| Composer | Title | Related Trivia |
| John Taverner (1490-1545) |
8 Masses including Westron Wynde and other church music. | |
| John Bull (1562-1628) |
Walsingham and God Save The King (not the anthem) | Published first book of keyboard music in England. |
| John Dowland (1562-1626) |
87 songs including Lachrimae | Singer Songwriter for Danish Royalty. |
| Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) |
First Opera La Favola D'orfeo | Son of Barber/Surgeon, Patronised by Duke of Mantua |
| John Blow (1649-1708) |
100 Anthems, Venus and Adonis | Organist at Westminster Abbey preceding Purcell. |
| Henry Purcell (1659-95) |
Dido and Aeneas, Fantasia For Strings, The Fairy Queen, King Arthur, The Tempest, Indian Queen (unfinished) | Organist At Westminster Abbey |
| Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) |
Gli Equivoci (Ist Opera), Matridade Eupatore, Il Trionfo Del'onore, La Griselde | Founder of Neopolitan School of Composers, (Father) Domenico |
| Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) |
Four Seasons | Red Priest |
| George Phillipp Telemann (1681-1767) |
600 Overtures, 44 passions and 40 operas. Pimpinone (best known) | Cantor at Thomas Kirche in Leipzig ahead of J.S Bach. |
| Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
Brandenburg concertos, Goldberg Variations, St John and St Matthew Passion | Married cousin Maria Barbara Bach in 1707, married Anna Magdalena Wilcken.Wagner described his work as most stupendous miracle in all music. |
| Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) |
550 Harpsichord Sonatas | Long time friend of Handel |
| George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) |
Water Music, Messiah, Music for Royal Fireworks | English citizen in 1726, Pension £200 per annum for life from Queen Anne, increased to £600 by George I, blind last 7 yrs of his life aided by agent John Christopher Smith |
| Thomas Arne (1710-1778) |
Rule Britannia, | Educated at Eton, sister famous actress Mrs Cibber, Married singer Cecillia Young |
| William Boyce (1771-1779) |
Heart of Oak | Master of Kings Music from 1755 |
| Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) |
Artaserse, Orfeo et Eurydice | Under patronage of Prince Lobkowitz |
| Franz Joseph Hayden (1732-1809) |
104 numbered symphonies. | Patronised by Prince Paul Esterhazy in 1761, Beethoven was his pupil for short time, regarded as Father of the Symphony because of his prolific output. |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) |
Cosi Fan Tuti, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro. | Son of Leopold Born In Salzburg, married Constance Webber in 1782, Requiem Mass completed after his death by Franz Sussmayr. Works catalogued by Kochel. |
| Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) |
Fidello, numerous songs, sonatas and masses, 1 violin concerto. | Born in Bonn, Learned he was going death in 1798, mystery cloaked identity of his beloved, freedom of Vienna bestowed on him in 1815 |
| Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) |
6 violin concertos remain, all the others are lost, 12 sonatas for violin and guitar. | Born Genoa, greatest genius of the violin, successful gambler, |
| Carl Maria Weber (1786-1826) |
Das Waldmadchen, Silvana, Abu Hassan, Der Freischutz, Euryanthe, Oberon. | Born in Oldenburg, died of T.B |
| Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) |
Jephtas Gelubde, Robert le Diable, Les Huguenots, Le Pophete, L'Etoile du Nord, L'Africaine | Born Berlin, originally named Jakob Liebmann Beer, Child prodigy pianist, operas attacked by the anti-seminism of Wagner. |
| Giacomo Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) |
Demetrio e Polibio, Tancredi, Otello, Elizabeth of England, La Gazza Ladra, Cinderella, William Tell. | Buried in Pere Lachaise, Married Isabella Colbran (soprano), court composer to Charles X in 1825, famous for samedi soirs, Tournedos Rossini named after him, Nickname Monsieur Crescendo |
| Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) |
Des Teufels Lustschloss | Born and died in Vienna, works catalogued by Otto Deutsch |
| Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) |
Il Pigmalione, Enrico di Borgogna, Zoraide di Grenate, Ann Boleyn, Lucretia Borgia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Mary Stuart, Roberto Devereux, Don Pasquale, Dom Sebastien. |
Born and died in Bergamo, joined Austrian Army, insane in later life due to Syphilis |
| Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) |
Adelson e Salvini, The Sleepwalker, Norma, I Puritani. | Born in Catania, died in Puteaux near Paris, married Irish actress Harriet Smithson (1833) |
| Johann Strauss the Elder (1804-1857) |
Composed 251 works of which 152 were waltzes. Radetzky March. | Born and died (scarlet fever) in Vienna. |
| Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) |
Life for the Tsar, Ruslan and Lyudmila. | Norn in Smolensk and died in Berlin, the first Russian composer to be recognised outside of Russia. |
| Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) |
Midsummer Nights Dream, Lorelei, Elijah, St. Paul. | Born in Hamburg died in Leipzig. |
| Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) |
Krakowiak Rondo, La ci Darem variations. | Born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, died in Paris. All his works involve a piano. |
