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Top 100 Greatest Classical Composers
Composers are ranked for their innovation and influence, as well as their aesthetic importance and historical significance.
Reddit
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r/classicalmusic on Reddit: The 100 Greatest Classical Composers
February 24, 2023 -
Here's another ranking of the greatest composers of Classical music.
Criteria: Composers are ranked for their innovation and influence, as well as their aesthetic importance and historical significance.
1. Ludwig van Beethoven - 1770-1827
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 1756-1791
3. Johann Sebastian Bach - 1685-1750
4. Richard Wagner - 1813-1883
5. Joseph Haydn - 1732-1809
6. Johannes Brahms - 1833-1897
7. Franz Schubert - 1797-1828
8. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - 1840-1893
9. George Frideric Handel - 1685-1759
10. Igor Stravinsky - 1882-1971
11. Robert Schumann - 1810-1856
12. Frederic Chopin - 1810-1849
13. Felix Mendelssohn - 1809-1847
14. Claude Debussy - 1862-1918
15. Franz Liszt - 1811-1886
16. Antonín Dvořák - 1841-1904
17. Giuseppe Verdi - 1813-1901
18. Gustav Mahler - 1860-1911
19. Antonio Vivaldi - 1678-1741
20. Richard Strauss - 1864-1949
21. Serge Prokofiev - 1891-1953
22. Dmitri Shostakovich - 1906-1975
23. Béla Bartók - 1881-1945
24. Hector Berlioz - 1803-1869
25. Anton Bruckner - 1824-1896
26. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - 1525-1594
27. Claudio Monteverdi - 1567-1643
28. Jean Sibelius - 1865-1957
29. Maurice Ravel - 1875-1937
30. Ralph Vaughan Williams - 1872-1958
31. Modest Mussorgsky - 1839-1881
32. Giacomo Puccini - 1858-1924
33. Henry Purcell - 1659-1695
34. Gioacchino Rossini - 1792-1868
35. Edward Elgar - 1857-1934
36. Sergei Rachmaninoff - 1873-1943
37. Camille Saint-Saëns - 1835-1921
38. Josquin Des Prez - c.1440-1521
39. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - 1844-1908
40. Carl Maria von Weber - 1786-1826
41. Jean-Philippe Rameau - 1683-1764
42. Jean-Baptiste Lully - 1632-1687
43. Gabriel Fauré - 1845-1924
44. Edvard Grieg - 1843-1907
45. Christoph Willibald Gluck - 1714-1787
46. Arnold Schoenberg - 1874-1951
47. Charles Ives - 1874-1954
48. Paul Hindemith - 1895-1963
49. Olivier Messiaen - 1908-1992
50. Aaron Copland - 1900-1990
51-100....
The website have many rankings regarding classical music. I use it to discover new works and composers.
Thoughts:
I noticed that they have certain predilection to the "Classical era" of music. The top 3 is expected but the ranking is certainly bold. I thought that Haydn is a bit high, I would place him in top 15, while the rankings of Schubert, Brahms and Wagner can be interchangeable.
What about you?
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My head hurts trying to comprehend all these lists. Why is Tchaikovsky, whose critical reception has never matched the public's love of him so high? Is a towering figure like Josquin Desprez really less important than Edward Elgar? Why is Paul Hindemith there but not Anton Webern? Isn't Debussy too low (probably should be in the place taken by Tchaikovsky)? Haydn for once is in the correct type of position, but why is Claudio Monteverdi, another of the innovative giants so low? Where are other critical figures like Machaut and Dufay? Why is Verdi below Dvorak? Why would you have Copland but not Victoria or Lassus? etc. etc. etc. etc. My favorite of these lists has been the composer selected one, in which a distinctively different utilitarian view comes through, and one that doesn't really match up with this quite conservative list. This one is like the kind of choices my piano teacher would have espoused in the 1970s - safely big names from the years 1680 to 1930, while not really giving recognition to figures outside of this time range, and over emphasizing minor names such as Elgar, Saint Saens and Grieg because of this.
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Now this takes me back. I used to browse this site when I was first starting to get into music way back in 2007. Seeing the then-unfamiliar-to-me Wagner listed at number four right below the ubiquitous Bach, Beethoven and Mozart stuck in my mind for several years afterwards and I think his placement had enough of an effect on my unconscious engagement with music history that he'd attained the same stature in my mind as the other three by the time I was 16 or so. Now I'm looking to become a Wagnerian scholar--so I have to doff my cap to DDD for that unintended effect! And Tchaikovsky in the top ten is a bold choice that I'm not sure I totally agree with.
