Top 10 Greatest Classical Composers

Throughout history, there have been many composers who have created masterpieces that have influenced generations of musicians and listeners.

Some of these composers are widely regarded as the most talented and most respected in history, based on their musical innovation, skill, and legacy.

The Top Ten

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin... read more

I also think Beethoven is the greatest composer in human history. He was not as productive as Mozart and arguably not a great opera composer. However, he revolutionized music with the way he used dynamics and developed motifs and themes. He also increased the length and scope of the symphony and the sonata. Moreover, he was a pioneer in the use of music to portray human feelings and emotions.
His motifs and themes and their development are rightfully famous for their originality and beauty. Think of the violin concerto. That has got to be the most beautiful violin concerto ever. Think of the 4th piano concerto. I find it even more incredible than his more famous 5th. The originality and beauty of all its movements is simply astonishing.
And then, his symphonies. They are all interesting and part of the modern repertoire. But just the 5th and the 9th would make anyone a celebrity. And then, the sonatas. Think of the 32 incredible piano sonatas. Nobody after Beethoven, including all the great Romantics, came close to realizing such a musical monument. And I could go on.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era, born in Salzburg. He composed more than 600 works, including symphonies, operas, chamber music, and choral pieces. His most famous compositions include... read more

I suppose it would be difficult to argue for who the "best" classical composer of all time is, whatever that may mean. But it would be difficult to argue that Mozart is not the most intelligent of the classical composers. He composed his first piece at age 4, and his first symphony at age 7 - a very impressive symphony, I might add. Go listen to it for yourself!
He composed over 600 pieces during his lifetime and only lived to be less than half the age of most composers on this list! The quality of his music is, in my opinion, of the highest quality. For starters, I recommend listening to Symphony 25, 39, but honestly, I can't think of a single Mozart piece that isn't high above average quality.
Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, as well as for vocal music such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Bach's work greatly influenced later... read more

Chopin may be my favorite composer, but I cannot in good conscience vote him over Bach. So much has already been said: "The father of modern music," "The eternal God of harmony." Without using such poetic language, I will just say: Bach knew what he was doing.
The furious, fast, technically complex parts intertwined with mellow, quiet parts. His amazing choral harmonization is all there, just like Brahms said.
Some people criticize composers who produce a large number of compositions, and I can understand why. It can get repetitive, just like any other music. However, for all the stunning amount of different compositions Bach has written, it's amazing how much variety there is between them. Bach was also competent at composing music for instruments besides the piano and organ, something that can't be said about many of the supposed "best composers" on this site.
In the end, personal taste and how the music affects you, and only you, will always differ. Because of this, opinions will always differ, and that's fine. I don't mean that Chopin or Beethoven are unqualified composers when I vote for Bach as the best. I do it for his harmonization skills, influence, and sheer technical skill, which I believe is unmatched to this day.
Frederic Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin (March 1, 1810 - October 17, 1849), born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era. He composed almost exclusively for solo piano and developed a distinctive and poetic musical style.... read more

This man should be first on this list. If you have ever played his music, you wouldn't believe that making music like his was possible.
Listen to his Ballade No. 2 in F major (the fast part) and his Etude in C minor, and you will understand what I am talking about. He was also really good at coming up with melodies, and rarely repeated them more than twice in a whole piece. I see composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Pachelbel repeating their melodies well over twice.
If I were allowed to go back in time and bring only one composer to the modern day and give him medications to allow him to live longer, I would bring Chopin.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, born on May 7, 1840, was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. His most famous works include the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

For the sheer beauty and power of his music, Tchaikovsky stands out to me as the best. Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach, wonderful as they are, do not measure up to him. Whether it was his concertos or ballets, Tchaikovsky could bring about the whole spectrum of emotion and thought through his compositions.
Exploding with the brass or weaving ever so gently as upon a cool, calm lake, with a simple harp, flute, or violin, his music still takes us on extraordinary journeys. Of particular note, for me, are Swan Lake and his concerto for violin and orchestra, particularly the first movement of the latter and the finale of the former.