| Robert Schumann (1810-1865) |
Genoveva | Bon in Zwickau died in Endenich. Attempted suicide in 1854 throwing himself in the Rhine and was committed to an Asylum. |
| Franz Liszt (1811-1886) |
Don Sanche, 2 symphonies, Faust, Dante. | Born Raiding in Hungary, died Bayreuth. In 1865 he took minor orders and bcame Abbe Liszt. |
| Richard Wagner (1813-1883) |
Die Feen, Die Hochzeit, Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Tannhauser, Der Ring des Nibelungen, The Master Singers of Nuremberg, Parsifal, Tristan and Isolde. | Born in Leipzig died in Venice. King Ludwig of Bavaria became his patron. |
| Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1893) |
Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, Rocester, Nabucco, Ernani, Attila, Macbeth, Luisa Miller, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Il Travatore, Otello, Falstaff, Requiem. | Born Parma died Milan leaving the bulk of his money to a home he had founded for elderly musicians. Requiem was played at Diana, Princess of Wales funeral in 1997. |
| Charles Gounod (1818-1893) |
Sapho, Faust, Funeral March of a Marionette. | Born in Paris died in St Cloud. Won Grand Prix de Rome in 1839. |
| Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) |
Die Rheinnixen, The Tales of Hoffmann, Orpheus in the Underworld, La Belle Helene, Daphnis et Chloe. | Born Deutz, Cologne died in Paris. Surname Offenbach came from family's hometown. |
| Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) |
The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, The Bartered Bride, The Secret, The Kiss, Two Widows. | Born in Litomysl died in Prague, regarded as founder of Czech music, Venereal Disease caused deafness and later insanity. |
| Johann Strauss the Younger (1825-1899) |
Blue Danube, Tales from Vienna Woods, Roses from the South, Emperor Waltz, Die Fledermaus. | Born and died in Vienna, he was known as the Waltz King, he was in the 1848 revolution and supported the opposite side to his father. |
| Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) |
Prince Igor, In the Steppes of Central Asia. | Born and died in St Petersburg. Prince Igor was left unfinished and completed by Rimsky-Korsakov. |
| Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) |
Tragic Overture, Academic Festival Overture, Variations on a Theme by Haydn, German Requiem. | Born in Hamburg died in Vienna. He was hailed a genius by Schumann. |
| Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) |
La Princess Jaune, Samson and Delilah, Danse Macabre, Carnival of Animals. | Born in Paris died in Algiers. |
| Georges Bizet (1838-1875) |
La Docteur Miracle, Carmen. | Born in Paris died in Bougival, won Grand Prix de Rome in 1857. |
| Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) |
Voyevoda, Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Yolanta, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutctacker. | Born in Votkinsk died in St Petersburg of Cholera, although it is said he may have taken poison to avoid a homosexual scandal. |
| Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) |
Ivanhoe, composed the tune for Onward Christian Soldiers, Cox and Box, The Emerald Isle. | Born in Lambet died on St Cecilias Day in Westminster, was the 1st to win Mendelssohn Scholarship of the Royal Academy of Music in 1856. He was knighted in 1883. |
| Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) |
Maid of Pskov (aka Ivan The terrible) The Golden Cockerel, Spanish Caprice, Sheherazade. | Born in Tikhvin died in Lyubensk. He wrote his 1st Opera whilst he was a Leiutenant in the Navy. |
| Leos Janacek (1854-1928) |
Sarka, Jenufa, From the House of the Dead. | Born in Moravia, died in Moravska. |
| Edward Elgar (1857-1934) |
The Dream of Gerontius, Pomp and Circumstance, Enigma Variations, The Spanish Lady (unfinished) | Born in Broadheath Worcestershire died in Worcester. Knighted in 1904 as the first English composer of international repute since Purcell. |
| Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) |
Le Villi, Manon Lescaut, La Boheme, Tosca, Madam Butterfly, Turandot (unfinished) | Born in Lucca Italy, died in Brusels. Turandot was finished by Franco Alfano. |
| Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) |
Song of the Earth, Kindertotenlieder, Das Klagende Lied, The Three Pintos. | Born in Kalist, Bohemia, died in Vienna. He converted from Judaism to Roman Catholic in 1897. |
| Achille-Claude Debussey (1862-1918) |
Pelleas et Melisande, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un Faune, La Mer, Nocturnes. | Born in St Germain-en-Laye, died in Paris of cancer. Won Prix de Rome in 1884 with cantata L'Enfant prodigue. |
| Frederick Delius (1862-1934) |
Irmelin, Fennimore and Gerda, The Magic Fountain, Koanga, A Village Romeo and Juliet, Margot-la-Rouge, Brigg Fair, Sea Drift, A Mass of Life. | Born in Bradfor Yorkshire, died in Grez-sur-Loing. Until 1904 he composed under the name of Fritz Delius. He became blind and continued composing helped by a young Yorkshire musician, Eric Fenby. |
| Richard Strauss (1864-1949) |
Guntram, Salome, Electra, Der RosenKavalier, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Capricco, Josephslegende, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote, Sprach Zarathustra. | Born in Munich, died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Became Austrian citizen in 1947. |
