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.
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 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto,... read more A lot of his works are amazing, especially since he had to write them while deaf, meaning he had to memorize EVERY SINGLE NOTE.
Moonlight Sonata Movement III is my favorite piece of all time. Overall, I would say his work is beautiful, amazing, and better than so many others even while deaf.
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, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era, born in Salzburg. 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 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. 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.
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. 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.
Frédéric François Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849), born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has maintained renown worldwide as a leading musician of his era, whose "poetic genius... read more Fryderyk Chopin was definitely the best composer of the Romantic Period. He wrote many famous melodies. A lot of his pieces are technically so difficult and varied.
I think it's hard to make an "of all time" list. So, we must create three lists: Greatest Baroque Composers (for me, the greatest master of this period was Johann Sebastian Bach), Greatest Classical Composers (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), and Greatest Romantic Composers (Fryderyk Chopin).
Of course, but where's Beethoven? He was a great composer but only "great" and too overrated for me. Finally, I type three great masters: Bach, Mozart, and Chopin.
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 Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. Schubert died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music... 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.
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...
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.
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.
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!
The Newcomers
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor and filmmaker.
Johannes Brahms was a German composer, pianist and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. 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 was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, author, nationalist and a Franciscan tertiary. 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.
John Williams is an American film composer. He often collaborated with Steven Spielberg on his films. 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.
Claude Debussy was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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.
Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film score composer and record producer. Since the 1980s, he has composed music for over 150 films. Interstellar was a true masterpiece!
"Journey to the Line." Enough said.
Not only a composer but also a master arranger. The fact he turned Manhattan Serenade into a thrilling finale involving Jerry Mouse being chased out of New York shows his brilliance in the Tom and Jerry short Mouse in Manhattan.
Not the first composer many think of in this genre, but his music for the old school Tom and Jerry cartoons is sure as hell distinctive.
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.
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.
Ennio Morricone (10 November 1928 – 6 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classical works, Morricone is widely considered one of the most... read more
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!