His versatility was astonishing. Apart from his many famous works, there are numerous lesser-known masterpieces such as a liturgy that reflects a deeply spiritual side (check out Hymn of the Cherubim).
Also, his extraordinarily original orchestration, such as in the 3rd orchestral suite, where in the middle of the scherzo movement, he treats the heavy brass with the delicacy of pizzicato strings (accompanied by side drum). Incidentally, a full six years before Richard Strauss in Don Quixote (1898), he used flutter-tonguing in The Nutcracker (1892). Just a few examples of his originality. But Tchaikovsky did for ballet what Beethoven did for symphony.
Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 - July 28, 1741) was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, and Catholic priest. He is widely recognized for his numerous instrumental concertos, particularly The Four Seasons, which remains one of the most popular pieces of Baroque music.... read more

I like all of his works. They are majestic, incredible, and unbelievable. When I listen to his Four Seasons, especially the Winter part, I feel like I'm walking in a Baroque palace. He had such simply perfect music that I listen to even when I work on my homework. He is the best!

Vivaldi's music is sweet and beautiful. His works also contain beautiful violin timbre and are very colorful. I can always listen to them. I think it is difficult to compare among composers.
Some great composers express deep emotions, but it is too heavy for me to fully listen to them. It is more suitable for instruction, but not for entertaining the mind.
Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 - November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer known for his extraordinary productivity during a short life. He died before turning 32 but left behind more than 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and extensive... read more

No one can match Schubert: 31 years on Earth. He trumped Mozart with his re-write of Mozart's Symphony 40. Inside of the look back that is Beethoven's 9, he has Symphony 4, which is Beethoven's 10. He predated Mahler by 80 years, yet, his Symphony 8 & 9 prefigure Mahler. 600 songs. Along with Haydn, the master of chamber music.

A complete master of harmony, rhythm, song, and both asymmetry and symmetry. He was the first composer to invent a whole harmonic texture since Bach, and his dark yet childish soul should earn him a spot in the top five at least.
Joseph Haydn

One of the most underrated of the great composers, Haydn should be in the top 3. He is the father of the symphony, string quartet, and piano trio, and one of the most important figures in the development of the sonata form.
He is also one of the most original (he was not a copycat like Mozart) and creative composers, creating exquisite works from very simple motives. Haydn's work has had an enormous influence on great composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.

Among the huge amount of music he created (from nothing since he didn't know Bach), almost every piece, from the early symphonies to the London ones, from the wonderful piano sonatas to the breathtaking quartets, from his trios to his oratorios, almost everything he has left us is an endless source of joy and amazement.
He is the greatest ignored composer, as Sir Simon Rattle surnamed him. To listen to again and again...
George Frederick Handel

Handel is on the same level as Beethoven and Bach. Unfortunately, he, of all the major composers, is known by the least number of works. If one takes the time to discover other oratorios and operas other than the handful known, a revelation will be at hand.
I think Chopin being in the top list is foolish. He only wrote successfully for the piano and he was basically a miniaturist. Vivaldi being in the top ten is ridiculous. His choral works and operas pale when compared to Handel. For me and most of the professionals I know, the top three, not in order, are Handel, Bach, and Beethoven. I would never choose between them.

His music is enjoyable. You don't have to be a musician to enjoy many others, including Bach. I, as a musician, like Bach and his fugues as I understand them, but most listeners don't. Handel wrote pleasing music.
Many say fugues are more complex than grounds, arias, etc., so Bach is considered better. However, Handel could write those as well. In fact, Handel wrote double fugues, which take a lot of skill to do well. He beats Purcell due to his skill as an organist. I don't like Mozart, as I find his music irritating.
Felix Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn is one of the most underrated composers when it comes time to make these lists, which is a shame.
His Violin Concerto in E Minor alone makes him one of the very best -- the piece is musical perfection if such ever existed.

He needs to be on this list! He was a great composer and performer in his own right. I was shocked when he was not mentioned in this list. He deserves to be in here!

Very underrated. Amazing compositions, yet most people say they get bored after two minutes. These people need an attention span better than that of a fly.

The Newcomers

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Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor, and filmmaker. He was known for his innovative work across multiple genres including rock, jazz, and classical music. Zappa passed away in 1993 but remains an influential figure in music history.
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Hagen Lu

The Contenders

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 to April 3, 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor who worked during the Romantic period. He was born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family and spent much of his career in Vienna, Austria. Brahms is celebrated for his symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and choral... read more

For me, Brahms's music is the most comforting, warm but unsentimental of all. It has such a rich, full-bodied sound with beautiful melodies, great variation, and satisfying rhythms. His music combines power and gentleness and makes me feel that mankind's propensity for much that is bad and destructive has another uplifting and glorious side in art such as his.