| Paul Dukas (1865-1935) |
Ariane et Barbe-Bleu, La Peri and symphonic poem The Sorcerers Apprentice. | Born and died in Paris. He burned at least 15 years worth of unpublished work before he died. |
| Karl Nielsen (1865-1931) |
Saul and David, Maskarade. | Born in Neotre-Lyndelse, Denmark, died in Copenhagen. He developed 'progressive tonality' in which a work may change its key as it develops. |
| Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) |
Hugh the Drover, The Pilgrims Progress, In the Fen Country, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. | Born in Down Apney, Gloucestershire, died in London. |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) |
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Aleko, Monna Vanna. | Born in Semyonovo, Starorussky, died in Beverley Hills. He underwent hypnosis when experiencing a creative block. He dedicated 2nd piano concerto to his hypnotist. |
| Gustav Holst (1874-1934) |
The Planets, Egdon Heath, Book Green Suite, Savitri, The Wandering Scholar. | Born in Cheltenham, died in London. He worked as a trombonist for Carl Rosa Opera 1898-1900. |
| Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) |
Erwartung, Moses und Aron, Gurrelieder, Pierrot Lunaire, A survivor from Warsaw, Verklarte Nacht. | Revolutionised music to reach atonality and serialism, he had a phobia about the number 13, Moses und Aron is spelled thus so as to only have 12 letters. |
| Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) |
L'Heure Espagnole, L'Enfant et les Sortileges. | Born in Ciborne, died in Paris. Orchestrated Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. |
| Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) |
The Nightingale, The Rakes Progress. | Born in Oranienbaum, died in New York. Became a French citizen in 1934, American in 1945. His 1st performance of The Rite of Spring in Paris caused famous riots by unattuned listerners. |
| Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953) |
7 symphonies, symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf. | Born in Sontsovka, died in Moscow. Died the same day as Stalin. |
| Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) |
The Olympians, Tobias and the Angel. | Born and died in London. Wrote the music for Korda's film based on HG Wells Things to come. |
| George Gershwin (1898-1937) |
Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris. | Born in Brooklyn, NY, died in Beverly Hills. He turned pro musician at the age of 14. |
| William Walton (1902-1983) |
Troilus and Cressida, The Bear. | Born in Oldham died in Forio d'ischia. Film scores include First of the few and Henry V. |
| Michael Tippett (1905-1998) |
The Midsummer Marriage, The Knot Garden, The Ice Break, New Year. | Born and died in London. A committed pacifist, acted as p;age-turner for Britten and Pears while imprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs as conscientious objector. |
| Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) |
Paul Bunyan, Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, The Turn of the Shrew, Death in Venice, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. | Born at Lowestoft died at Aldeburgh. Founded Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, became Lord Britten of Aldeburgh in 1976. Wa the 1st composer to become life peer. |
| Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) |
Trouble in Tahiti. Musicals include On the town, West Side Story, Candide. | Born in Lawrence, Mass. died in New York. Wrote film music for On the Waterfront. |
| Luciano Berio (1925-2003) |
La Veria Storia, Sinfonia. | One movement of Sinfonia mixes a movement of Mahler's Ressurrection with much other music and spoken text. |
| Hans Werner Henze (1926- ) |
Das Wundertheater, Boulevard Solitude, The Bassarids, The English Cat, Venus and Adonis. | Born in Gutersloh. Equally at home with atonal, aleatory and conventional techniques. |
| Harrison Birtwhistle (1934- ) |
Punch and Judy, The Last Supper. | Born in Accrington. Co-founded Pierrot Players with Maxwell Davies. Was knighted in 1998. |
| Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) |
Life with an Idiot, The Eleventh Commandment, Gesualdo. | Born in USSR, died in Hamburg. His name is linked to 'Polystylism'where many styles of music appear in 1 piece. |
| Richard Rodney Bennett (1936- ) |
The Ledge, The Mines of Sulphur, Penny for a Song, Victory. | Born in Broadstairs Kent. Knighted in 1998. Is currently working on 'Reflections of a Scottish Folksong' a piece to celebrate the late Queen Mother. |
| John Tavener (1944- ) |
Therese, Mary of Egypt, The Whale. | Born in London. His recent work pervaded by religious sentiment of Russian Orthodox Church which he joined in 1977. He was knighted in 2000. |
| John Adams (1947 - ) |
Nixon in China, Death of Klinghoffer. | Born in Worcester Mass. Has emerged as one of the best-known and most often performed American composers. |
| Steven Martland (1958- ) |
Babi Yar, Remembering Lennon. | Born in Liverpool. His trademark is flat-top haircut and Bermuda shorts. |
| Thomas Ades (1971- ) |
Chamber Symphony, Five Eliot Landscapes, The Origin of the Harp, The Premises are Alarmed, Powder her Face, Asyla. | Made his Proms debut in 1998 and the following year conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the London premiere of Asyla. |