Musicians & Composers
The makers of humanity's soundtrack.
records written
Early Modern era
Johann Sebastian Bach
March 21, 1685 – July 28, 1750
Baroque composer whose counterpoint remains music's foundation
Early Modern era
Antonio Vivaldi
March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741
Italian composer and violinist (1678–1741)
Early Modern era
George Frideric Handel
February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759
German-British Baroque composer (1685–1759)
Early Modern era
Joseph Haydn
March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809
Austrian composer (1732–1809)
Early Modern era
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791
Prodigy composer of over 600 works of enduring genius
Modern era
Ludwig van Beethoven
December 16, 1770 – March 26, 1827
German composer who carried music from the classical to the romantic age
Early Modern era
Franz Schubert
January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828
Austrian composer (1797–1828)
Modern era
Frederic Chopin
February 22, 1810 – October 17, 1849
Polish composer and pianist (1810–1849)
Modern era
Franz Liszt
October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886
Hungarian romantic composer and virtuoso pianist (1811-1886)
Modern era
Robert Schumann
June 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856
German composer, pianist and critic (1810–1856)
Modern era
Clara Schumann
September 13, 1819 – May 20, 1896
German musician and composer (1819–1896)
Modern era
Johannes Brahms
May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897
German composer (1833–1897)
Modern era
Richard Wagner
May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883
German composer (1813–1883)
Modern era
Giuseppe Verdi
April 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901
Italian opera composer (1813–1901)
Modern era
Giacomo Puccini
December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924
Italian opera composer (1858–1924)
Early Modern era
Gioachino Rossini
February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868
Italian opera composer (1792–1868)
Modern era
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
April 25, 1840 – October 25, 1893
Russian composer (1840–1893)
Modern era
Sergei Rachmaninoff
April 1, 1873 – March 28, 1943
Russian composer, pianist and conductor (1873–1943)
Modern era
Igor Stravinsky
June 18, 1882 – April 6, 1971
Russian, French, and American composer (1882–1971)
Modern era
Antonin Dvorak
September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904
Czech composer (1841–1904)
Modern era
Claude Debussy
August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918
French classical composer (1862–1918)
Modern era
Maurice Ravel
March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937
French composer (1875–1937)
Modern era
Erik Satie
May 17, 1866 – July 1, 1925
French composer and pianist (1866-1925)
Modern era
Gustav Mahler
July 7, 1860 – May 18, 1911
Austrian late-Romantic composer (1860–1911)
Modern era
Felix Mendelssohn
February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847
German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of Jewish descent (1809-1847)
Modern era
Hector Berlioz
December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869
French composer and conductor (1803–1869)
Modern era
Camille Saint-Saens
October 9, 1835 – December 16, 1921
French composer, organist, conductor and pianist (1835–1921)
Modern era
Edvard Grieg
June 15, 1843 – September 4, 1907
Norwegian composer and pianist (1843–1907)
Modern era
Jean Sibelius
December 8, 1865 – September 20, 1957
Finnish composer (1865–1957)
Early Modern era
Niccolo Paganini
October 27, 1782 – May 27, 1840
Italian violinist and composer (1782–1840)
Modern era
Dmitri Shostakovich
September 25, 1906 – August 9, 1975
Soviet composer and pianist (1906-1975)
Modern era
Sergei Prokofiev
April 23, 1891 – March 5, 1953
Russian and Soviet pianist, composer and conductor (1891–1953)
Modern era
George Gershwin
September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937
American composer and pianist (1898–1937)
Modern era
Leonard Bernstein
August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990
American conductor and composer (1918–1990)
Modern era
John Williams
b. February 8, 1932
American composer and conductor (born 1932)
Modern era
Ennio Morricone
November 10, 1928 – July 6, 2020
Italian composer, orchestrator and conductor (1928–2020)
Contemporary era
Hans Zimmer
b. September 12, 1957
German film composer (born 1957)
Contemporary era
Andrew Lloyd Webber
b. March 22, 1948
British theatre composer (born 1948)
Modern era
Luciano Pavarotti
October 12, 1935 – September 6, 2007
Italian operatic tenor (1935–2007)
Modern era
Maria Callas
December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977
American-Greek operatic soprano (1923–1977)
Modern era
Jacques Cousteau
June 11, 1910 – June 25, 1997
French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
Modern era
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902
American writer, suffragist and Women's Rights activist (1815–1902)
Modern era
Charlie Chaplin
April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977
Silent-film genius whose Tramp became cinema's first icon
Modern era
Walt Disney
December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966
Animator and showman who industrialized imagination
Modern era
Alfred Hitchcock
August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980
British filmmaker (1899–1980)
Modern era
Orson Welles
May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985
American actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)
Modern era
Stanley Kubrick
July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999
American filmmaker and photographer (1928–1999)
Modern era
Akira Kurosawa
March 23, 1910 – September 6, 1998
Japanese filmmaker (1910–1998)
Modern era
Federico Fellini
January 20, 1920 – October 31, 1993
Italian filmmaker (1920–1993)
Modern era
Ingmar Bergman
July 14, 1918 – July 30, 2007
Swedish director and screenwriter (1918–2007)
Modern era
Satyajit Ray
May 2, 1921 – April 23, 1992
Indian filmmaker and writer (1921–1992)
Contemporary era
Steven Spielberg
b. December 18, 1946
American filmmaker (born 1946)
Modern era
Martin Scorsese
b. November 17, 1942
American filmmaker (born 1942)
Modern era
Francis Ford Coppola
b. April 7, 1939
American filmmaker (born 1939)
Contemporary era
Quentin Tarantino
b. March 27, 1963
American filmmaker and actor (born 1963)
Contemporary era
James Cameron
b. August 16, 1954
Canadian filmmaker and explorer (born 1954)
Contemporary era
Christopher Nolan
b. July 30, 1970
English-American filmmaker (born 1970)
Modern era
Hayao Miyazaki
b. January 5, 1941
Japanese animator, film director, and mangaka (born 1941)
Modern era
Greta Garbo
September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990
Swedish-American actress (1905–1990)
Modern era
Humphrey Bogart
December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957
American actor (1899–1957)