If my enjoyment of classical music is to be the basis of my vote, then Brahms would be at or among the top three on the list. His chamber music and that of Schubert are my favorites, and I love Ein Deutsches Requiem and his vocal music. While the symphonies are all top caliber, #4 is hauntingly beautiful for me.
Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, author, and a member of the Franciscan Order. He was a prominent figure of the Romantic era and is widely celebrated for his technical prowess and innovations in piano composition... read more

A complete musician in every respect: composer, conductor, pianist, teacher. A true genius with a mission who brought forth original ideas for the 20th Century to follow. His music, although problematic in many cases, was truly original and far-reaching, including his religious music with outstanding form.

Liszt was one of the greatest composers of all time. A friend of Chopin and a student of Beethoven's pupil, Czerny, Franz Liszt popularized Hungarian music through his impressive musical works.
He also served as a great teacher to dozens of talented musicians of the next generation.
Gustav Mahler

Mahler is, basically, the bridge between all of the prior arcs of the Western art music tradition and the modern age. His fusion of symphonic form with the deeper layers of human experience was one of the strongest arrows pointing toward 'next' in his day.
I definitely think it'll still be another hundred years or so before the impact of his works is really understood, but at least he has a lot of momentum from those who 'get it' in the present day.

Mahler's music has, unwittingly, affected the whole of music generated throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and will continue to have an everlasting impact. His music is full of yearning in the Faustian quest to understand the meaning of life and death. It expresses angst, menace, love, beauty, sardonic wit, meditation, and more. Every possible emotion and emotive state is captured - I could go on!
Underpinned by the best possible orchestration, his influence on film composers is immense. For example, Korngold, Steiner, Hermann, Shostakovich, and even John Barry have felt his impact. He was the forefather of atonal music and music with 'attitude.' It became acceptable for a composer (of any musical genre) to express angst, menace, hopelessness, and reveal their innermost darkest feelings (besides positive emotions) publicly for the first time in history. This 'rebelliousness' and individuality in music have permeated popular music since. The man was a genius.
Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy was a French composer often regarded as a central figure in the transition to modern classical music. He is sometimes associated with Impressionism, although he rejected the label. Debussy's innovative use of harmony and texture influenced many 20th-century composers.

A very underrated composer. I chose Debussy due to the following:
- I respect Mozart. However, I have not played any of his grand pieces.
- Beethoven's music is alright. However, behind the music, he was an extremely odd man. One of the main respectful things is his ability to make music while completely deaf. However, let's remember he wrote sonatas for random women decades younger than him.
- Bach's music is more mathematical than musical. He works on the same formula, and all of his music sounds the same, especially his Prelude and Fugues, just with a different base note.
- What made me love Debussy was Arabesque number 1, one of my favorite pieces to hear and play.
Igor Stravinsky

Stravinsky succeeded in making a name for himself by defying the conventions of many of the composers before him. Granted, he lived in an era different from that of Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven, where secular music as a whole was frowned upon. However, riots broke out when the said composer debuted Rite of Spring. That's saying something.
In a more subjective lens, I can say that I appreciate Stravinsky's conventions much more. I like the idea of dangerous orchestral music. When you listen to the likes of Tchaikovsky, it's more pleasant and safe-sounding. Stravinsky still proves that he can have those moments though, but with much more passion, power, and elegance. The Finale of the Firebird Suite exemplifies this.
I can hear Stravinsky's influence in modern music. Aaron Copland cites him as his primary inspiration, for one. But I hear a similar intensity in more modern music as well. Stravinsky has seeped his way into the atmospheric wind sections in Sufjan Stevens' songs, as well as into the chaotic atonal nature of progressive metal bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Maurice Ravel

Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer, pianist, and conductor. He is often linked with Impressionism alongside Claude Debussy, although both resisted the classification. In the 1920s and 1930s, Ravel was internationally recognized as France's greatest living composer and is perhaps best known for... read more

Maurice Ravel does not only deserve to be on the list, he is the greatest composer ever, top 1! I have never seen anybody with such technical perfection. Just listen to his piano works. Perfect, perfect, perfect!

