Library Guides: Composers You Should Know: Classical

Notable Classical Composers (1750 - 1820)

If you wish to be generally familiar with classical music, here is a short list of composers you should know from this period.

Name	Birth	Death	Nationality	Representative Pieces
Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel ML410 .B16	1714	1788	German	Die Israeliten in der Wüste (oratorio) Flute Concerto in D Minor (flute and string orchestra) Fantasia in G Minor (keyboard)
Bach, Johann Christian ML410 .B15	1735	1782	German	Sinfonia Concertante in A Major (orchestra) Zanaida (opera) Piano Sonata in D Major
Beethoven, Ludwig van ML410 .B4	1770	1827	German	Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 Missa Solemnis (mass) Pathétique sonata (piano) Fidelio (opera) Bagatelle in A Minor (piano)
Billings, William ML410 .B588	1746	1800	American	Chester (four voices) Africa (four voices)
Boccherini, Luigi ML410 .B66	1743	1805	Italian	Cello Concerto in Bb Major Over 150 String Quintets
Bortniansky, Dmitry	1751	1825	Russian	Divine Liturgy Sacred Concerto No. 15 (choir)
Cherubini, Luigi ML410 .C5	1760	1842	Italian	Requiem in C Minor (mass) Medée (opera)
Haydn, Joseph ML410 .H4	1732	1809	Austrian	String Quartet Opus 20 "Sun" Symphony No. 94 in G Major "The Surprise" Mass in Time of War
Haydn, Michael	1737	1806	Austrian	Requiem in C Minor (mass) Symphony No. 28 Saint Leopold Mass in G Major
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus ML410 .M9	1756	1791	Austrian	Requiem (mass) The Magic Flute (opera) 30 Piano Concertos Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (orchestra)
Salieri, Antonio	1750	1825	Italian	Falstaff (opera) Les Danaïdes (opera)
Schubert, Franz ML410 .S3	1797	1828	Austrian	Symphony No. 9 in C Major "The Great" (orchestra) Gretchen am Spinnrade (voice and piano) Marches militaires (piano 4-hands)

Classical Composers (1750 - 1820)

If you are a student of Music History or Composition, here is a more detailed list of composers you should know from this period.

Name	Birth	Death	Nationality	Representative Pieces
Abel, Carl Friedrich	1723	1787	German	27 Pieces for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba Symphony No. 3 in D Major
Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel ML410 .B16	1714	1788	German	Die Israeliten in der Wüste (oratorio) Flute Concerto in D Minor (flute and string orchestra) Fantasia in G Minor (keyboard)
Bach, Johann Christian ML410 .B15	1735	1782	German	Sinfonia Concertante in A Major (orchestra) Zanaida (opera) Piano Sonata in D Major
Beethoven, Ludwig van ML410 .B4	1770	1827	German	Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 Missa Solemnis (mass) Pathétique sonata (piano) Fidelio (opera) Bagatelle in A Minor (piano)
Berezovsky, Maksym	~1745	1777	Ukranian	Divine Liturgy (esp. Otche Nash) (choir)
Billings, William ML410 .B588	1746	1800	American	Chester (four voices) Africa (four voices)
Boccherini, Luigi ML410 .B66	1743	1805	Italian	Cello Concerto in Bb Major Over 150 String Quintets
Bortniansky, Dmitry	1751	1825	Russian	Divine Liturgy Sacred Concerto No. 15 (choir)
Cherubini, Luigi ML410 .C5	1760	1842	Italian	Requiem in C Minor (mass) Medée (opera)
Cimarosa, Domenico	1749	1801	Italian	Il matrimonio segreto (opera)
Clementi, Muzio ML410 .C64	1752	1832	Italian	Gradus ad Parnassum (piano)
Danzi, Franz	1763	1826	German	Wind Quintet Op. 67, No. 2 in E Minor
Dittersdorf, Karl Ditters von	1739	1799	Austrian	Six String Quartets 6 Sinfonias after Ovid's Metamorphoses (orchestra)
Dussek, Johann Ladislaus	1760	1812	Czech	Piano Sonata in F# Minor, Op. 61 "Elegie Harmonique" Sonata in C Minor (harp)
Eberl, Anton	1765	1807	Austrian	Grand Quintet in G Minor (piano, clarinet, 2 violas, & cello) Piano Concerto in Eb Major
Field, John ML410 .F445	1782	1837	Irish	Piano Concerto No. 2 Nocturne No. 1 (piano)
Gluck, Christoph Willibald ML410 .G5	1714	1787	German	Orfeo ed Euridice (opera) Don Juan (ballet)
Gossec, François Joseph	1734	1829	French	Le Triomphe de la Republique (opera) Gavotte (violin and piano)
Haydn, Joseph ML410 .H4	1732	1809	Austrian	String Quartet Opus 20 "Sun" Symphony No. 94 in G Major "The Surprise" Mass in Time of War
Haydn, Michael	1737	1806	Austrian	Requiem in C Minor (mass) Symphony No. 28 Saint Leopold Mass in G Major
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk ML410 .H93	1778	1837	Austrian	Te Deum (choir and orchestra) Piano Concerto in A Minor Serenade en potpourri (No. 1) (chamber ensemble)
Kraus, Joseph Martin	1756	1792	Swedish	Symphony in D Major (orchestra) Pantomimes (ballet)
Lesueur, Jean-François	1760	1837	French	Marche du Sacre de Napoleon Ossian, ou Les bardes (opera)
Martini, Giovanni Battista	1706	1784	Italian	Requiem (mass) Harpsichord Sonata No. 3
Méhul, Étienne	1763	1817	French	Stratonice (opera) Symphony No. 2 (orchestra)
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus ML410 .M9	1756	1791	Austrian	Requiem (mass) The Magic Flute (opera) 30 Piano Concertos Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (orchestra)
Mysliveček, Josef	1737	1781	Czech	L'Olimpiade (opera) Sinfonie Concertante in D Major (orchestra)
Pleyel, Ignaz	1757	1831	Austrian/French	String Quartets, esp. in A Major Symphony in D Major (orchestra)
Reicha, Anton	1770	1836	Bohemian/French	Wind Quintets, Op. 88 L'Art de varier (piano)
Salieri, Antonio	1750	1825	Italian	Falstaff (opera) Les Danaïdes (opera)
Schubert, Franz ML410 .S3	1797	1828	Austrian	Symphony No. 9 in C Major "The Great" (orchestra) Gretchen am Spinnrade (voice and piano) Marches militaires (piano 4-hands)
Soler, Antonio	1729	1783	Spanish	Six Concertos for Two Organs Fandango (harpsichord)
Sor, Fernando	1778	1839	Spanish	Serenade in E Major (guitar) Studies, Op. 60 (guitar)
Stamitz, Carl	1745	1801	German/Czech	Clarinet Concerto No. 11 Symphony in D Minor (orchestra)
Stamitz, Johann	1717	1757	Czech	Orchestral Trios Symphony in D Major (orchestra)
Wesley, Samuel	1766	1837	English	Psalm 42 (choir) Symphony No. 4 in D Major (orchestra)