Videos
The 100 Greatest Classical Composers
My head hurts trying to comprehend all these lists. Why is Tchaikovsky, whose critical reception has never matched the public's love of him so high? Is a towering figure like Josquin Desprez really less important than Edward Elgar? Why is Paul Hindemith there but not Anton Webern? Isn't Debussy too low (probably should be in the place taken by Tchaikovsky)? Haydn for once is in the correct type of position, but why is Claudio Monteverdi, another of the innovative giants so low? Where are other critical figures like Machaut and Dufay? Why is Verdi below Dvorak? Why would you have Copland but not Victoria or Lassus? etc. etc. etc. etc. My favorite of these lists has been the composer selected one, in which a distinctively different utilitarian view comes through, and one that doesn't really match up with this quite conservative list. This one is like the kind of choices my piano teacher would have espoused in the 1970s - safely big names from the years 1680 to 1930, while not really giving recognition to figures outside of this time range, and over emphasizing minor names such as Elgar, Saint Saens and Grieg because of this. More on reddit.com
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February 24, 2023Top 50 composers from /r/classicalmusic
Unsurprisingly, the list trends toward 19th and 20th century composers, and favors conservatives over modernists. But I'm shocked by the absence of Mendelssohn, who was a prominent, conservative, 19th century composer. He isn't my favorite, but I respect him and like him a great deal more than several other people on this list.
More on reddit.com 125
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May 2, 2014Who are YOUR top 10 favorite classical composers?
For a long time I've maintained a shortlist of my "Top 10 unchanging favorites", in no particular order (maybe semi-chronological); Bach Chopin Liszt Brahms Debussy Ravel Scriabin Mahler Stravinsky Schoenberg But my tastes have been changing and I have several other favorites who threaten to change this unchanging list...here are the names that make me think about reconsidering my picks: Schubert Messiaen Mozart Faure Berlioz Ligeti Rachmaninoff R. Strauss Szymanowski Penderecki We'll see if one or more of them topple the older list More on reddit.com
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April 21, 2021The 50 Greatest Composers of All Time According to 174 Composers.
Stravinsky above Beethoven. Yeah they ate. More on reddit.com
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February 23, 2023Amazon
amazon.com › Classical-Music-Greatest-Composers-Their › dp › 0449910423
Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works: Goulding, Phil G.: 9780449910429: Amazon.com: Books
Maybe you don't know the answers to these questions; author Phil Goulding certainly didn't. When Goulding first tried to learn about classical music, he found himself buried in an avalanche of technical terms and complicated jargon--so he decided to write the book he couldn't find. The result is a complete classical music education in one volume. Comprehensive, discriminating, and delightfully irreverent, Classical Music provides such essential information as: * Rankings of the top 50 composers (Bach is #1.
On This Day
onthisday.com › people › composers
Top 100 Famous Composers in History - On This Day
Composers · Drummers · Guitarists · Musicians · Pianists · Pop Stars · Rappers · Rockers · Singers · Songwriters · 1 - 100 of 121 famous, important and notable composers ranked by their popularity on On This Day. 1. Richard Wagner · 2. Caroline Shaw ·
Scribd
scribd.com › document › 773807717 › History-s-100-Greatest-Composers
History's 100 Greatest Composers | PDF | Johann Sebastian Bach | Art
Therefore, some composer’s biographies and works may not be complete if their date of death is considerably beyond 1964.Composers deceased since 1964:Samuel Barber (1981)Leonard Bernstein (1990)Benjamin Britten (1976)Carlos Chavez (1978)Aaron ...
Classical Music Only
classicalmusiconly.com › lists › top › composers
Top 100 Classical Composers - Classical Music Only
FAQs Terms of Use Privacy Policy Feature Requests Work Requests Composer Requests Contact · +300K · SUBSCRIBERS · LIKES · +1.7K · FOLLOWERS
The Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk › music › classical-music › 100-greatest-classical-music-pieces-time
The 100 greatest classical music pieces of all time
May 25, 2020 - Our 100 pieces – recordings of all of which can be found easily on YouTube – dip a teaspoon into this vast ocean; we hope it encourages you to venture further out to sea. A lithograph of the composers Robert and Clara Schumann Credit: Bettmann
Sporcle
sporcle.com › games › johnlk › 100-greatest-classical-composers-digital-dream-door
100 Greatest Classical Composers (Digital Dream Door) Quiz - By johnlk
Can you name the composers listed in Digital Dream Door's 100 Greatest Classical Composers? Play this fun quiz and test your trivia knowledge. Quiz by johnlk
DigitalDreamDoor
digitaldreamdoor.com › pages › best-classic-comp.html
100 Greatest Classical Composers
April 22, 2017 - List of the 100 Greatest Classical Music Composers ranked for their innovation and influence, as well as their aesthetic importance and historical significance.