Though clearly influenced by other contemporaries, he has managed to create a unique voice of exquisite impressionism and color. His diverse repertoire shows a mastery of all the instruments of the orchestra, and his sense of balance is truly remarkable. Give his string quartet a listen. Definitely one of the best.
John Williams

John Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. He is widely recognized for creating some of the most iconic film scores in history, including those for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter. Williams frequently collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on films such as E.T., Jaws... read more

Williams is incredibly popular with his film scores. However, how many of the great classical composers in the past wouldn't have given their souls to do film if they had lived in our modern times?
One of Williams' influences, which is evident in his more subtle scores, is the American great, Aaron Copland, who did touch on film scores. A lot of musicians in today's modern orchestras owe part of their career to Williams for keeping them employed. God bless John Williams!

John Williams isn't the greatest composer of all time, but he is a real chameleon and therefore for sure a top tenner! He used Holst in Star Wars, made Olympic hymns based on the greatest classic artists, and with sometimes simple tunes, he makes total soundtracks of movies.
Somehow, he manages to make the music he writes his own recognizable style while keeping the old ways alive. Surely the best alive.
Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. His compositions, particularly those in the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, revolutionized opera through their complex textures and expanded use of leitmotifs. Wagner also constructed... read more

Perhaps the greatest composer ever, a master in all aspects of music. His dramas are full of deep, sublime, and passionate emotions. His overtures and preludes are, in my opinion, the best and most memorable ever done. Still, it seems that his oeuvre will forever be unpopular due to extramusical reasons and the complexity of his music.

How is some hack like Vivaldi above Wagner? This man nearly perfected the Gesamtkunstwerk and still is one of my favorite composers to this day. He did influence heavy metal music to an extent, but his calmer and more emotional music, like several arias from Der Ring and Meistersinger, is equally sublime. Wagner forever.
Danny Elfman

Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international... read more

An amazingly talented composer whose endearing, often invigorating, and sometimes even very moving compositions stay with you long after the movie has ended. You find yourself singing his pieces sometime later from just hearing them once.
His works are in modern-day animated classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, as well as countless other live-action movies and animated features.

Tim Burton's go-to guy for film composing.

You wouldn't love that Tim Burton movie as much without this guy.
Modest Mussorgsky

If I had to choose only one classical piece of music that I could listen to throughout my life, I'd choose Pictures at an Exhibition. These rough, unconventional harmonies, this devotion, dedication, and passion strike me each time I listen to them. Of course, Ravel orchestrated it in an exceptional manner as well.

I love his music! Mostly Night on Bald Mountain.
Sergei Prokofiev

Marvelous composer! Listen to the fifth symphony, only the second movement. That describes his style.

Prodigal Son, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, etc. His ballet scores never fail to impress us. He's a true genius.

The score of Romeo and Juliet will make you cry.
Sergei Rachmaninoff

How on earth is Rachmaninoff not on here? Pure genius. His Piano Concertos are excellent, but his Preludes are, I think, some of the most beautiful piano pieces of all time.
Chopin and Debussy are quite excellent as well. Beethoven, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky are way overrated. Bach was obviously obscenely talented, and his pieces are fascinating, but I would much rather listen to Rachmaninoff, Chopin, or Debussy any day of the week.

I very much appreciate classical music, but I am picky about what I listen to. Rachmaninoff is in a class by himself, a pianist even better than Horowitz and a composer of the most memorable pieces for the piano in my lifetime. In fact, I consider his Concerto No. 2 as THE BEST EVER. And to be rated 22 on your list is shockingly absurd.
Giuseppe Verdi

A true heir to Mozart's genius when it comes to opera. He probably reached the highest combination of classical elegance and deep emotional bursts. The greatest dramatic composer, he just has to be on the top ten list.

Verdi is arguably the best opera composer. His Requiem is beautiful. He should be placed much higher.

The best opera composer the world has produced has to be in the top ten!
Johann Pachelbel

It's a shame everybody only knows one piece by him. But I think that one will be known and played as long as there are humans.

Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremberg, Germany. He is known for writing his major piece, Canon in D Major, and his organ fugues. He died at the age of 52 from unknown causes. My favorite piece of his is Canon in D Major.
Edvard Grieg

Created music that perfectly accompanied the piece written by Ibsen, as well as his other accomplishments. Top 10 material.

Clean, fresh, memorable, and recognized by everybody. This guy does not get enough credit.

He is one of my favorite composers along with Vivaldi and Bach. His Holberg Suite is such a masterpiece.