always working, teaching himself to be a better composer and trying to be more than just a maker of music.
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) It’s not just the tunes, the blazing triumphs, the thundering highlights or the contemplative hymns and the rhapsodies.
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) The beau idéal of the Romantic composer, Tchaikovsky, put Russian music on the European map. A devotion to Mozart, Bellini and Donizetti reflects his own endless melodic gifts, which he yoked to a brilliant orchestral sense, plus his own very intense emotionality.
Apr 4, 2022 · The most famous composers — Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven — have acquired an almost ubiquitous presence in the world; even if you know next to nothing about these people, you certainly have...
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Jan 21, 2011 · See more on: Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky. A critic picks his top 10 classical music composers, along...