BBC
bbc.co.uk › programmes › composer of the week › features › composers a to z
BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week - Composers A to Z
February 25, 2016 - Browse collections of programmes about the greatest classical composers.
Rate Your Music
rateyourmusic.com › list › cathcacr › the-100-greatest-classical-composers-according-to-rateyourmusic_com
The 100 Greatest Classical Composers According to rateyourmusic.com - Rate Your Music
Mostly RYM's most celebrated/highly-rated composers, with a couple of my own faves added As of 2012 (Item #101 on this list: composers appearing on the most RYM user lists.) A supplemental list: The Greatest Classical Composers According to rateyourmusic.com: Bubbling Under See also: Classical ...
IMDb
imdb.com › list › ls079101200
100 Greatest Movie Composers
In 1947, he suffered a heart attack while visiting Scotland, and, afterwards, composed an orchestral piece ('Heart Attack: A Symphonic Poem'), based on his tribulations. He worked on another ('The Voice of Liberation'), when he died two years later at the age of 63 from cancer of the spine. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. ... Considered to be one of the greatest minds in music and television history, Quincy Delight Jones, Jr.
Good Music Guide
good-music-guide.com › community › index.php
Your Top 100 Favorite Composers
June 13, 2022 - ► Your Top 100 Favorite Composers · Started by Mirror Image, June 13, 2022, 06:30:32 PM Previous topic - Next topic · 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Print · Go Down Pages1 2 3 ... 5 · User actions · Print · Go Up Pages1 2 3 ... 5 · User actions ·
Classical Music Forum
talkclassical.com › home › forums › music and repertoire › classical music discussion
50 greatest composers, as chosen by 174 composers... | Classical Music Forum
July 2, 2024 - I thought this list was nice! What do you think? These are the 50 greatest composers of all time - and the 50 top albums you need in your collection
Google Books
books.google.com › books › about › The_100_Greatest_Composers_and_Their_Mus.html
The 100 Greatest Composers and Their Musical Works: An Introduction to the ... - Gary A. Smook - Google Books
June 10, 2019 - His fascinating exploration takes you inside the rich music and colorful lives of the world’s greatest classical composers. From Bach to Stravinsky and beyond, you will learn how the unique life stories of these gifted composers are reflected in the musical masterpieces that we enjoy to this day.Designed as an introductory book on classical music, this comprehensive collection presents biographical snapshots of the major composers in the context of distinct historical and stylistic periods and in relation to their notable contemporaries.
NYTimes
nytimes.com › arts › music
Top 10 Classical Composers: Help Write the List - The New York Times
September 29, 2014 - What about a composer whose range was narrow but whose music was astonishing? Chopin, a staggering genius, wrote almost exclusively for the piano. And what do you do with opera? Is that a separate thing entirely? Do you break music down by the elements and analyze, for example, who was the greatest master of counterpoint?
Spotify
open.spotify.com › album › 0IlfSl5Bp2VqcOzuJjC8Rf
100 Best Classical Composers - Compilation by Various Artists | Spotify
October 29, 2012 - Listen to 100 Best Classical Composers on Spotify · compilation · Various Artists · 2012 · 100 songs
Discogs
discogs.com › lists › The-50-Greatest-Composers › 1571
The 50 Greatest Composers by Internaut | Discogs Lists
According to Phil G. Goulding in his book "Classical Music - The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works"
Ranker
ranker.com › home › people › the best classical composers
The Best Classical Composers | List of Top Greatest Classical Musicians
October 15, 2025 - Over 23K fans have voted on the 230+ people on Best Classical Composers. Current Top 3: Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach ...
Kidsmusiccorner
kidsmusiccorner.co.uk › composers › classical › the-great-composers
The Great Composers | Kids Music Corner
Many musicians would also include some composers who lived a very long time ago, such as Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585) or Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). However I don’t listen to much of this very old music, so I won’t choose anyone. Anyway, as I said, there’s little argument about who the three greatest ...